humor in writing

[litlebanana.livejournal.com]

Is anyone else trying to write a humorous Nano?

I'm attempting it this year. I've written for school humor magazines before and people seem to (sometimes) think I'm funny irl, but all my attempts in the past to write funny stories have been a big fail. I'm not hoping for a big funny, but rather a snicker or two per page. The subject matter of the novel is somewhat serious, so I think having the first-person narrator add some humor will lighten things up.

I read a lot and it's noticeable when the author is trying to be funny. Sometimes they succeed and other times they fail... and the failures are painful. I think it's really hard to be successful at writing humor.

Does anyone have any personal tips for writing humorous novels? Or am I just making a big mistake?

humor in writing

[litlebanana.livejournal.com]

Is anyone else trying to write a humorous Nano?

I'm attempting it this year. I've written for school humor magazines before and people seem to (sometimes) think I'm funny irl, but all my attempts in the past to write funny stories have been a big fail. I'm not hoping for a big funny, but rather a snicker or two per page. The subject matter of the novel is somewhat serious, so I think having the first-person narrator add some humor will lighten things up.

I read a lot and it's noticeable when the author is trying to be funny. Sometimes they succeed and other times they fail... and the failures are painful. I think it's really hard to be successful at writing humor.

Does anyone have any personal tips for writing humorous novels? Or am I just making a big mistake?

Quote Me This (Warm Ups)

[age.livejournal.com]

Oh hey! Three days in a row! Can I make it four? *shifty eyes*

As always, reply to this post with your answers, and pop by (here) for rules and explanations.

If your entry requires more than 1 reply, please post the whole thing in your own journal and then reply once here with a link.

State clearly any warnings/ratings in the subject line of your reply (or at the very top of the body of your reply) so that people can be forewarned. Consider it a bit of CYA tactics *wry*

----------

( The First Sentence )

( The Non Sequitur )

( The Last Straw )

[Disclaimer: The above quotes belong to their respective speakers writers. We're just having a bit of fun. Not profiting, no suing, please :)]

Quote Me This (Warm Ups)

[age.livejournal.com]

Oh hey! Three days in a row! Can I make it four? *shifty eyes*

As always, reply to this post with your answers, and pop by (here) for rules and explanations.

If your entry requires more than 1 reply, please post the whole thing in your own journal and then reply once here with a link.

State clearly any warnings/ratings in the subject line of your reply (or at the very top of the body of your reply) so that people can be forewarned. Consider it a bit of CYA tactics *wry*

----------

( The First Sentence )

( The Non Sequitur )

( The Last Straw )

[Disclaimer: The above quotes belong to their respective speakers writers. We're just having a bit of fun. Not profiting, no suing, please :)]

(no subject)

[jynxgirl.livejournal.com]

aily Intro Post - October 16th
Hey everyone!

Please feel free to use this post to introduce yourself to the community! Talk about yourself, what you're writing, and how excited you are!

Also, if this is your first time in the community, please take a moment to review the community rules for October here

Need some writing warmups? Find a link with all this year's warm-up exercises HERE!
The Regional Meetup and Friending Thread is HERE!


And remember that you can pimp your Nano LJ's and other websites in the 2009 Pimping Thread!

Chat away!

(no subject)

[jynxgirl.livejournal.com]

aily Intro Post - October 16th
Hey everyone!

Please feel free to use this post to introduce yourself to the community! Talk about yourself, what you're writing, and how excited you are!

Also, if this is your first time in the community, please take a moment to review the community rules for October here

Need some writing warmups? Find a link with all this year's warm-up exercises HERE!
The Regional Meetup and Friending Thread is HERE!


And remember that you can pimp your Nano LJ's and other websites in the 2009 Pimping Thread!

Chat away!

Two Questions

[starre257.livejournal.com]

1. Where can I get a more experienced writer to help me with plot structure, ask the questions that need to be asked to help me fill plot holes, etc.?

2. Is it cheating to have my character quote Shakespeare occasionally? Like, can I include the quotes in the word count? Not just random quotes at the top of the chapter, but like she's actually saying it to other characters?

Thanks!

 

Two Questions

[starre257.livejournal.com]

1. Where can I get a more experienced writer to help me with plot structure, ask the questions that need to be asked to help me fill plot holes, etc.?

2. Is it cheating to have my character quote Shakespeare occasionally? Like, can I include the quotes in the word count? Not just random quotes at the top of the chapter, but like she's actually saying it to other characters?

Thanks!

 

(no subject)

[veedub.livejournal.com]

check out my new rebel icon. woo-hoo!

i have decided to do a new segment of my memoir rather than a fantasy tale. real life has been fairly unbelievable as it is, without adding goblins. i am, however, going to have to refrain from posting everything i write on my LJ, as there are other people involved who might not want their dirty laundry hung out in public. but the reasonably non-scurrilous parts will show up on a regular basis.

eventually i will have two versions of the memoir, one for public consumption, which i'll publish, and one with all the Seekrit Stuph left in, which will only be revealed after i die.

*chuckles evilly while rubbing hands together*

this will be fun.

