Comedy in written-form.

[Jemini]

These are just some thoughts I have had about comedy in writing. I often notice that novels that have the "comedy" tag tend to really not do well, and I think a lot of this is because a lot of authors really don't understand what it takes for a work of writing to be funny.


Comedy is a rather deceptively complex subject. It is difficult to quantify or make rules for what makes people laugh. It is something that is simply understood by most people, even though only a few who have closely studied the subject actually understand the complex intellectual workings behind it.

There is one thing, however, that is very well understood about comedy. Timing is very important. The delivery very often needs to be presented with the words spaced at just the right speed and the tone exactly right in order for the joke to land. For this reason, comedy is actually very poorly suited for a written format, and things that would cause rolling-on-the-floor laughter in an audio-visual format will just fall flat when you see it in writing.

For this reason, almost all webnovels actually labeled with the "comedy" tag tend to actually do poorly as attempts a forcing in jokes fail more often than not. Meanwhile, it is often long-run action-adventure series that make people laugh the most. The reason for this is simple. There IS exactly 1 form of comedy that does as good if not better in the written format, and that is witty banter.

What is banter? Here's an example from a chapter of "He who Fights with Monsters" that I just read today. (I decided to use this as an example because it was one of the first ones I found where I think the jokes really might land even if you don't know the characters, and what running gags are referenced here can still be roughly understood even if you don't understand the call-back.)

Spoiler: HwFwM banter

“Alright, get your heads into a fight space,” Humphrey ordered. “We’ve been told the constructs have been congregating mostly in the central areas but keep an eye out for surprises. Jason, you’re our stealth scout so you move out ahead. Sophie, you’re our speed scout so you take the rear and flanks. Neil, you’re our healer so try not to get stabbed.”

“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Neil said as Sophie moved off in a blur and Jason vanished into the shadows.

“Belinda, keep an eye on Neil,” Humphrey said. “Make sure he doesn’t get stabbed.”

“I’m not going to get stabbed!”

“Don’t worry, Neil,” Belinda told him. “Third priority. Number two is keeping the snacks safe.”

“Very funny,” Neil said. “Also, doesn’t Jason have the snacks?”

“Scout is a dangerous position,” Belinda explained. “I’ve got the backup snacks.”

“I’m not feeling deeply valued,” Neil said.

“Fine,” Belinda complained. “I’ll prioritise you over the backup snacks. What did you even put in that box anyway, Jason?”

“Cake sandwiches,” Jason answered through team chat.

“As team leader,” Humphrey said, “I'm going to have to overrule you, Belinda. If it's cake sandwiches, you absolutely must prioritise them over stopping Neil from getting stabbed. He has to take some responsibility for himself.”

“You all realise that a lot of teams are looking for a good healer, right?” Neil asked. “Why don't you ever talk about Clive getting stabbed?”

“Who would stab Clive?” Sophie asked through team chat. “Everyone loves Clive.”

“Yeah.”

“Agreed.”

“Definitely.”

“Except his wife.”

“Dammit, Jason!”

Banter is simply the characters talking with one another in a light-hearted tone, and ribbing at each other with a slew of "in-jokes." Due to the fact that banter tends to be comprised almost entirely of "in-jokes," you need to have been following the characters for a long time in order to fully grasp most of the jokes. None of these jokes come completely out of left-field. They are just comedic re-framing of things that you already know about the characters being used in the context of the characters just talking to one another.

Banter often does tend to work best in action-themed stories as the team dynamics built up tend to be closer as everyone watches one another's backs, and it naturally makes sense that they would need to keep such a light-hearted tone on occasion in order to better deal with the otherwise serious stuff always happening around them. As such, it becomes a way to show that combat-comradere building up in your characters.

Another form of comedy that tends to work rather well in written form is quipping.

Spider Man is famous for quipping, and you can see examples of it in most of the Spider Man adaptations. Quipping is sort of like banter in monologue, and almost always of the "ribbing" or "mild insult" variety. It is often delivered by a protagonist toward the villains as a sort of mild insult by more free-spirited or comedically-themed characters.


Quipping and banter are 2 forms of comedy that tend to do very well in written format. Something that tends to really not do so well is physical comedy. That being, the loony-toons style of getting hit with hammers or falling flat on your face. Those do not translate well at all to written format, and instead just come across as painful. If it happens to a protagonist, they just feel sad. If it happens to a villain, they just feel like they are reading a combat scene. It does not come across as funny at all.

Bizaro comedy, such as the grand ultimate weapon that will save the universe turning out to be a toy squeaky hammer, also does not tend to do well in general. However, there are some especially skilled authors, such as the author of "The Fruit of Evolution," who actually can make bizaro comedy work. In order to make bizaro comedy work, the entire tone of your novel needs or really be built around it. It cannot be randomly inserted as a one-off gag.

