FUNNY

by Deborah Elliott-Upton

“When he is late for dinner and I know he must be either having an affair or lying dead in the street, I always hope he’s dead.” —Judith Viorst

I remember one magazine’s submission guidelines stating they would not accept any story in which the husband or wife was murdered by their spouse. My immediate response was, “Who else would kill them?”

One of my favorite mystery writers is Susan Isaacs. I love the way she incorporates humor into her writing. I think the first book of hers I read was After All These Years and dealt with a woman whose estranged husband was found dead in her home just after their 25th wedding anniversary. Figuring she will be the one police will look at as a “person of interest,” she bolts, eventually finding the murderer herself. Even murder can be amusing in the hands of a master like Ms. Isaacs.

My friend, Beverly, rates Janet Evanovich as her all-time recipient of the best writer award because she’s so funny. “I race through those books and then sit on pins and needles until the next one comes out,” she told me. A few years ago, Beverly said she couldn’t take it any more and sent an e-mail to Ms. Evanovitch containing two words: Write faster.

“One doesn’t have a sense of humor. It has you.” —Larry Gelbart

Writing funny is harder than it sounds. Lots of people are good with quips and one-liners, but working them into the written page isn’t as easy. It’s like trying to decipher sarcasm on the Internet. Sometimes, it doesn’t look as funny in text as it would if heard. Why is that? Are our ears kinder to humorous thoughts than our eyes? Surely inflections in our voice tone help, but wouldn’t an eye catch the smirk tugging the edge of our lips? Why is it so difficult to write that action into a narrative and make it come across as such?

“Wit is the lowest form of humor.” —Alexander Pope.

I’m thinking about Nick and Nora Charles and how their witty banter worked so well. The delightful characters—the retired private detective who married considerably “up” and the ravishing public socialite who married considerably “down”, finding themselves together in the middle of a murder investigation—are one of my favorite mystery couples.

“Humor is something that thrives between man’s aspirations and his limitations. There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because, you see, humor is truth.” —Victor Borge.

“It’s so funny because it’s true.” —Homer Simpson, “The Simpsons”

It’s said truth is stranger than fiction. Sometimes it’s more funny, too. Larry the Cable Guy sums it up, “That there’s funny no matter who you are.”

“Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.” —E. B. White

Writing something that makes people laugh—or even smile occasionally—isn’t easy. It’s just fun.