Recently the exercise world has gone wild for intermittent fasting. That’s where you don’t fast all the time, just every once in a while.
So what does this have to do with humor or writing or anything? Or have I
just gone crazy? Well, maybe I have, but that started a long time ago.
This is about a secret that I learned while writing monologues for various performers. And it’s useful to us as writers of books as well, wether you write funny books or serious ones. But let me explain how it works with humor first.
So here is the secret. Get close to the computer, don’t let anyone else see this.
You shouldn’t be hilarious all the time.
That may sound strange. You’d think comedy performers would want to be very funny with every joke. But actually being hilarious all the time would become monotonous. Every joke has it's own level of humor. If I was writing a monologue, I would alternate the stronger with the weaker. The weaker jokes make the stronger ones seem better by comparison.
This weaker/stronger effect can be seen in all kinds of writing, but also in many types of performances.
Say, we're watching skaters. They do some interesting movements for a little while, but then they suddenly perform an amazing triple Lutz followed by a Heimlich Maneuver. (You can see why I never went into skating.) This often gets applause.
At the begining of their routine, the audience might say they’re pretty good. But then, when they bring out the triple Lutz, they start to think they’re great. It's the comparison between the "okay," skating and the "great skating," that makes the audience think that way. If they were great all the time they wouldn't appreciate them as much.
The skaters would then go back to their "okay," skating. But the audience is hooked. They know there's going to be more good stuff coming, and they're going to wait until they see it. This weaker/stronger effect is repeated several times during their routine.
So how do this work in our books? Well, if we’re writing a humorous novel, we should have some amusing parts, then at a certain point there should be some very funny material. Then we go back to amusing. Then hilarious, etc.
This also applies to every genre of books--mystery, sci fi, romance. You might alternate the heavy sci fi in a science fiction book with more about the characters, or the heavy romance in the romance novel with humor or something else. Likewise with mystery.
Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to try the triple lutz/Heimlich Maneuver.
Have fun every day
Steve