Honestly, works that actually have the "comedy" tag really are better off going the bizaro route. However, that route takes full commitment and a fairly good understanding of how that form of comedy works.


Situational comedy, comedy made from the protagonist being thrust into socially embarrassing situations of various sorts, are a form of comedy that generally tends to not really be funny in written format. However, just because it's not funny, it doesn't mean it's going to completely fall flat either. Quite often, the reader will still feel sympathetically embarrassed for the character, and that emotional swing will still allow them to be drawn into the scene. Situational comedy is a fairly safe middle-ground for a writer to go with.


Those are just my thoughts on the issue based on the things I have seen out there. If you are really pushing to make your audience laugh and have a light-hearted comedic tone, it wouldn't hurt to actually do some serious research into understanding comedy and what makes the jokes land. Comedy is not just a "get-out-of-jail-free" card that allows you to fudge the lines on your world-building and need to pay attention to physics in your novel. It actually is a fairly high-intensity skill in it's own right that requires a lot of practice and dedication to get right.

 

[MissPaige36]

These are just some thoughts I have had about comedy in writing. I often notice that novels that have the "comedy" tag tend to really not do well, and I think a lot of this is because a lot of authors really don't understand what it takes for a work of writing to be funny.


Comedy is a rather deceptively complex subject. It is difficult to quantify or make rules for what makes people laugh. It is something that is simply understood by most people, even though only a few who have closely studied the subject actually understand the complex intellectual workings behind it.

There is one thing, however, that is very well understood about comedy. Timing is very important. The delivery very often needs to be presented with the words spaced at just the right speed and the tone exactly right in order for the joke to land. For this reason, comedy is actually very poorly suited for a written format, and things that would cause rolling-on-the-floor laughter in an audio-visual format will just fall flat when you see it in writing.

For this reason, almost all webnovels actually labeled with the "comedy" tag tend to actually do poorly as attempts a forcing in jokes fail more often than not. Meanwhile, it is often long-run action-adventure series that make people laugh the most. The reason for this is simple. There IS exactly 1 form of comedy that does as good if not better in the written format, and that is witty banter.

What is banter? Here's an example from a chapter of "He who Fights with Monsters" that I just read today. (I decided to use this as an example because it was one of the first ones I found where I think the jokes really might land even if you don't know the characters, and what running gags are referenced here can still be roughly understood even if you don't understand the call-back.)


Banter is simply the characters talking with one another in a light-hearted tone, and ribbing at each other with a slew of "in-jokes." Due to the fact that banter tends to be comprised almost entirely of "in-jokes," you need to have been following the characters for a long time in order to fully grasp most of the jokes. None of these jokes come completely out of left-field. They are just comedic re-framing of things that you already know about the characters being used in the context of the characters just talking to one another.

Banter often does tend to work best in action-themed stories as the team dynamics built up tend to be closer as everyone watches one another's backs, and it naturally makes sense that they would need to keep such a light-hearted tone on occasion in order to better deal with the otherwise serious stuff always happening around them. As such, it becomes a way to show that combat-comradere building up in your characters.

Another form of comedy that tends to work rather well in written form is quipping.

Spider Man is famous for quipping, and you can see examples of it in most of the Spider Man adaptations. Quipping is sort of like banter in monologue, and almost always of the "ribbing" or "mild insult" variety. It is often delivered by a protagonist toward the villains as a sort of mild insult by more free-spirited or comedically-themed characters.


Quipping and banter are 2 forms of comedy that tend to do very well in written format. Something that tends to really not do so well is physical comedy. That being, the loony-toons style of getting hit with hammers or falling flat on your face. Those do not translate well at all to written format, and instead just come across as painful. If it happens to a protagonist, they just feel sad. If it happens to a villain, they just feel like they are reading a combat scene. It does not come across as funny at all.

Bizaro comedy, such as the grand ultimate weapon that will save the universe turning out to be a toy squeaky hammer, also does not tend to do well in general. However, there are some especially skilled authors, such as the author of "The Fruit of Evolution," who actually can make bizaro comedy work. In order to make bizaro comedy work, the entire tone of your novel needs or really be built around it. It cannot be randomly inserted as a one-off gag.

Honestly, works that actually have the "comedy" tag actually are better off going the bizaro route. However, that route takes full commitment and a fairly good understanding of how that form of comedy works.


Situational comedy, comedy made from the protagonist being thrust into socially embarrassing situations of various sorts, are a form of comedy that generally tends to not really be funny in written format. However, just because it's not funny, it doesn't mean it's going to completely fall flat either. Quite often, the reader will still feel sympathetically embarrassed for the character, and that emotional swing will still allow them to be drawn into the scene. Situational comedy is a fairly safe middle-ground for a writer to go with.


