Do I Write Funny?

Fantasy is a genre all of its own, one that takes the reader far away from our own world of warfare, terrorist activity, tyrants, despots, villains, and the good guys. It takes us to fantastic worlds filled with lush vegetation, sweeping landscapes, castles, dragons, strange creatures of myth, warfare, terrorist activity… er, tyrants… hmmm, despots… oh, and - dare I say it? - villains. In fantasy, though, there is one difference. We have heroes to save the day. No matter what the terror, how mighty the beast, how dastardly the villain, the heroes will prevail. Good, hey? If only life were that simple. Come to think of it, if only fantasy were that simple.

We have high fantasy, epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, cross-genre fantasy, modern fantasy, erotic fantasy and, not forgetting, humorous fantasy. Which to write? What do the punters want to read?

Thinks; Must get a new slant on Lord of the Rings; gotta write the next Harry Potter style best-seller; who is Terry Pratchet, anyway?

So many decisions, so many ideas bouncing around waiting to be put on paper. But whatever style we choose, the book will be great, it’ll be marvellous, it’ll be the best novel ever! Now where’s that note book and pen.

Stop!

As writers, we have to write what we are comfortable with, a story that will come across as believable in a make-believe world, will show the reader we care about what we have written and the characters we have written about. Hmmm. Not so easy now, hey? As I found out at a very early stage in my career.

The reason I started to write was because I couldn’t find fantasy novels written in the style I wanted to read, good old gritty Heroic Fantasy, so decided to write one all of my own, after much coercion from my wife who was getting fed up of me complaining.

Well, writings easy, isn’t it? Wrong, with a capital ‘W’. My completed 110000 word heroic fantasy read more like an episode of Sesame Street. The problem was I had no feel for the story or characters, and it came across in the writing. I was trying to write in a style that I wasn’t comfortable with, trying to write what I thought people wanted to read instead of what came naturally. End result, cra... er, scrap. I still have the original manuscript for when I want a chuckle, and not at some witty one-liners, either.

What I am trying to say is, you must write in a style that comes naturally to you, that flows from the pen, so to speak. Otherwise it comes across in the writing and an editor will soon pick up on it and discard the manuscript in the ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ basket. I received nine rejections on the book before that realisation hit home.

While trying to place ‘Children of the Mist’ I started my next book, Reluctant Heroes. This started life as a straight fantasy. Swashbuckling high fantasy with dwarves, dragons, the lot. Well, high fantasy sells, doesn’t it? Just look at Robert Jordon, and that other feller. What’s his name? You know the one. He wrote about small, hairy little men running after a ring. They made it into a film, or three, so I believe.

Anyway, I was also reading a book by James Bibby at the time called Ronan the Barbarian, a spoof on Cronan except that Mr Bibby’s hero was a rastafarian, complete with dreadlocks. It was hilarious and is still one of my all time favourite books.

Subconsciously, his book changed my own style. Before I knew it I was writing what was to be my first published novel, Reluctant Heroes – out February, folks. A humorous fantasy. I had stumbled on a style that suited my writing. I had found my voice. It was an amazing discovery. One for which I shall have to thank James, if ever we meet.

The writer’s voice is their most important tool, in addition to being able to construct sentences and tell a story, of course. Without a unique voice, your story becomes lost amongst the slush pile, there to lie in never-ending misery until it gets plucked from obscurity for the long journey home. You may have to look under the bed, in last night’s garbage or in the latrine, but find your voice you must. I think it is the most important attribute you need to succeed.

If you discover that humorous fantasy is the one for you, you will find that writing it is no different to writing about any of the other sub-genres. It still has to contain the essential ingredients of good characterisation, good plot, good hook, good descriptive passages and a satisfactory conclusion. And, most importantly, the writer has to care about what they write. Humorous fantasy is still a labour of love, albeit with a slightly manic turn at times.

So what will make the reader laugh with the characters, as well as want them to overcome all obstacles to defeat the villain of the piece without it descending into farce?

One of the techniques I use is studying everyday life, listening to people talk and laugh, watching how they walk, how they react, what peculiarities they have, then suitably exaggerating when the time for writing comes along. Some of the best and funniest one-liners come from ordinary people who don’t realise they have been funny.

An idea for one short section in my second novel, Bruvvers in Arms, came from a farmer who took an ill lamb to the veterinary practice where my wife works. He carried the stricken animal into the waiting room and sat with it on his knee. He cradled it and stroked it while cooing suitably comforting words. When his turn came to enter the surgery, he carried the animal in and laid it on the table. With a tear in his eye, he turned to the vet, and said; “Can you do anything for her? She’s got to be well enough to go the abattoir next week.”

Priceless.

The passage I came up with from that was when one of our heroes is captured by the bad guys and takes a severe beating. His companions are shocked by the mauling he has taken and one of them says that he looks ‘dead’. The leader of the mob replies: ‘Don’t worry yerself. We’ll keep him alive long enough to kill him later.’

Another line I used was one overheard in a bar. A drunk, seeing his equally drunken mate trying to bag off with a cross between an orang-utan and a puffa fish, shouted out: “Yer must be blind, man. She’s so ugly even the tide wouldn’t take her out!” After wiping tears of laughter from my eyes, I noted it down for future use.

They are examples of everyday situations that can be transposed into a humorous writer’s dream. My advice is to watch, listen and learn. Then use to your best advantage.

People-watching is also a valuable source of inspiration, if you don’t get locked up for being some sort of pervert, that is. You may spot two or three guys who all have different idiosyncrasies, each unique and amusing. Why not combine them into one, suitably exaggerated character? You read an amusing story of life in the paper, why not adapt it for the novel? While at it, why not create a story to lead up to the ludicrous situation? The chance to entertain via humour is all around us. All we have to do is take notice.

One trap that can be easily sprung on the humorist is writing a novel filled with jokes that are loosely connected by a story. Quite quickly, the whole thing becomes bogged down and boring, especially when the jokes run out and you rely on ones that Noah would have been ashamed of.

There is a fine line between humorous fantasy and comedic fantasy. To me, humorous fantasy is written by authors like Terry Pratchet, James Bibby, Tom Holt, Robert Rankin, to name but a few. Novels that contain a good story, are well plotted, hold your interest until the end and give you a few laughs along the way. Comedic fantasy falls into the Bored of the Rings and the Barry Trotter ranks. Small, uninspiring, joke-filled tomes. Once read, quickly forgotten. That is if you manage to read them all the way through before terminal boredom takes its toll.

Fantasy, like most genres, can become too serious at times so it is nice to put a bit of fun into it. But remember, it too has to be a story that grabs the reader’s interest and holds it. One day I may write a straight fantasy, but at the moment I am having too much fun writing humour. Life can be serious enough on its own, and we all need a laugh, don’t we?