Be a Better Writer--HUMOR WRITING

These lessons, by one of our most consistent FaithWriters' Challenge Champions, should not be missed. So we're making a permanent home for them here.

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Re: Be a Better Writer--HUMOR WRITING

Post by glorybee »

Thanks, Cat!

Just a clarification on something I said: not all sarcasm is bad, and in fact, sarcasm can be funny, especially when directed at oneself. It's only when it's directed at someone else, in a very biting and hurtful way, that I find it not humorous.
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CatLin
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Re: Be a Better Writer--HUMOR WRITING

Post by CatLin »

Thinking over a few sarcastic characters I've written..and some of them are obviously self depracating, and those that aren't usually learn a humbling lesson in the end. And I didn't infer you to mean that sarcasm was bad humor. My pastor pointed out one Sunday morning where Jesus used sarcasm in Scripture. If it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me. :bow

Now, off to imagine a fantastical, science-fictiony scenario.

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Allison
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Re: Be a Better Writer--HUMOR WRITING

Post by Allison »

Okay. I know the humor writing topic is over, but I'm just now getting to posting here. I can't NOT post in the one about my favorite genre.

Humor is almost my default "go to" with the challenge these days, in part, because so many people take the serious approach. I figure, if nothing else, humor might give the judges a bit of a break, even if it doesn't actually place well. Interestingly enough, I doubt my humor piece I entered for the challenge will place, because although I think it is humorous, I think my topic is probably way to narrow, without much broad appeal. So I don't know that it will do well.

As far as humor pieces that I've written, I'll share a few.

This is one of my recent ones, and I loved it, but it didn't do well in the judging. Didn't even make the "top 20" list (or whatever it was that week) even though I thought it was stronger than my entry the week before, which made EC. Go figure, right? Maybe it was TOO off the wall.
If You Give an Alien a Cow

Here's the one from the week prior that I actually didn't think turned out all that great, yet ended up getting an EC. This was one of those where I thought "creativity" might be the ONLY thing going for it.
Never Even Happened

And finally, here's one that I liked AND did well in the judging. This is an older one, also, where as the other two are both recent entries.
Reference Point

The last two happen to be in script form, and those I've used script format a number of times in the challenge, it usually don't do well.

I guess I may have to re-post these, if "script/skit" ends up being one of the topics. :)

I've got a LOT more humor entries I could post, but I'll refrain from posting more for now.
Last edited by Allison on Sat Oct 18, 2014 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Be a Better Writer--HUMOR WRITING

Post by glorybee »

Thanks, Allison!

We get very few scripts for skits or plays, and they're always very refreshing for the judges. Others who are reading this--consider writing an entry in script form; check out Allison's entry for a good way to do it.
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