How Not To Write Humor
A guide from an expert in flopped humor.
--
Asking a successful humorist how not to write humor is like asking a carnivore to introduce you to veganism or a French to teach you English.
Learn how not to write humor from an expert in flopped humor.
I would be that expert, and now that I have established authority, there's only one confusion I want to avoid.
(I hear deliberate confusion is a humor tool, which I can't have in my non-humor guide.)
So, the disclaimer: as an established author of humor pieces that flop, I can teach you how not to write humor. This doesn't mean my guide will turn you into a technical writer expert, despite technical writing being the least humorous type of writing out there.
Now, let the not-funny part begin — actually, continue.
How to assess your potential
A funny guy walks into a bar, and everyone starts laughing. If you're not that guy, keep reading.
When a not-funny guy walks into a bar, either nobody is laughing, or he's the only one laughing. Also, everyone might start drinking, a deceiving talent indicator while in a bar.
If any of it happened to you, you have the potential not to write humor. If nothing similar happened to you, congratulations! You have even more potential.
All not-funny aspiring writers get such clues, but the best don't notice them. They go on writing a not-humor piece. And only when the crickets start jumping like crazy on their stats page the reality becomes impossible to ignore.
Learn from an expert's personal experience
As the authority I am, I've been through all that and then some more. Or first, some more.
Before trying my hand at flopped-humor stories, I did micro-exercises with flopped-humor comments and private notes.
One private note I got from a humorist actually scared the bejesus out of me because it confessed a crime, but I…