Those are just my thoughts on the issue based on the things I have seen out there. If you are really pushing to make your audience laugh and have a light-hearted comedic tone, it wouldn't hurt to actually do some serious research into understanding comedy and what makes the jokes land. Comedy is not just a "get-out-of-jail-free" card that allows you to fudge the lines on your world-building and need to pay attention to physics in your novel. It actually is a fairly high-intensity skill in it's own right that requires a lot of practice and dedication to get right.

You are completely right! But don’t forget that SH is a site for anyone who wants to start writing. Of course there will be stories with the wrong tag. You bet I had to delete like half of my tags that I realized where irrelevant. But just as there are senior writers, exist junior writers as well. Let’s give love to them! I raise a thumbs up for your comment though.

 

[Jemini]

You are completely right! But don’t forget that SH is a site for anyone who wants to start writing. Of course there will be stories with the wrong tag. You bet I had to delete like half of my tags that I realized where irrelevant. But just as there are senior writers, exist junior writers as well. Let’s give love to them! I raise a thumbs up for your comment though.

I'm not saying people aren't allowed to use the "comedy" tag because it tends to be bad.

This is all about giving people tips and food for thought. If they want to write comedy, that's fine. If they want to be good at it though, they should be aware that it's a much harder game than most people give it credit for, and the constraints are even tighter with writing because the written format does not lend itself well to most forms of comedy.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

These are just some thoughts I have had about comedy in writing. I often notice that novels that have the "comedy" tag tend to really not do well, and I think a lot of this is because a lot of authors really don't understand what it takes for a work of writing to be funny.


Comedy is a rather deceptively complex subject. It is difficult to quantify or make rules for what makes people laugh. It is something that is simply understood by most people, even though only a few who have closely studied the subject actually understand the complex intellectual workings behind it.

There is one thing, however, that is very well understood about comedy. Timing is very important. The delivery very often needs to be presented with the words spaced at just the right speed and the tone exactly right in order for the joke to land. For this reason, comedy is actually very poorly suited for a written format, and things that would cause rolling-on-the-floor laughter in an audio-visual format will just fall flat when you see it in writing.

For this reason, almost all webnovels actually labeled with the "comedy" tag tend to actually do poorly as attempts a forcing in jokes fail more often than not. Meanwhile, it is often long-run action-adventure series that make people laugh the most. The reason for this is simple. There IS exactly 1 form of comedy that does as good if not better in the written format, and that is witty banter.

What is banter? Here's an example from a chapter of "He who Fights with Monsters" that I just read today. (I decided to use this as an example because it was one of the first ones I found where I think the jokes really might land even if you don't know the characters, and what running gags are referenced here can still be roughly understood even if you don't understand the call-back.)

Spoiler: HwFwM banter

“Alright, get your heads into a fight space,” Humphrey ordered. “We’ve been told the constructs have been congregating mostly in the central areas but keep an eye out for surprises. Jason, you’re our stealth scout so you move out ahead. Sophie, you’re our speed scout so you take the rear and flanks. Neil, you’re our healer so try not to get stabbed.”

“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Neil said as Sophie moved off in a blur and Jason vanished into the shadows.

“Belinda, keep an eye on Neil,” Humphrey said. “Make sure he doesn’t get stabbed.”

“I’m not going to get stabbed!”

“Don’t worry, Neil,” Belinda told him. “Third priority. Number two is keeping the snacks safe.”

“Very funny,” Neil said. “Also, doesn’t Jason have the snacks?”

“Scout is a dangerous position,” Belinda explained. “I’ve got the backup snacks.”

“I’m not feeling deeply valued,” Neil said.

“Fine,” Belinda complained. “I’ll prioritise you over the backup snacks. What did you even put in that box anyway, Jason?”

“Cake sandwiches,” Jason answered through team chat.

“As team leader,” Humphrey said, “I'm going to have to overrule you, Belinda. If it's cake sandwiches, you absolutely must prioritise them over stopping Neil from getting stabbed. He has to take some responsibility for himself.”

“You all realise that a lot of teams are looking for a good healer, right?” Neil asked. “Why don't you ever talk about Clive getting stabbed?”

“Who would stab Clive?” Sophie asked through team chat. “Everyone loves Clive.”

“Yeah.”

“Agreed.”

“Definitely.”

“Except his wife.”

“Dammit, Jason!”

Banter is simply the characters talking with one another in a light-hearted tone, and ribbing at each other with a slew of "in-jokes." Due to the fact that banter tends to be comprised almost entirely of "in-jokes," you need to have been following the characters for a long time in order to fully grasp most of the jokes. None of these jokes come completely out of left-field. They are just comedic re-framing of things that you already know about the characters being used in the context of the characters just talking to one another.

Banter often does tend to work best in action-themed stories as the team dynamics built up tend to be closer as everyone watches one another's backs, and it naturally makes sense that they would need to keep such a light-hearted tone on occasion in order to better deal with the otherwise serious stuff always happening around them. As such, it becomes a way to show that combat-comradere building up in your characters.

