funny story 750 words
Answers
Answer:
1. Try to replicate the exact humor page you want to emulate, but in your own words. You can download or order film, TV pilots, and sketch comedy shows from the web. When you do, underline the lines that make you laugh. Sometimes I even count words and syllables to copy the exact length and sound.
2. Experiment with a variety of forms: a 600-word online "Shouts & Murmurs," timely late night comedy monologue jokes, a MAD magazine parody of a new TV show, a 400-word Onion news story satire. See which best suits your voice and your topic.
3. Watch repetitions. The third time you do something, it has the opposite meaning. If a character cries or screams once or twice you may fear or feel bad for them. Three times, it stops being sad or scary and becomes maudlin. My comedy writer pal Guy Nicolucci gives this example from the classic film comedy Airplane: Whenever Robert Hays’ character talks about his broken heart, the person in the seat next to him kills themselves. A woman hangs herself, a Japanese soldier commits seppuku. The third time, the Hindu man doses himself with gasoline, then lights a match … but Robert Hays is called away, interrupting the story. Relieved, the Hindu man blows out his match. Beat. Then he explodes.
4. Laughing is said to be a reaction to being surprised. So remember that lists are funnier when the last item you end on is surprising. In my piece on my nicotine withdrawal, I listed reasons why I should quit smoking: “Look younger, get healthier, have fewer wrinkles, spite enemies.”