(no subject)

[veedub.livejournal.com]

check out my new rebel icon. woo-hoo!

i have decided to do a new segment of my memoir rather than a fantasy tale. real life has been fairly unbelievable as it is, without adding goblins. i am, however, going to have to refrain from posting everything i write on my LJ, as there are other people involved who might not want their dirty laundry hung out in public. but the reasonably non-scurrilous parts will show up on a regular basis.

eventually i will have two versions of the memoir, one for public consumption, which i'll publish, and one with all the Seekrit Stuph left in, which will only be revealed after i die.

*chuckles evilly while rubbing hands together*

this will be fun.

Question

[monkeyprincess7.livejournal.com]

This is my second year at Nano, and after my first attempt where I literally went crazy by the end with all my plot holes and weirdness since I never prepared for it, I decided to plan this one out. but now I have a problem.

How many is too many characters? I'm not talking those mini characters who have no names and are just fill-ins, I'm talking those characters who actually have a point in the novel. So far I have five characters who are main, with the main main character taking the lead. However I also have around 7-8 other characters who either end up dead or, well I haven't figured that part out yet. I know there's no limit on characters since it's your story but still where do you draw the line on the number?

Oh and while I'm here I have another one; is it too weird to have a turquoise turtle who only talks to the main characters inner voice?

Question

[monkeyprincess7.livejournal.com]

This is my second year at Nano, and after my first attempt where I literally went crazy by the end with all my plot holes and weirdness since I never prepared for it, I decided to plan this one out. but now I have a problem.

How many is too many characters? I'm not talking those mini characters who have no names and are just fill-ins, I'm talking those characters who actually have a point in the novel. So far I have five characters who are main, with the main main character taking the lead. However I also have around 7-8 other characters who either end up dead or, well I haven't figured that part out yet. I know there's no limit on characters since it's your story but still where do you draw the line on the number?

Oh and while I'm here I have another one; is it too weird to have a turquoise turtle who only talks to the main characters inner voice?

Writing a fanfic

[trenchcoatedson.livejournal.com]

As some of you may (or may not) remember from my other post on here, I decided to write fanfic for NaNoWriMo (which, by the way, thanks for being so awesome on that post!). I actually ended up getting a completely new idea, so I will be starting from scratch, unlike my plan before to take a pre-existing fic and continue to work on it (but not count any of the previous words). However, as November gets closer, I'm starting to have doubts. I have yet to actually WIN NaNoWriMo, and this year I am flat out determined. I've participated for three years, and after three years I think I've finally found what works for me and gets me to write and what doesn't work.

I feel like the pros of writing a fic is that it will require very little research on my part, something that has hindered my writing (NaNoWriMo related or not) in the past. I also know the characters well, and well, I love to write them. I'm attached. I've actually found being attached to my story has HELPED me in the past. I got my most word count writing a story I was dearly in love with and had been working on for nearly 10 years. The other pro is that, comments motivate me to write. And I plan to post this fic as I write it, because I feel that will get me writing more. I've found this to be true for other fics I've written.

Yet, I'm still having my doubts. Last year I had the most success skipping around in my story and not writing in a linear fashion. I can't do that this year- well, I CAN, but it will cause problems since I want to post it as I go along and I want the word count to match up with what is posted. I'm mostly scared, though, I'll get stuck in the plot, lose interest, and not be able to motivate myself to write further. Because even though I've done some planning, I don't have every chapter and every plot point planned out. I've decided to mostly write as I go along and get ideas that way, which I'm not sure if that's a bad idea or not.

I realise these doubts may not be fic related, but general NaNo related. So what I was wondering (after all this ranting) is: who here has written fanfic? Did you win? And did you find it harder or easier than writing your own original fiction?

Apologies if this question has already been asked this year, there are so many posts I have trouble keeping up.

Writing a fanfic

[trenchcoatedson.livejournal.com]

As some of you may (or may not) remember from my other post on here, I decided to write fanfic for NaNoWriMo (which, by the way, thanks for being so awesome on that post!). I actually ended up getting a completely new idea, so I will be starting from scratch, unlike my plan before to take a pre-existing fic and continue to work on it (but not count any of the previous words). However, as November gets closer, I'm starting to have doubts. I have yet to actually WIN NaNoWriMo, and this year I am flat out determined. I've participated for three years, and after three years I think I've finally found what works for me and gets me to write and what doesn't work.

I feel like the pros of writing a fic is that it will require very little research on my part, something that has hindered my writing (NaNoWriMo related or not) in the past. I also know the characters well, and well, I love to write them. I'm attached. I've actually found being attached to my story has HELPED me in the past. I got my most word count writing a story I was dearly in love with and had been working on for nearly 10 years. The other pro is that, comments motivate me to write. And I plan to post this fic as I write it, because I feel that will get me writing more. I've found this to be true for other fics I've written.

Yet, I'm still having my doubts. Last year I had the most success skipping around in my story and not writing in a linear fashion. I can't do that this year- well, I CAN, but it will cause problems since I want to post it as I go along and I want the word count to match up with what is posted. I'm mostly scared, though, I'll get stuck in the plot, lose interest, and not be able to motivate myself to write further. Because even though I've done some planning, I don't have every chapter and every plot point planned out. I've decided to mostly write as I go along and get ideas that way, which I'm not sure if that's a bad idea or not.

I realise these doubts may not be fic related, but general NaNo related. So what I was wondering (after all this ranting) is: who here has written fanfic? Did you win? And did you find it harder or easier than writing your own original fiction?

Apologies if this question has already been asked this year, there are so many posts I have trouble keeping up.