Another form of comedy that tends to work rather well in written form is quipping.

Spider Man is famous for quipping, and you can see examples of it in most of the Spider Man adaptations. Quipping is sort of like banter in monologue, and almost always of the "ribbing" or "mild insult" variety. It is often delivered by a protagonist toward the villains as a sort of mild insult by more free-spirited or comedically-themed characters.


Quipping and banter are 2 forms of comedy that tend to do very well in written format. Something that tends to really not do so well is physical comedy. That being, the loony-toons style of getting hit with hammers or falling flat on your face. Those do not translate well at all to written format, and instead just come across as painful. If it happens to a protagonist, they just feel sad. If it happens to a villain, they just feel like they are reading a combat scene. It does not come across as funny at all.

Bizaro comedy, such as the grand ultimate weapon that will save the universe turning out to be a toy squeaky hammer, also does not tend to do well in general. However, there are some especially skilled authors, such as the author of "The Fruit of Evolution," who actually can make bizaro comedy work. In order to make bizaro comedy work, the entire tone of your novel needs or really be built around it. It cannot be randomly inserted as a one-off gag.

Honestly, works that actually have the "comedy" tag really are better off going the bizaro route. However, that route takes full commitment and a fairly good understanding of how that form of comedy works.


Situational comedy, comedy made from the protagonist being thrust into socially embarrassing situations of various sorts, are a form of comedy that generally tends to not really be funny in written format. However, just because it's not funny, it doesn't mean it's going to completely fall flat either. Quite often, the reader will still feel sympathetically embarrassed for the character, and that emotional swing will still allow them to be drawn into the scene. Situational comedy is a fairly safe middle-ground for a writer to go with.


Those are just my thoughts on the issue based on the things I have seen out there. If you are really pushing to make your audience laugh and have a light-hearted comedic tone, it wouldn't hurt to actually do some serious research into understanding comedy and what makes the jokes land. Comedy is not just a "get-out-of-jail-free" card that allows you to fudge the lines on your world-building and need to pay attention to physics in your novel. It actually is a fairly high-intensity skill in it's own right that requires a lot of practice and dedication to get right.

My friend, it's really not that complicated

 

[Paul_Tromba]

I have the comedic undertone tag on all my novels. Not because they are comedically centered but have some fairly comedic moments. Now, some people may not find those comedic moments funny but I have had some serious moments in my stories that people found comedic for some reason. knowing that my story wasn't meant to be intended as funny to begin with is the only reason I don't have the comedy tag. However, it's really sad to see someone with a story that is tagged as comedic and was intended as such that ended up being very boring.

 

[K5Rakitan]

“I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much . . . because it's the only thing that'll make it stop hurting.”​

― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

 

[Discount_Blade]

These are just some thoughts I have had about comedy in writing. I often notice that novels that have the "comedy" tag tend to really not do well, and I think a lot of this is because a lot of authors really don't understand what it takes for a work of writing to be funny.


Comedy is a rather deceptively complex subject. It is difficult to quantify or make rules for what makes people laugh. It is something that is simply understood by most people, even though only a few who have closely studied the subject actually understand the complex intellectual workings behind it.

There is one thing, however, that is very well understood about comedy. Timing is very important. The delivery very often needs to be presented with the words spaced at just the right speed and the tone exactly right in order for the joke to land. For this reason, comedy is actually very poorly suited for a written format, and things that would cause rolling-on-the-floor laughter in an audio-visual format will just fall flat when you see it in writing.

For this reason, almost all webnovels actually labeled with the "comedy" tag tend to actually do poorly as attempts a forcing in jokes fail more often than not. Meanwhile, it is often long-run action-adventure series that make people laugh the most. The reason for this is simple. There IS exactly 1 form of comedy that does as good if not better in the written format, and that is witty banter.

What is banter? Here's an example from a chapter of "He who Fights with Monsters" that I just read today. (I decided to use this as an example because it was one of the first ones I found where I think the jokes really might land even if you don't know the characters, and what running gags are referenced here can still be roughly understood even if you don't understand the call-back.)

Spoiler: HwFwM banter

“Alright, get your heads into a fight space,” Humphrey ordered. “We’ve been told the constructs have been congregating mostly in the central areas but keep an eye out for surprises. Jason, you’re our stealth scout so you move out ahead. Sophie, you’re our speed scout so you take the rear and flanks. Neil, you’re our healer so try not to get stabbed.”

“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Neil said as Sophie moved off in a blur and Jason vanished into the shadows.

“Belinda, keep an eye on Neil,” Humphrey said. “Make sure he doesn’t get stabbed.”

“I’m not going to get stabbed!”

