Including Humor in your Writing

You don’t have to be Mr. /Mrs. Happiness, a clown, or a comedian to inject some humor into your writing. Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, a dose of humor can be a breather in some of the more serious or sad scenes/chapters. In my previous posts, I talked about finding inspiration in pain and difficult situations. What about funny situations? For instance, Kathryn Stockett’s, The Help, offers great comic relief in some of the chapters that were loaded with controversy. How often do you use humor? Can you think of other books that use comic relief?

I don’t recall the source of these tips; however, they’re right on target.

1. BE STRATEGIC. Don’t scatter jokes willy-nilly; instead, think of humor as parenthetical information. Many nonfiction writers find the best places to integrate humor are in titles, sidebars, visual illustrations or cartoons, and anecdotes to illustrate their points. For a great example of the use of visual humor, see Roizen and Oz’s You Staying Young.

2. USE IT SPARINGLY. Unless you’re writing about an inherently funny topic, you should limit the humor you use to selective references. Its purpose is to grab the reader’s attention and help you make points in creative ways. Don’t confuse the reader by coming across as a comedian.

3. KEEP YOUR FOCUS IN MIND. Be sure your use of humor doesn’t distract from or demean the true purpose of your project. Have someone read your manuscript and then give you a candid critique with this in mind.

4. LET YOUR READERS KNOW YOU’RE LAUGHING. When using humor in writing about a difficult subject—your own illness, for example—your first responsibility is to give your readers permission to laugh. Find subtle ways to let them know that not only is it OK to laugh, but you want them to.

5. STEER CLEAR OF SARCASM. This humor style may work in some arenas, but many readers find it hurtful and mean, and because it often relies on tone, it can be especially hard to pull off in writing. Sarcasm is a tool most of us pick up at a young age as a way of feeling better about ourselves by putting others down. I recommend leaving it there.

As writers, it’s up to us to use everything we can to make sure we lasso our readers and keep them in the corral. Don’t let fear of being funny on the page hold you back. Remember the old saying: “If you can get them to open their mouths to laugh, you can get them to open their hearts to learn.” And that makes for effective writing.

Cold Weather, Warm Thoughts

Last week I was forced to take a break from blogging. This week was almost a repeat but a very dear friend of mine told me, and I’ll paraphrase, “The human soul tends to find inspiration in pain rather than in happiness.” His words touched me. That’s when I remembered that last March I wrote an article titled, The BeautifulProcess of Writing from Pain, which talks about writing as a catharsis.

The second week of January proved to be a challenge for me professionally and personally. On top of that, we had a snow storm that lasted two days (And this is only our first one this winter!). The fluffy blanket outside only helped me find excuses for not writing.

My friend shared that he writes (poetry, blog posts, stories) even when there’s turmoil in his life. He’s right! I think of Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, and J.D. Salinger to name a few that found solace in their writing even when their lives needed to be re-written.

In the past I’ve found inspiration in the falling snow. So why not do it again?

Do you find solace in writing? Do you get inspired by challenges?

I will be back next Wednesday!

Hello Bloggie Friends,

I regret to inform you that due to circumstances out of my control I won't be posting an article this week. However, you'll see me around next Wednesday. Promise.

Have a productive week and keep on writing!

Getting Back to Business

Happy New Year Bloggie Friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Slowly but surely, a lot of us are getting back to business, writing, that is. I know some of you published your book(s) last year. How did you market it? Did you go with an agent? Did you do it yourself?

I received this article via e-mail and I want to share it with you.

It used to be that promoting a product was an expensive undertaking, one that required excessive amounts of funds for television or radio advertising, or slightly less for publications of the paper variety. And promoting books, in particular, meant making deals with booksellers to get top placement in their stores.

Authors, of course, would have to go on multi-city tours of their home country and even the world in order to give interviews to television, radio, and newspaper/magazine reporters, as well as host signings. This was both an expensive and time-consuming process. But these days things have changed dramatically. Not only can writers publish and sell their own eBooks (or paper books) online; they can also promote them in a number of ways that are far less expensive or even free. Here are a few to try.

It used to be that promoting a product was an expensive undertaking, one that required excessive amounts of funds for television or radio advertising, or slightly less for publications of the paper variety. And promoting books, in particular, meant making deals with booksellers to get top placement in their stores.

Authors, of course, would have to go on multi-city tours of their home country and even the world in order to give interviews to television, radio, and newspaper/magazine reporters, as well as host signings. This was both an expensive and time-consuming process. But these days things have changed dramatically. Not only can writers publish and sell their own eBooks (or paper books) online; they can also promote them in a number of ways that are far less expensive or even free. Here are a few to try.

1. Build a contact list. Whether you get contacts through your website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any number of other social networks, you can use the strength of numbers to promote your book. Post messages with excerpts to drum up interest, offer deals for followers, and encourage "friends" to become brand ambassadors, bringing more people on board to enjoy the same benefits of membership that they do, as well as hyping your book online and in real-world settings.
2. YouTube videos. Videos to promote books have become something of a sensation on YouTube, with offerings for books like "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" topping the list for views. Some of these "trailers" have high enough production value to make it look like a movie is actually in the works, while others are student-project level. But it's an innovative and trendy way to promote your book (all you need is a video camera and a few willing friends). Although well-known and high-paid authors often do something similar for television, their ads tend to contain nothing more than some flashy graphic text and the author spouting one-liners. The YouTube versions are more like full-scale movie trailers.

3. Giveaways. While giving away your work for free might not sound very appealing, it is a good way to bring in new readers. So give away a few copies to loyal fans and offer freebies to the first, say 50 new members who sign up at a set time and date. You'll probably get hundreds of new accounts that will hopefully make up for the number you gave away and then some.

4. Contests. There's no better way to get people to give you contact information than to hold a contest. In the publishing arena there are many ways you could go with this. You could ask readers to provide potential names for an upcoming book (with a free copy and a mention in the book going to the winner). Or you could ask them to send in character sketches and then work the winning entry into a future project. You might even hold a contest for a couple of lucky readers to win a trip to join you at a book signing. There are so many possibilities and all of them should net you new readership.

5. Listen and respond. Communication studies have shown that the best way to keep a relationship going is to ensure open channels of dialogue. So when readers comment you need to make an effort to reply. This will endear your fans to you and keep them coming back for more, as well as encouraging them to talk you up to everyone they know.

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com