How to add humor to writing?

Hello! I'm entering on province-wide writing contest. In order to be eligible for entry you must write a short story (no more than 1,500 words) that some how involves humor. I'm nearly done the first draft but as I've been reading over it I've realized it isn't very funny. Does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to create a good humorous tone? (the plot of my store is about a man who dies and his lawyer illegally takes all of this money, so it will be a dark comedy.) Cheers!

Comedy is one of the hardest things to write or to plan, and in a story like yours, I can't really say any different. The big thing is to have the basic plot understood before you start writing. Plan out some events, and then start writing with a positive attitude. As long as you're not overly focused on building the comedy aspect or on major events, you'll realize holes in your story and little holes that need something, and you'll find those holes will be filled with some yuks and jokes as you write, wether you know it or not. When you're finished writing a draft, just read it through, and you'll find what does and what doesn't work in comedy, and even overnight, you'll think of something funny about your story that you want to add in. Even with you have a dark story, stay happy while you write it. An author named Christopher Moore does a sort of comedy-within-seriousness thing like this story you're proposing. If you've got time, read one of his books; I'd reccomend "A Dirty Job" or "Lamb". The big trick for his comedy is the characters and how stupid some of the events really are. You'll find as you watch a bad movie, you'll make fun of it as you go, and you'll do the same for a movie you've watched many times again and again. Just think of your story as your favorite movie, and poke some holes in it. You'll fill them in as you write, and as long as you don't depress yourself while writing, comedy's sure to come.

Well, that's my two cents anyways. Also, welcome to the YWS, and to show my welcome, here's a picture of a piece of toast;



Have a lucky day! Hope everything goes well!

I think eccentric characters are essential to comedy. Mr. Bean, Blackadder, Baldric, Rimmer, Kryten, Cat, Vicky Pollard, Bubbles DeVere, Basil Fawlty, Shrek, the list goes on. They're all wacky.

In your case, the lawyer is going to need some sort of eccentricity that the reader can laugh at. Maybe he thinks he's psychic and keeps trying (but failing) to use that to get the money, while the reader is laughing becasue there's a completely obvious and realistic way of getting it that he's not noticing. Obviously this is an extreme example which might seem a bit slapstick, but you could work in more subtle characteristics.

Exaggerating a stereotype can work too (as shown in Little Britain). A character in a comedy series I wrote was Scottish, but I exagerated it to the point where he mentions bagpipes, porridge, haggis or kilts in every piece of dialogue.

Surprise is also important. Make something happen that the reader doesn't expect. I'll use an incident from my life as an example: My dad was getting ready to go to my uncle's place for a few days. He was getting a suitcase off a high shelf, trying hard not to let it fall. Suddenly a toaster fell on his head (it had been on top of the suitcase). The rest of us cracked up because it was so unnexpected. The suitcase could have fallen on his head, but that would be predictable. If it were in a story, the reader would think the suitcase is going to fall on him, so when the toaster does instead, it's so left-of-field it's funny.

Funny visual things can work. For example, in Blackadder 3, George says "I may be as thick as a whale omelette." Much funnier than thick as a brick. The good thing about writing is you could use similar things in narration, as well as dialogue.

Hope this helps (and hope the shows I've used as examples don't leave you saying "I've never seen that before"). And one last thing: watch some comedy and see what's funny. Reccomendations: Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, Little Brittain, The Chasers War on Everything, The IT Crowd, Hyperdrive, Monty Python, and of course, Blackadder.

When I think dark comedy, the first thing I think is Christopher Moore. He's a hoot to read if you ask me and I'll probably post a bunch of links and they will all have something to do with Mr. Moore.

First off, unique characters are a must, especially when you put two very different personalities and characters together. For instance Charlie Asher & the Nurse. Charlie is the typical beta male while the nurse is nearly a man. And the difference in these two people makes dialogue bounce well. There are also characters that, by themselves, are just too wacky not to laugh at, their just plain old Abby Normal.

There is also the art of putting people into a tense situation, such as Christmas Creepiness. The stress of the situation alone creates some comedy.

Lastly, you can alwasy act like a Fool and just make the situation seem stupid. I never hurts to just MAKE them laugh.

So there are some examples.
And I hope they can inspire you to be funny too.

Humor is one element that cannot be forced or included in a scene for the heck of it. Like dialogue, humor has to feel natural. In this case, either the writer is naturally witty- with a dark or bubbley- sense of humor, or the person simply does not have the trait.