humor and kids' books

i was invited by our local chapter of the SCBWI to talk about writing humor for children. I eagerly accepted the invitation because I've had both editors and librarians tell me lately they'd like to see more funny books for kids. But once I began preparing for the talk, I ran into a little trouble. Can you really teach people how to write humor? I was reminded of E. B. White's famous observation that you can certainly analyze humor but it's sort of like dissecting a frog--you kill the thing in the process.

In retrospect, I realize I could have talked a little about joke-writing for kids--a skill I learned from the inimitable Rick Walton. Start with the answer and work backwards. So in other words if you want to write zoo jokes, you pick an animal (hippopotamus), play around with the word (hippopottymouth) and then come up with an appropriate question: what's big and gray and swears a lot?

But I didn't do that. Instead, the best I could come up with was the idea of modeling--pay attention to WHO makes you laugh (Sceizka? Park? Cabot?) and then ask yourself why. And then try to write in the style of . . .

it seemed like a really lame presentation, actually. I was halfway through and I thought to myself "I'm wasting everyone's time." I hate it when I waste people's time this way.

So you want to write a column: a tip or two

When people find out I write a weekly column, they often ask where I get my ideas from. The short answer is my own experience. But what kind of personal experiences should a humor columnist write about?

I find that people want to read about those moments when I'm grappling with negative emotion--anger, pissiness, frustration, acute embarrassment. And they want to read about the incident that caused it--getting locked outside in my underwear, finding out a kid has a science project due the next day, being on the receiving end of the world's worst haircut. Why do people like to read about this stuff?

Because it's funny. Humor resides in the chasm between the way things should be and the way they really are. This explains why Christmas letters are soooo dreary. Dude! It is just no fun at all to read about kids who get scholarships and husbands who get promoted.

One more thing. Always make yourself the butt of your own jokes. People will accept what you dish out if you're your own favorite target.

Turning Pain! Into Profit!

So I write a column every week for the Deseret News--the same kind of domestic humor column Erma Bombeck wrote (just not as wonderful). Anyway. I've been doing a version of the column for over twenty years now. And yes! Sometimes I don't have anything to say!

That's when I review the week I just had and identify the moment when I was feeling the worst--the angriest, the most embarrassed, the saddest. And THAT'S what I write about. Only I try to make it funny, which is much less difficult than you might think. Humor resides in the gulf between what is and what should be.