Seven Ways That Make Your Writing Funnier

Indifference and boredom are just the opposite of what we teach. If you can write in a funny way, you can think and visualize in a funny way and remember better. If you can make a provoking argument and get an emotional reaction, it will help you remember. This particular guest post by William Grigsby shows how to write funny in a “cheeky” way that simply draws an emotional response. If you want to be cheeky and memorable, this is a post for you. Loop through this post. It might be more useful than you initially notice.

If you’re here because you think you’re boring, you are in the right place. In order to attract an audience, you need to be funny, smart, and out of the ordinary. Anybody can write, but not anybody can write well.

If you feel your ego hurt, you are not alone.  Moreover, this is intentional. Provocation is often used to generate an emotional response.

Joking around and including funny passages into your work will captivate a wide audience. People love being entertained – it makes them relax and forget about their daily worries. If they enjoy what they are reading, they will probably recommend your website to their friends and relatives – and that’s a great advantage for you.

Although funny writing is a good method to expand your audience, make sure it fits you. I’ve seen numerous people trying to be funny and some failed badly. If funny is not a word that describes you, don’t even try. Stick to your usual writing style, and forget about including funny parts into your articles. It will only make it worse. You have to be natural to be successful at it!

Screw what people think

Don’t pay attention to other people’s opinions. You have to be your own kind of funny! If you are not comfortable with being yourself, how are your readers going to enjoy your articles? Be original and innovative, and stay authentic. You can include whatever goes through your mind – they are your articles after all.

Now the author gives you a permission to rebel. This is also a known trick to free you from polite indifference. You give yourself a permission to be creative it whenever you need.

If you have a predisposition for cussing, for example, do it. Feel free to include anything you desire. If cussing makes you funny, cuss the hell out of your audience. People like honesty and unexpected remarks.

The element of surprise

Set up the scene, and then suddenly, include an element of surprise. Let’s look at an example. Say you are writing about aviation, and your goal is to criticize Cessna, a flight school in Kansas. “Cessna has one of the best flight training programs in the country. They combine well-educated instructors with great equipment, giving you an amazing flying experience – like, for instance, crushing into the ocean and getting a unique taste of the salty water.”

In my example, critique came unexpectedly. I used irony to highlight the poor opinion I have on Cessna’s safety. I did that by introducing the element of surprise. Nobody would’ve guessed “crushing” was next on my list since I was praising the company at first.

Whenever you read something and disagree with the author, you can use irony. Make sure to use a tone different from the original author, so your ideas will not mix up with what you read.

The loop

Look at how I started my article. “If you’re here because you think you’re boring, you are in the right place.” What if I end in the same manner? Wouldn’t that be playful and smart? In my conclusion, I could say something like “Thanks for reading my article and therefore, sustaining our cause. Our prime goal is to get rid of the boring articles, and thus, provide a better, safer writing environment for our readers.” Maybe I’ll use that.

Starting with some attention-grabbing sentence and ending on the same note makes you funnier than you think, and very interesting.

Quite often you need to amuse yourself. Being funny and interesting to yourself may be as valuable as appearing such to others.

Be honest

You can’t be yourself if you are not honest with your readers. If you give personal examples, don’t shy away from actually sharing. Don’t make them up, give personal examples indeed. Readers can tell when you make up examples – they don’t seem to be too real or plausible in the context.

In my experience as a writer, I’ve noticed that people are amused by straightforward truths. For example, when writing about losing weight, begin with “Hi. My name is Michelle and I an extremely fat person. Yes, I am. So what? Now let me tell you my story.”

Include random details

I don’t know about you, but I am extremely amused by random facts or details included in some articles. For instance, if you are talking about an inevitable, challenging work project, including “Prepare yourself. Winter is coming,” in your conclusion is a funny way to end. There is a high chance many of your readers will get the joke since so many people watch Game of Thrones nowadays.

Typically we add details to make things more memorable. People spend a lot of time choosing just the right details, but quite often the right details are random. They may be just random enough to be memorable.

Exaggerate

Using hyperboles is smart and funny. “That town was really small. The Enter and Exit signs for the town were on the same pole.” You appeal to people’s imagination, which is a great way to capture them.

Clair Cortney, a manager at AssignmentMasters, believes that “Imagination is the most powerful form of intelligence. Anybody can be knowledgeable, but not everybody can be imaginative. There is no other higher form of intelligence. Imagination proves complexity and brainpower.”

Practice, practice, practice

Practicing your “funniness” is crucial. Some people are funny as soon as they open their mouths, but some have to work on it – and that is OK. You don’t need to be scared about that. Practice makes perfect after all, so no need to be ashamed of it. You can practice by:

• Allowing a certain time slot every day for the sole purpose of writing
• Watching comedies and reading funny articles
• Setting a goal of using at least one joke per day in any of your articles
• Including happiness into your life by being more positive

You will not find writing in one of our training schedules, not because it is a bad idea, but because it needs to come from within. If you can write, write. Writing will improve the way you think and remember.

Conclusion

Maybe the fact that I am not using “Thanks for reading my article and therefore, sustaining our cause. Our prime goal is to get rid of the boring articles, and thus, provide a better, safer writing environment for our readers” as my conclusion is the element of surprise. Oops, I guess just did. Good luck on your funny writings – you’re going to nail it!

About the author:

William Grigsby is a professional editor. He has worked with many aspiring writers and helped them go through all kinds of challenges. He has one main goal in his life: help writers write more. Whatever obstacle you’re facing, it shouldn’t have the final say.