…of all the JONGGRs available to the reading public, I remain in complete awe of those scribblers who write humour… Authoress pals such as Heather Hill
and 
Suzanne Kelman… it demands an ability not only to be funny, but also to have that special skill needed to infuse wit into yer masterpieces… and all on a constant, page after page manner… Suzanne tells me the art is in keeping a rhythm to the writing… of course, many of yeez Lads and Lassies of Blog Land who are part of the writers family will have occasion to have flashes of humour in yer own stuff… generally in the dialogue between/amongst yer characters, more as throwaway lines than lengthy passages of script… and that’s perfectly acceptable… but trying to be funny in a book that’s essentially a hard-boiled crime, or action, or historic, or romantic WURK is likely to be unsuccessful… some do have the knack of knowing where to insert humour in the omnipresent voice in the course of the story-telling… one such gifted proponent of that is my friend, Carol J. Hedges, 
whose magnificent Victorian-era crime series contains unexpected flashes of oblique humour, which heighten greatly the pleasure in reading her narratives… switching to shorter bits of authorship such as blogs and articles, then it’s more appropriate to dress yer WURDS in humour if that’s yer intent… however, merely telling jokes should be left to the television or music-hall comedians… they do it for a living… and they’ll be the first to tell you how difficult it is to be constantly funny… if needs must, disguise yer punchlines in stories themselves, not jokes… there’s a separate skill set in that ‘business of raconteurship’… the finest of these in my lifetime include the late Peter Ustinov and currently, my own special God of Humour, Billy Connolly… keep smiling… see yeez later… LUV YEEZ!…
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It is very difficult. The same goes for acting. Many actors who are very good at comedy can do serious parts incredibly well, but not everybody can be funny…
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..absolutely correct, m’Lady, Olga 🙂
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I have so much respect for writers who can do humor and do it well in their books. I don’t have that gift, even though I do try…rarely. 😉
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to each his own 🙂
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Interestingly, one of the reasons my ex- agent declined the books was the hunmour. Which she didn’t ‘get’.
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…another good reason for that agent being ‘ex-agent’, m’Lady :):
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Writing humor into books is just about as difficult as writing sex scenes. A little bit can go far, and if you go too far, it’s too much!
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…agreed, m’Lady, Pamela:)
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What you say is so true. I love to read a humorous book; there is a great skill in the writing of them, sadly not a skill I have so I don’t do it. What I do object to is a book that is advertised as ‘wildly funny’ and when I read it, I find it’s not – or at least I don’t think it so. I do have a hard time writing a review for such a book.
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…it’s a real skill, indeed, m’Lady, Jeanette 🙂
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I’ve always thought of myself as un-funny, Seumas. Occasionally my characters come up with something that makes me laugh, but it’s always a surprise. You are so write that it can’t be forced.
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..the ’surprise’ is a major part of the humour, m’Lady, Diana:)
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Having recently re-read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I have to say that it takes a real master to be able to write a novel about such serious issues in a humorous way.
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…and what a great writer he was, m’Lady, Connie:)
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He has good advice on writin’, too: “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
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A comedy performance is hard work. My daughter does it for a living and she writes a lot of her own material as well. Some famous performers can hire writers, some either can’t afford it or prefer to write their own material. Either way, it’s still hard work. I love to write humorous stories. They seem to help me and the readers.
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…I recall you telling me about your daughter, and I trust she’s doing well… your own short stories are well-laced with humour, m’Lady, Suzanne:)
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My daughter’s doing really well. Thanks, Seumas. 🙂
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Thank you so much for the honorouble mention, kind Sir! I too thoroughly enjoyed ‘Diamonds & Dust’ by Carol Hedges. Brilliant and as you say, great smatterings of subtle humour throughout. It is a very difficult balance so I particulary applaud Carol. 🙂 On a personal note, you can find your brand of humour doesn’t appeal to everyone and comedy is so subjective, I have people that love mine and people that, like Carol’s ex-agent, just ‘don’t get it.’ I like to affectionately refer to them as the irony bypassed 😉 My husband is a very serious & straight-laced man who has been heard on occasion saying, ‘my wife writes comedy. I don’t get it, but apparently she’s very good.’ 😀
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…I suppose it’s like writing in any JONGGR… people like your ‘Voice’ or don’t…and vive la difference 🙂 another reason to tray ALL reviews with a pinch of alt, ‘coz they are each only one person’s opinion at the end if it all 🙂
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It must be the most difficult thing to get right, comedy in novels. And like socks everyone has a different take on what works. Your blog is a pretty good example of success in the genre Seamus (what? It’s not meant to be funny? Oops)
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…cheeers… indeed, but my blog is in that area of ‘shorter’ pieces, where any attempt at humour’wit makes it or not in minutes,and then it’s finished anyway… trying to be funny for a whole novel is a helluva job. and I’d leave THAT to people better skilled than myself at that..:):)
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