“Don’t worry, Neil,” Belinda told him. “Third priority. Number two is keeping the snacks safe.”

“Very funny,” Neil said. “Also, doesn’t Jason have the snacks?”

“Scout is a dangerous position,” Belinda explained. “I’ve got the backup snacks.”

“I’m not feeling deeply valued,” Neil said.

“Fine,” Belinda complained. “I’ll prioritise you over the backup snacks. What did you even put in that box anyway, Jason?”

“Cake sandwiches,” Jason answered through team chat.

“As team leader,” Humphrey said, “I'm going to have to overrule you, Belinda. If it's cake sandwiches, you absolutely must prioritise them over stopping Neil from getting stabbed. He has to take some responsibility for himself.”

“You all realise that a lot of teams are looking for a good healer, right?” Neil asked. “Why don't you ever talk about Clive getting stabbed?”

“Who would stab Clive?” Sophie asked through team chat. “Everyone loves Clive.”

“Yeah.”

“Agreed.”

“Definitely.”

“Except his wife.”

“Dammit, Jason!”

Banter is simply the characters talking with one another in a light-hearted tone, and ribbing at each other with a slew of "in-jokes." Due to the fact that banter tends to be comprised almost entirely of "in-jokes," you need to have been following the characters for a long time in order to fully grasp most of the jokes. None of these jokes come completely out of left-field. They are just comedic re-framing of things that you already know about the characters being used in the context of the characters just talking to one another.

Banter often does tend to work best in action-themed stories as the team dynamics built up tend to be closer as everyone watches one another's backs, and it naturally makes sense that they would need to keep such a light-hearted tone on occasion in order to better deal with the otherwise serious stuff always happening around them. As such, it becomes a way to show that combat-comradere building up in your characters.

Another form of comedy that tends to work rather well in written form is quipping.

Spider Man is famous for quipping, and you can see examples of it in most of the Spider Man adaptations. Quipping is sort of like banter in monologue, and almost always of the "ribbing" or "mild insult" variety. It is often delivered by a protagonist toward the villains as a sort of mild insult by more free-spirited or comedically-themed characters.


Quipping and banter are 2 forms of comedy that tend to do very well in written format. Something that tends to really not do so well is physical comedy. That being, the loony-toons style of getting hit with hammers or falling flat on your face. Those do not translate well at all to written format, and instead just come across as painful. If it happens to a protagonist, they just feel sad. If it happens to a villain, they just feel like they are reading a combat scene. It does not come across as funny at all.

Bizaro comedy, such as the grand ultimate weapon that will save the universe turning out to be a toy squeaky hammer, also does not tend to do well in general. However, there are some especially skilled authors, such as the author of "The Fruit of Evolution," who actually can make bizaro comedy work. In order to make bizaro comedy work, the entire tone of your novel needs or really be built around it. It cannot be randomly inserted as a one-off gag.

Honestly, works that actually have the "comedy" tag really are better off going the bizaro route. However, that route takes full commitment and a fairly good understanding of how that form of comedy works.


Situational comedy, comedy made from the protagonist being thrust into socially embarrassing situations of various sorts, are a form of comedy that generally tends to not really be funny in written format. However, just because it's not funny, it doesn't mean it's going to completely fall flat either. Quite often, the reader will still feel sympathetically embarrassed for the character, and that emotional swing will still allow them to be drawn into the scene. Situational comedy is a fairly safe middle-ground for a writer to go with.


Those are just my thoughts on the issue based on the things I have seen out there. If you are really pushing to make your audience laugh and have a light-hearted comedic tone, it wouldn't hurt to actually do some serious research into understanding comedy and what makes the jokes land. Comedy is not just a "get-out-of-jail-free" card that allows you to fudge the lines on your world-building and need to pay attention to physics in your novel. It actually is a fairly high-intensity skill in it's own right that requires a lot of practice and dedication to get right.

I'm kinda disappointed that of all the novels you might have used as an example, you chose ANYTHING from He Who Fights With Monsters. He has to be the only writer I've ever known that gets worse with time. That, and the fact that he puts enough politics into his novel, later on, to have it almost read like a political pamphlet or one of those "cautionary propaganda tales".


Also, the only kind of comedy I've ever been good at and felt comfortable using was sarcastic humor. I've been told I'm good with dark humor but I never purposely intend to use it, it just naturally happens. I suppose that's the best way for dark humor to happen, though I can't imagine what that says about me as a person.

 

[Jemini]

I'm kinda disappointed that of all the novels you might have used as an example, you chose ANYTHING from He Who Fights With Monsters. He has to be the only writer I've ever known that gets worse with time. That, and the fact that he puts enough politics into his novel, later on, to have it almost read like a political pamphlet or one of those "cautionary propaganda tales".


