Tickling the funny bone

By Karen Dums

This evening's group brought an interesting mix of discussion on humor. Sometimes we authors can get so serious with ourselves and with our writing that we forget to add a little humor to the mix. It often makes the whole piece that much sweeter.

We have several Guild members who do humor very well. And one in particular who has been refraining from using a natural talent for it. She's not quite sure why. I'm not sure either, but I say "follow the muse".

Its been my personal experience that we cannot fight off the muse, no matter how hard we try. It will dog us until we pick up pen and paper or sit down at the keyboard and get what is brewing in our creative consciousness down on paper, a hard drive, a thumb drive or a flash drive -- take your pick.  It needs to get out. If it doesn't something dire is bound to happen -- you'll get speeding ticket because you're not concentrating on your driving, the food in your refrigerator will begin to grow green moldy substances because you're not concentrating on your refrigerator maintenance, you'll be unable to get out of the house because you locked the shovel in the trunk of your car which is in the locked garage and there is a three-foot snow drift in front of every entry door. Your head could also implode.

The aforementioned, or even worse, are what awaits if writers attempt to block the wonderfully natural flow of the creative juices. There is no dam strong enough to keep them back. Save your energy. Don't fight it. Let it carry you to beautiful places where you will meet interesting, engaging people. These are known as your sense of place and your characters. They'll do the rest if you let them. And if they're funny -- well, can't we all use a good laugh now and again?

Am I hinting that writing is easy? Definitely not. It takes discipline, courage, fortitude, imagination, attention to detail and lots of paper. But if you've been bitten by the writing bug a simple scratch will not do. The itch will continue. Let it go. Let it be. Let it take you along for the ride. Use your natural fight for more important things, like getting the best buys on Black Friday.

"A man walks into a bar. Can I have a glass of water? he asks the bartender. The bartender grabs the shotgun from the back shelf and fires it. The man says thank you and leaves. What happened?"

The bartender cured his hiccups. Well, maybe that one isn't so funny, but hopefully you get the drift.
Write what you must.