Blog 13: Knock, knock. Who's there?

A priest, a minister and a rabbit walk into a bar. The bartender asks the rabbit, “What’ll ya have?” The rabbit replies, “Don’t ask me. I’m only here because of the autocorrect!”

The reason for the joke is because April is National Humour Month. Not forgetting of course a few days ago, we celebrated April Fool’s Day. Did anyone get pranked, or perhaps you were the one doing the pranking?

I must admit I have been fooled a few times over the years. When I was 18, my roommate decided to put the clocks forward, so when I woke up for work, I thought I was an hour late. However, she slept like a rock and completely missed the impact of her joke. When I tried to wake her to tell her she would be late too, she just moaned and carried on sleeping!

I recall being told about some televised April Fools' pranks from the past, one in 1957, where the BBC News reported trees that were growing spaghetti in Switzerland. In 1989 a UFO prank got out of hand when the police and armed forces were informed of a possible alien invasion, and the fake aliens were nearly arrested. However, this was after the officer on the scene initially panicked and fled when he saw them and realised his truncheon may not be the right tool for the job.

Though some jokes may not turn out as intended, humour is a wonderful thing to engage in. We have all heard the phrase that laughter is the best medicine and there are some major short-term and long-term benefits to confirm this: taking in the extra oxygen while laughing stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles which sends those endorphins/feel-good messages to your brain; it also eases stress and reduces tension, improving your circulation resulting in your body being more relaxed. So as long as you don’t offend someone so badly that you get punched in the face, then you’re going to feel pretty good afterwards.

I bet you can all think of a time when you were feeling particularly low, and something made you laugh, instantly lifting your mood. I recall giggling with one of my friends in our primary school days while drinking lemonade, and it ended up fizzing out through my nose! You know you have had a good laugh when that happens, or when your cheeks start to ache, or your ribs, because you just can’t stop. Some people have confided in me that they have peed a little! Perhaps this could be taken as a huge compliment to the joker, similar to some countries when you finish eating a meal and you belch. Can you imagine going to watch a comedian and the whole audience … anyway, moving on. I mean, the clean-up crew afterwards wouldn’t be happy!

I have to say I love watching a good comedy and comedian, the sillier the better. And it isn’t just me, the internet is bursting with funny memes on everything imaginable that get shared time and time again. There are lots to make us chuckle on television, but do you get the same rib-tickling action when you’re reading?

Adding a pinch of humour into your writing may be the little gold nugget that you have overlooked. An article in Writer’s Digest had a few tiptop reasons to add it to your writing kit of goodies. For example: -

1. Relatability - as so many of us have a good sense of humour, most people will find it easier to connect to a character who displays this trait.

   
   

2. Likability - people with a sense of humour are more likable, drawing your reader to them.

   
   

3. Emotional depth - it’s a great way of building relationships between your characters.

   
   

4. Engaging - using humour for the above reasons results in a story that has more to offer.

   
   

5. Informative - it's a clever way to relay some backstory or vital information without info-dumping or spelling it out.

   
   

6. Creativity - there's an argument that using wit in your writing can result in you being more productive, getting those creative juices flowing, or perhaps it just puts you in a better mood to get those words onto the page.

If you want to read the full article, the link is: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/7-reasons-writers-serious-novels-use-humor-fiction.

So, what do you reckon? Maybe you should make like Ken Dodd and grab your tickling stick, which we all know was a feather duster! Maybe one of your characters could be clumsy, forgetful, sarcastic or have a cheeky wit. Perhaps a little banter between characters would add a little extra spark to them or the story in general. I actually began writing a short story last year for a writing competition, the prompt was ghosts. Somehow it turned into a comedy and it won third place. So, you never know. Activate those funny bones people and let’s see what you can rattle out.

On a completely separate note, I absolutely have to mention my eldest cat, Tigger, turned 8 on the 1st of April. The joke is on us because he does tend to like peeing around the house from time to time, and it’s not because he’s laughing, and we certainly aren’t! But he’s sweet, so he gets away with it.

Until next time, keep smiling and try not to pee when you laugh.