I literally stole three minutes away from my long list to skim this. Bookmarked to read in full later!
I really like your insights into the humour aspect -- although it makes sense, I didn't think of it that way. (Strange, considering that my sense of humour seems to be an acquired taste for many -- if ever. You'd think I'd be more in tune with the vagaries of writing humour...!)
I thought I was the only person who cringes when at a lot of written humour. In real life I cringe at other people's embarassment, which may be one explanation - but often what passes for humour seems just silly or stupid to me. On the other hand I just finished reading Mark Shupe's Wish Doctor and giggled my way through it - I am not sure if that was the plan. I find Dickens tremendously funny - usually if read aloud. I like reading conversation between two funny people. I don;t kknow what makes it all tick.
My introduction to Terry's writing was The Best Laid Plans and I fell in love with his style, stoty-telling and laugh-ou-loud humour. Now I've finished A New Season and loved it, dare I say it's my favourite because it made me cry, made me laugh and was able to tap into my full palette of emotions. Thanks Terry. Cant wait for your next book. I'm confident it won't disappoint.
I mostly write mystery novels but when I decided to write a funny book called "Women 101", my wife was convinced it would destroy my reputation (but I did it anyway). Some people found it really funny, others not so much. I've now adapted it into a radio play called "Everything I Know About Women" and it seems to work much better in that format.
Here we are, or here I am, Christmas Eve morning and somewhere during the day, I will watch some Three Stooges. I always enjoyed them back in my youth, much of it misspent, and have allowed intellectual snobbery (not mine, mine is pretty mothballed) to dictate my inclination to embrace more plebeian tastes. Thanks Terry. You have liberated me. I'll hunt down No Census, No Feeling, and have a jolly, jolly holiday...
So true! The "hilarious" vs "cringeworthy" observation nails it. Also the Goodreads reactions. I also think it's the same for any art form - I once recommended The Princess Bride (movie) to friends; they said it was "boring and weird." So... writers should write what they write. The right readers will get it, and that makes it worthwhile. (Like you do!)
Thanks for these thoughtful observations, Terry. As you say, humour is not universal, it’s maddeningly personal. There are lines and situations in my own book that I thought were so clever they would produce Richter-scale-jarring waves of laughter, only hear the crickets chirping when I presented them at readings. I think the best we can do is to allow readers to see the humanity in our characters and trust them to take it from there. The great writers you mention here have all succeeded in that.
I literally stole three minutes away from my long list to skim this. Bookmarked to read in full later!
I really like your insights into the humour aspect -- although it makes sense, I didn't think of it that way. (Strange, considering that my sense of humour seems to be an acquired taste for many -- if ever. You'd think I'd be more in tune with the vagaries of writing humour...!)
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Terry!
I thought I was the only person who cringes when at a lot of written humour. In real life I cringe at other people's embarassment, which may be one explanation - but often what passes for humour seems just silly or stupid to me. On the other hand I just finished reading Mark Shupe's Wish Doctor and giggled my way through it - I am not sure if that was the plan. I find Dickens tremendously funny - usually if read aloud. I like reading conversation between two funny people. I don;t kknow what makes it all tick.
I would love to participate in your experiment.
My introduction to Terry's writing was The Best Laid Plans and I fell in love with his style, stoty-telling and laugh-ou-loud humour. Now I've finished A New Season and loved it, dare I say it's my favourite because it made me cry, made me laugh and was able to tap into my full palette of emotions. Thanks Terry. Cant wait for your next book. I'm confident it won't disappoint.
I mostly write mystery novels but when I decided to write a funny book called "Women 101", my wife was convinced it would destroy my reputation (but I did it anyway). Some people found it really funny, others not so much. I've now adapted it into a radio play called "Everything I Know About Women" and it seems to work much better in that format.
You're right. What some people find funny perplexes me.
What an excellent post, Terry. Fun and insightful as usual! Think I’m going to write a funny novel (if I can get the spooky out of me). Stay tuned!
Here we are, or here I am, Christmas Eve morning and somewhere during the day, I will watch some Three Stooges. I always enjoyed them back in my youth, much of it misspent, and have allowed intellectual snobbery (not mine, mine is pretty mothballed) to dictate my inclination to embrace more plebeian tastes. Thanks Terry. You have liberated me. I'll hunt down No Census, No Feeling, and have a jolly, jolly holiday...
So true! The "hilarious" vs "cringeworthy" observation nails it. Also the Goodreads reactions. I also think it's the same for any art form - I once recommended The Princess Bride (movie) to friends; they said it was "boring and weird." So... writers should write what they write. The right readers will get it, and that makes it worthwhile. (Like you do!)
Thanks for these thoughtful observations, Terry. As you say, humour is not universal, it’s maddeningly personal. There are lines and situations in my own book that I thought were so clever they would produce Richter-scale-jarring waves of laughter, only hear the crickets chirping when I presented them at readings. I think the best we can do is to allow readers to see the humanity in our characters and trust them to take it from there. The great writers you mention here have all succeeded in that.