Also, the only kind of comedy I've ever been good at and felt comfortable using was sarcastic humor. I've been told I'm good with dark humor but I never purposely intend to use it, it just naturally happens. I suppose that's the best way for dark humor to happen, though I can't imagine what that says about me as a person.

You seem to have a pretty heavy hang-up against that particular series. It's actually alright if you can drop the whole deal about the politics in it. Better than all-right, actually. There's some real good world-building and through-arcs in the story, and it is very well written from a technical perspective.

As for said politics, the author seems to have been distancing himself more and more from the political opinions of his MC, and he has also been taking more and more of an even hand with said politics. Seems to me like the author has probably learned and moderated his political outlooks since starting the series, likely due to reader feed-back on the various issues and becoming more informed as a result.

(would be character breaking at this point to suddenly have the MC's politics change though, thus why he's instead gone with just going far lighter on the politics.)

 

[Snusmumriken]

There is one thing, however, that is very well understood about comedy. Timing is very important. The delivery very often needs to be presented with the words spaced at just the right speed and the tone exactly right in order for the joke to land. For this reason, comedy is actually very poorly suited for a written format, and things that would cause rolling-on-the-floor laughter in an audio-visual format will just fall flat when you see it in writing.

I would disagree with you here. Written medium is perfectly capable of transmitting comedy and had done so quite well for hundreds of years. It just does so in a completely different manner than a verbal joke would use. This is why the jokes would fall flat if you would directly transcribe them without regard to how both media dictate pacing and impact, just as wordplay in one language would barely cause a raised eyebrow in another.

Why you dont see it often in web novel format isn't related to medium but instead to the average skill of the author. I have read plenty of books and even more jokes and short stories that I had to take breaks while reading because I was laughing so hard. But that was because the author knew what they were doing and took their time to polish the delivery for maximum effect. Rather than grabbing some random joke from a popular movie just to pad the daily 1k word count.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

“I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much . . . because it's the only thing that'll make it stop hurting.”​

― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

That man has obviously only ever hung around with the clinically depressed.

 

[Jemini]

I would disagree with you here. Written medium is perfectly capable of transmitting comedy and had done so quite well for hundreds of years. It just does so in a completely different manner than a verbal joke would use. This is why the jokes would fall flat if you would directly transcribe them without regard to how both media dictate pacing and impact, just as wordplay in one language would barely cause a raised eyebrow in another.

Why you dont see it often in web novel format isn't related to medium but instead to the average skill of the author. I have read plenty of books and even more jokes and short stories that I had to take breaks while reading because I was laughing so hard. But that was because the author knew what they were doing and took their time to polish the delivery for maximum effect. Rather than grabbing some random joke from a popular movie just to pad the daily 1k word count.

I've been roaring in laughter from webnovels as well. It is almost always from banter, quipping, or some particularly good bizaro or situational comedy.

What particular form of comedy were you roaring in laughter over? Considering your comment, it had better be stand-up or physical comedy. Otherwise, your comment is irrelevant and suggests you didn't really read what I had said and likely just stopped after that one paragraph you quoted.

 

[SailusGebel]

That man has obviously only ever hung around with the clinically depressed.

If I'm not mistaken, he was a philosopher. This means that everything he says doesn't apply to normal human beings.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

If I'm not mistaken, he was a philosopher. This means that everything he says doesn't apply to normal human beings.

So, he was also clinically depressed then makes sense.

 

[Snusmumriken]

I've been roaring in laughter from webnovels as well. It is almost always from banter, quipping, or some particularly good bizaro or situational comedy.

What particular form of comedy were you roaring in laughter over? Considering your comment, it had better be stand-up or physical comedy. Otherwise, your comment is irrelevant and suggests you didn't really read what I had said and likely just stopped after that one paragraph you quoted.

There have been many over the years, including neither of the banter, quipping, stand-up, and physical. One author simply described a situation where a bureaucracy hamfistedly tried to solve an issue only to make it worse. The reason why I was laughing was due to how well he had managed to describe the situation as well as how polarizing his descriptions were and how colourful and fluid his writing was. There was no dialogue nor monologue. The writer simply managed to make the story to be descriptive where it mattered and to only drop vague hints elsewhere, forcing your mind to connect the dots themselves.

Could it have been a standup comedy? If you just read it? maybe but it wouldn't be as impactful in my opinion because it would add an unnecessary bridge that would just muddy it somewhat, Perhaps if the author said it himself then maybe. But even then It didn't rely on common standup techniques to enforce pacing, it relied on the reader to pace it mentally based on the complexity and brevity of certain parts of the writing.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

i gotta be honest mate, my eyes glazed over in the first two or so paragraphs. But i was tired as fuck then so i took another shot at it. Now, that's not to say i don't still agree with my first comment. I just feel that as a guy who mainly writes comedy type of stuff, i am a bit obligated to give a more serious reply.

