Editor’s Note: This column continues from last week’s Meanderings.
Over the last four years, I have had a weekly column published in Whitewater News. The opportunity was initiated by the same Connie Tabbert who had hired for me the Cobden Sun.
Interestingly, the few columns involving funerals and gravesites had more hits than average. Others that covered doomsday scenarios, UFO’s and my falling from ladders were also up there.
Some stories just flow into my mind with all their details like when Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman called in the army to help with a snowstorm and later when I began dancing lessons and bombed out. However, many ideas I struggle with for days.
A columnist is a type of journalism but is not required to adhere to ethics of neutrality, allowing me to write any reckless thought that percolates into my head. I also like the fact that I have immunity for a writing a falsehood or an exaggeration (like Donald Trump maybe)!
Writing a humor column is the most entertaining of all undertakings – not always easy to make readers laugh though. Only those with my weird sense of humour would appreciate my seeing a real ghost or knowing a family that sold a baby to pay for passage to Canada. Memories from teenage years and working experiences become the fodder for many narratives.
There is a couple of favorites. In one I compared myself to my distant cousin Bear Grylls. What a contrast! In another I gave stolen flowers from a cancer hospital that spared an anniversary debacle.
Some columns could have been more polished with less grammatical errors but that was too much detail for me. The benefit of writing autobiographically is that you don’t worry about offending anyone – you are simply telling your story in a humorous fashion and giving readers permission to laugh at your blunders or comedic misfortunes.
One key to good writing is painting a vivid picture along with noteworthy jargon and uncommon examples. Using colourful or exaggerated descriptive text can intensify key points of your story. ‘Being bullied in grade 9 by a mean muscular older boy turned me into skipping school until a knight in shining amour came to the rescue’.
Adding definitive details to anecdotes gives more dimension as well as revealing abstract ideas about a person or an incident. Generalizations can tedious. Details that are distinctive or bizarre stand out. ‘Her dark eyes were pools of deep desire, capturing my curiosity …….’
It is good practice to look to other humour writers for inspiration and maybe pick up some new tips. Note what they write about, how they structure their articles, and what elements make the writing funny. Try to pick up on tricks that the writer might be using to keep their readers laughing. For years I followed Gary Needham of the Toronto Star.
The rule of three humor writing technique can add rhythm to your column that is both funny and accessible to readers. Write two items that set up a straightforward pattern, then add a third element that derails the initial idea. ‘He was trim, handsome but had cauliflower ears.’
My own life is a great source of inspiration for a humor column, provided I can laugh at myself. The benefit of writing autobiographically is not having to worry about offending anyone. I am simply telling story in a humorous way and giving readers permission to laugh at my blunders or comedic situations.
Funny things can happen at any time, to trigger an extraordinary statement used in conversation (often Joey Trimm), an incident in a supermarket dropping a fresh tomato or hearing an unruly outburst for a small lottery win. Then there is a person’s hard luck. One afternoon a pickup truck loaded to the hilt with round bales of hay lost its load in front of my house. The woman driving was at a loss and had to call for help. While waiting for someone, I went out to do an interview with her. I got a good story and it distracted her from worrying for a moment.
A story can be conveyed in an instant. Simple things like a wrong telephone number, mistaken identity or taking a wrong turn can conjure up a column. Once complete and submitted to Whitewater News, it is forgotten and the next one begins.
