Die Laughing: The Art Of Writing Humorous Mysteries
Writing is a fun and fulfilling profession, but it requires hard work to get it right. Trying to piece together a quality mystery story takes time, but trying to make it a humorous mystery takes even more time, patience and a certain “knack” for humour writing. Just like with anything else, practice makes perfect. I would advocate reading some of the great humorous mystery writers, like Carl Hiaasen, Joan Hess and Anne George to get you started.
While delivering a hilarious comedic act on a stage or the big screen takes some work, it is a lot easier than writing something funny. As you know, communication is mostly not the words you say. It involves your gestures, expressions and overall mannerisms. So trying to make only the written word funny to the reader takes some serious work. It is all in how you write, to include where you punctuate and how. This means learning those dreadful comma rules. Everyone knows how a comma can completely change the meaning of a sentence, and that slight shift in meaning can be the difference in completely funny and completely not funny.
Do not walk away disappointed at the key to funny writing. It takes more than commas and exclamation points. You also need the write words in the order at the right moment. It boils down to a need for exceptional editing ability, be it your’s or an editor you pay!