TLDR, tho? All this big wall of text of yours is telling me is you haven't read many good comedic stories.

For example, physical comedy that you mentioned? ONe of the easiest forms of comedy to put into the written form. if you think its not, maybe thats just cuz you yourself arent able to do it. Im not insulting you here, don't misunderstand, but maybe comedy just isn't a subject you're used to writing. Its like me saying my car is hard to fix, then i take it to a mechanic and they get it working again in under ten minutes, saying, "yeah it wasn't anything major."

Like, its not hard. Im just no mechanic myself, know what i mean? If you don't write comedy much yourself, you are going to think its harder than it actually is. And sure, there is some nuance to it. But its not like you need months or years of study to learn.

Comedy isn't hard to put into written form. If it seems like it is, i say its just that a lot of people are tagging their works as comedy just don't know how to write comedy very well. That's the fault of the author, not comedy supposedly being hard to translate into written form

It is difficult to quantify or make rules for what makes people laugh. It is something that is simply understood by most people, even though only a few who have closely studied the subject actually understand the complex intellectual workings behind it.

yeah, not everyone is going to have the same sense of humor.

There is one thing, however, that is very well understood about comedy. Timing is very important. The delivery very often needs to be presented with the words spaced at just the right speed and the tone exactly right in order for the joke to land. For this reason, comedy is actually very poorly suited for a written format, and things that would cause rolling-on-the-floor laughter in an audio-visual format will just fall flat when you see it in writing.

imma be honest with you chief, that's utter nonsense. Its true that comedy shines best in things like, say, stand-up. But poorly suited to written format? ....No. Thats kinda dumb. If anything, comedy has even much more freedom in the written format. Anyone who has read a story with well-written comedy knows that comedy works VERY WELL in the written form. Off the top of my head, A Will Eternal has some top tier comedy

For this reason, almost all webnovels actually labeled with the "comedy" tag tend to actually do poorly as attempts a forcing in jokes fail more often than not. Meanwhile, it is often long-run action-adventure series that make people laugh the most. The reason for this is simple. There IS exactly 1 form of comedy that does as good if not better in the written format, and that is witty banter.

yeah i kinda agree with that, but also not because a lot of stories with good comedy have the "situational" comedy i heard you talking off and that can be very hilarious. The events happening in the story can be funny, even if there's no witty banter or jokes being told at all. Once you get good enough at writing, many forms of comedy can be done in the written format very well.

The fact many webnovels can be seen as forcing a joke and therefore fail at being funny does not mean that comedy is poorly suited to the written format.

Its just means the author sucks at writing comedy.

Quipping and banter are 2 forms of comedy that tend to do very well in written format. Something that tends to really not do so well is physical comedy. That being, the loony-toons style of getting hit with hammers or falling flat on your face. Those do not translate well at all to written format, and instead just come across as painful. If it happens to a protagonist, they just feel sad. If it happens to a villain, they just feel like they are reading a combat scene. It does not come across as funny at all.

Nah, again that just means the writer isn't doing it right. Physical comedy is one of the EASIEST forms of comedy to translate to the written form. Are you expecting it to be written from first person perspective, with a more serious, realistic setting and way of writing? Then yeah, its going to be hard. Thats just going to be the protagonist getting hurt, then, or hurting others.

But do it like Home Alone did, and its going to be easy. Its comedy. Exaggerate things.

Bizaro comedy, such as the grand ultimate weapon that will save the universe turning out to be a toy squeaky hammer, also does not tend to do well in general. However, there are some especially skilled authors, such as the author of "The Fruit of Evolution," who actually can make bizaro comedy work. In order to make bizaro comedy work, the entire tone of your novel needs or really be built around it. It cannot be randomly inserted as a one-off gag.

Honestly, works that actually have the "comedy" tag really are better off going the bizaro route. However, that route takes full commitment and a fairly good understanding of how that form of comedy works.

all this is true, nothing to nitpick here

Situational comedy, comedy made from the protagonist being thrust into socially embarrassing situations of various sorts, are a form of comedy that generally tends to not really be funny in written format. However, just because it's not funny, it doesn't mean it's going to completely fall flat either. Quite often, the reader will still feel sympathetically embarrassed for the character, and that emotional swing will still allow them to be drawn into the scene. Situational comedy is a fairly safe middle-ground for a writer to go with.

This tends to fail when its the protagonist being put in the situation, but works better when its others. Its especially hard to make work if its from the first person perspective. I handle these situations by just making the protagonist take it in stride.

For example, do you want to be the one who got caught masturbating and be all embarrassed trying to hide the fact when its already too late....or do you want to be the one who CONTINUES to masturbate, lock eyes with the intruder, and make them be the ones to look away first?

Now i dunno about you, but i'd rather be shameless. Make the other person feel awkward.

