[Some preliminary notes about connections between the two media.]
Literature
- Novels - Some commonly mentioned comic novels are -
- "Lucky Jim" by Kingsley Amis
- "Ulysses" by James Joyce (a comedy according to Joyce)
- anything by PG Wodehouse
- "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
- "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams
- "Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Sometimes the characters have all the best lines. Sometimes (as with the Montelbano stories) there's a "clown" character. Sometimes (as with Jane Austen) the narrator is crucial to the effect, using dramatic irony.
Comedy can be used to contrast with another effect - whodunits and tragedies use it.
A comedian can be the main character - in "A horse walks into a bar" by David Grossman (which won the 2017 Man Booker International Prize) the narrator is a stand-up comedian.
- Short stories - Lorrie Moore ("Birds of America", etc) and Katherine Heiny write comic short stories. The story writer (and novelist) A.L. Kennedy has done stand-up.
- Poetry - Wendy Cope, Pam Ayres, Roger McGough, John Hegley, etc
Stand-up comedy
Comedians and writers have some shared interests. For a start they try to engage the audience -
- Asking questions - comedians ask "Any Germans here?" Writers can ask questions too.
- Relatability - comedians mention something that relates to the audience (help-lines; car-parking apps) - observational comedy. Writers can do that as well. What do you do with your spare hand when brushing your teeth or putting petrol in your car?
- Confession/cringe-comedy - comedians engage the audience with sad/embarrassing autobiography - but is it true? It's a ploy novelists use too - how much of "All Fours" by Miranda July is autobiography?
Some standard comedy devices can be used by writers -
- Connect 2 random things - used both by poets and comics when writing material
- Surprise - a common exercise is to take a statement and think of an unlikely continuation. Better still, choose the least obvious of a few interpretations. E.g. given "My wife's a heavy sleeper", one continuation could be "she's no lighter when she's awake"
- Callback - refer back to an earlier detail (the more this sounds like an ad-lib, the better)
- One-liners - you can keep a handy list. "She ... dons a pair of oversized sunglasses that make her look like an insane welder" (Katherine Heiny)
My story collection "By All Means" (ISBN 978-0-9570984-9-7), published by Nine Arches Press, is on sale from 
My poetry pamphlet "Moving Parts" (ISBN 978-1-905939-59-6) is out now, on sale at the 
Over recent years I've increasingly picked up humour as my default tool when writing. It's always been a go to and maybe it's just a natural reaction to the state of the world. But even in my most serious poems I still use the set-up and punch line probably more than any other structure.
ReplyDeleteOne of my sons has done dozens of stand-up comedy slots - mostly open-mic. He did a day-course, which had lots on common with writing workshops. The attendees were interesting too. Maybe there are some courses in Glasgow.
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