Thou Shalt write with humor.
But how?
By following these two commandments from humor author James N. Watkins:
I. Thou Shalt Know Thy Audience
When you know your audience, you understand how far you can take your humor. You know the envelope.
Once you know the envelope, push it.
Humor that surprises — not horrifies — your audience works best.
Each audience has its nuances.
What makes a group of writers chuckle might fall flat with a group of doctors.
What works in an article written for teenagers may leave a group of seniors scratching their 80-year old heads, or worse, wagging them in disdain.
II. Thou Shalt Not Be Ungracious
Turn on the news and opportunities to poke fun at someone will present itself in short order.
Someone in Somewhere, USA will have proved yet again a Murphy’s Law of the South which states,
Whenever a guy utters, “Hey y’all, watch this!” something stupid is about to happen that will end in a 911 call.
Watkins encourages writers to ridicule behavior, not people.
If you want to make fun of someone, make fun of yourself.
Watkins’ took his inspiration for this great commandment from the Bible. “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:6).
Obey Watkins’ commandments for writing with humor and you’ll entertain your readers, not lose them.
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Check out James Watkins’ website Hope and Humor as well as his book Writing with Banana Peels.
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Which is a good tip especially to the people new to
the blogosphere. Simple but very accurate information Many thanks for sharing this.
Absolutely essential read post!
Thanks! I’m glad you found it helpful. I was privileged to interview James Watkins and I, too, agree his tips are essential for those writing on the blogosphere. Thanks again!