 

[Jemini]

There have been many over the years, including neither of the banter, quipping, stand-up, and physical. One author simply described a situation where a bureaucracy hamfistedly tried to solve an issue only to make it worse. The reason why I was laughing was due to how well he had managed to describe the situation as well as how polarizing his descriptions were and how colourful and fluid his writing was. There was no dialogue nor monologue. The writer simply managed to make the story to be descriptive where it mattered and to only drop vague hints elsewhere, forcing your mind to connect the dots themselves.

Could it have been a standup comedy? If you just read it? maybe but it wouldn't be as impactful in my opinion because it would add an unnecessary bridge that would just muddy it somewhat, Perhaps if the author said it himself then maybe. But even then It didn't rely on common standup techniques to enforce pacing, it relied on the reader to pace it mentally based on the complexity and brevity of certain parts of the writing.

Ok. So, you are saying you would not qualify this as stand-up. Therefore, you are currently invalidating the criticism you threw at me earlier.

Comedic timing is an element most crucial in stand-up and physical comedy. You were talking all about how that timing can be supplemented with skilled writing. But, if it's not stand-up or physical comedy, then why are you ragging on my comment about timing?

I don't mind if you don't read my OP in full, and I also don't mind if you criticize me. If you do one or the other, then I will completely understand and go on discussing things with you civilly. However, if you combine the two then I'm just going to brush you off and ignore you. Almost everything you have said in criticism is already addressed properly in the OP.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Beware: you're entering comedy-free zone. There's no laughs in this thread. Everyone here are the unfunniest bastards in history. These fucks would make a stand-up look like a business conference.

 

[greyblob]

You're either funny or you're not. It's an innate ability, and no matter how hard you study or disect, it cannot be reproduced. Not to mention it's completely subjective.

 

[Jemini]

i gotta be honest mate, my eyes glazed over in the first two or so paragraphs. But i was tired as fuck then so i took another shot at it. Now, that's not to say i don't still agree with my first comment. I just feel that as a guy who mainly writes comedy type of stuff, i am a bit obligated to give a more serious reply.

Ok, so, I've read your stuff. Hate to break it to you, but it's really not funny. And yes, physical comedy is easy to write. It's just not funny. That's the problem. You can put physical comedy down on paper, but not a single person who reads it is going to laugh because someone got hit really hard over the head with a comically oversized club. (Yes, I just referenced a scene in one of your stories.) This is an example of what I was talking about, low-level comedic writing from people who don't really understand what it takes to have written-form comedy.

Also, you did catch the part where I mentioned Fruit of Evolution, right? I provided several examples of written comedies that hit and stuck the landing really well. It's not hard. It just seems like most of the people who add the "comedy" tag to their work, especially here on ScribbleHub, really don't know what works and what doesn't

You're either funny or you're not. It's an innate ability, and no matter how hard you study or disect, it cannot be reproduced. Not to mention it's completely subjective.

I would have to disagree there. It actually is possible to study comedy. It's just that it's on a more intuitive level. Kind of like writing in general in that sense.

Also, anyone who is paid the REALLY big bucks in the comedy world actually understands the science behind it and they have really disected the art of comedy. You only say it can't be done because you don't know how to do it.

That said, neither do I really. I just have something of a surface-level understanding of it. I have come just far enough in the comedy world to know that there actually is a science behind it. It's a science I can hardly make heads or tails of, but I do know it's there and there are people who are experts in the field. And, said experts are among the best comedians in the world.

 

[Snusmumriken]

Ok. So, you are saying you would not qualify this as stand-up. Therefore, you are currently invalidating the criticism you threw at me earlier.

Dude, really? Criticizing? All I said was that I disagreed with you, and stated my opinion.

Comedic timing is an element most crucial in stand-up and physical comedy. You were talking all about how that timing can be supplemented with skilled writing. But, if it's not stand-up or physical comedy, then why are you ragging on my comment about timing?

I don't mind if you don't read my OP in full, and I also don't mind if you criticize me. If you do one or the other, then I will completely understand and go on discussing things with you civilly. However, if you combine the two then I'm just going to brush you off and ignore you. Almost everything you have said in criticism is already addressed properly in the OP.

You accuse me of not reading your post yet gloss over mine:

to how both media dictate pacing and impact

But even then It didn't rely on common standup techniques to enforce pacing, it relied on the reader to pace it mentally based on the complexity and brevity of certain parts of the writing.

where I was specifically talking about that writing medium does use timing but the timing is achieved differently than spoken comedy and therefore trying to transcribe one directly into the other would fall flat. Similarly, how you dont try to jam your story full of visual details that are so common in movies.

Once again, I was civil in both of my comments. I have not attacked you at all, simply stated my disagreement. And then, when you accused me of not reading and being irrelevant, I didn't respond in kind and simply tried to provide a good example for my statement. I have no desire to argue further in such way.