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Did you ever notice how many[br]jokes start with, "Did you ever notice?"

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And what's the deal with, [br]"What's the deal?"

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There's a lot of funny to be found

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by simply noticing the ordinary, [br]everyday things

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you don't ordinarily notice everyday.

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So if you'd like to add a little humor

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to that story, or speech, [br]or screenplay you're writing,

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here are a few tips and tricks[br]for finding the funny.

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All great storytelling, [br]including comedy writing,

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consists of a handful [br]of basic ingredients:

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who,

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what,

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when,

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where,

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why,

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and how.

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Writers have been asking these questions[br]since at least the 1st century BC,

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yet none can be answered [br]with a simple yes or no.

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They demand details,

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and the more specific the details,[br]the funnier the story.

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Let's start with the who,[br]the comedic character.

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Think about the books, TV shows,[br]and movies that make you laugh.

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They're usually filled with funny types,[br]or archetypes.

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The know-it-all,

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the loveable loser,

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the bad boss,

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the neurotic,

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the airhead.

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Incidentally, these are all stock [br]characters found in Commedia Dell'Arte,

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or the artists comedy [br]of late Renaissance Italy,

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and they have yet to get old.

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The Commedia rule for creating comic [br]characters is find the flaw,

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then play it up.

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Or you can try playing with opposites.

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When the smartest guy in the room[br]does the stupidest thing,

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or the doofus outwits the brainiac,

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we tend to laugh because[br]we didn't see that coming.

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Ancient Greek funnyman Aristotle[br]is said to have said,

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"The secret to humor is surprise."

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This surprise, [br]or incongruity theory of humor,

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says we laugh at things [br]that seem out of place

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or run up against our expectations,

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like a frog dating a pig,

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or a lizard selling insurance,

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a baby disco dancing,

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a nun disco dancing,

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a cat disco dancing.

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Actually, a baby, a nun, or a cat[br]doing pretty much anything,

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especially involving disco.

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One fun way to find incongruities[br]is by drawing connections.

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Actually drawing them with a mind map.

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Start small.

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Pick a word,

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I choose pickle.

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Jot it down, then quick as you can,[br]try making connections.

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What do pickles make me think of?

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Who eats pickles?

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What treasured pickle memories[br]do I have from childhood?

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Another great way to generate[br]comedic material

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is to shift from observation[br]to imagination.

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Try going from "what is"[br]to "what if?"

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Like, what if instead of a horse,[br]for example,

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you just had a pair of coconuts?

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Okay, let's think of some other[br]memorable moments in history,

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literature,

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or film.

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Now, what if they featured coconuts?

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Get wild, let it go.

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Even if an idea seems overdone,

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or too obvious,

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or just plain dumb,

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try jotting it down, anyway.

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What's obvious to you[br]may not be to the next person.

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And the opposite of the dumbest idea[br]might just turn out to be the smartest.

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What about all that dumb stuff[br]that happens in real life?

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Have you ever noticed how much comedy[br]revolves around things

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that irritate, frustrate, [br]and humiliate us?

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Will Rodgers said, "Everything's funny[br]as long as it happens to somebody else."

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So if you're having a crummy morning,

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imagine it happening to a character[br]you're writing about,

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and by afternoon, you may at least[br]get a funny story out of it.

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Once you've got your characters[br]and story,

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here are a few quick and easy comedy[br]writing tricks to make them zing.

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The rule of three,

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or zig zig zag.

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Try setting up an expected pattern,[br]zig zig,

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then flip it, zag.

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A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut[br]walk into a bar.

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The punchline rule says put your punch[br]at the end of the line.

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A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut[br]walk into a disco.

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That brings up the rule of K.

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For some reason, words with a k-sound[br]catch our ears

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and are considered comical.

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Coconut,

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disco,

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pickles,

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crickets?

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Okay, so we don't always get the laugh.

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Humor is subjective.

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Comedy is trial and error.

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Writing is rewriting.

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Just keep trying.

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Find the flaws,

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discover the details,

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insert incongruities,

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incorporate k-words,

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and remember the most important rule[br]of writing funny:

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have fun.

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As Charles Dickins said,

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"There is nothing in the world so[br]irresistibly contagious

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as laughter and good humor."

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And disco.