For the Fun of It: Humor in Writing

If I started out saying merely “have fun!” anyone could justifiably snap back with “when I’m writing?!” and shoot me a range of thought-emojis ranging from disgust to horror, while accusing me of being clueless or naïve.

So what I’ll say instead is read fun things, and remember humor. It’s out there. And a lot of it is really good, and even (*gasp*!) falls under the category of Literature, capital “L.”

One of my favorite humor essays was written by John Updike, the mid-to-late-twentieth century prolific, Pulitzer Prize-winning short story writer, novelist, essayist, and literary critic who wrote for New Yorker magazine. The man was tortured by packaging.

In a 1981 piece, “Invasion of the Book Envelopes,” Updike describes his exasperation with them:

Small puddles of gray fluff had been appearing for years on office floors and in the vestibules of suburban homes. The book envelopes and their deadly, drifting spores were everywhere… At first, the envelopes had parted with their contents easily. Then their staples seemed to lengthen and to become tenacious, so that only a prolonged struggle pried open the brown pods, with a lavish dissemination of the ominous fluff.

He takes a brief, hilarious, trans-global journey around imagined angst with the envelopes around the world and ends the piece by declaring, “Somewhere near the dotted Mason Dixon line, the last human voice expired, crying, ‘Pull here!’”

A couple of quick googles can turn up countless examples of contemporary humorists like Sloane Crosley, Sarah Vowell, or the dark humorist Augusten Burroughs, and literary titans who employed humor in their work, from Shakespeare to Mark Twain to Jane Austen. An entire piece might be satirical, or various uses of selective humor can accomplish multiple goals, including surprising or connecting with readers, lightening a heavy moment, or elucidating a character.

Humor is such a vital part of literary culture, in fact, international communities recognize it with annual awards. Two in the US are the “Thurber Prize for American Humor,” after the US humorist, James Thurber, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts “Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.”

Another quick google or two can turn up some humor devices, along with their definitions and examples of how some of the greats used them.

• Hyperbole/Exaggeration

• Incongruity

• Slapstick

• Surprise

• Sarcasm

• Irony

• Pun

There isn’t a category of literature where it doesn’t turn up, from poetry to essay to memoir.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of stand-up comedy. But there’s nothing better than writers like Updike and the other heavies, who can elevate it to a sophisticated and lasting art form.

Even if you’re not trying to write humor into your work, reading it when you’re stuck or need a break will rarely let you down. If you do want to work with it but feel a little timid, check out how others have done it, and – why not? – give it a shot.

We all know writing is hard work, so whenever you can, always, always play.

Veni Fields is a freelance journalist and former staff writer for the Virginian-Pilot, and a creative nonfiction MFA candidate at Old Dominion University.