Are You Funny Enough?

I remember reading something once about encouraging a child's sense of humor. Helping them to be funny. Or funnier.

How absurd, I thought. Kids are funny as heck.
Well, the ones talking to/around me sure are.

But writing funny? That's hard.

If you're trying to add some humor to your writing, whether it's a serious or heartfelt or sad or poignant story, here are some tips.

First off, two words: Darcy Pattison.
Always listen to Darcy!

This is an article I've saved and reread a few time:
http://www.darcypattison.com/revision/5-more-ways-to-add-humor/
You can even follow her links to past posts for additional humor tips.
(I'm totally trying the running gag idea, HERE. )

More tips, via Writers Digest are HERE. 

And HERE for a list of funny words.
(I had to google wenis. I doubt I'll be using that word in a middle-grade novel.)

One of my favorite historical fiction middle-grade novels is TURTLE IN PARADISE. It's Turtle's voice that makes me smile. From page one:
"Everyone thinks children are sweet as Necco Wafers, but I've lived long enough to know the truth: kids are rotten."

A serious story, sure. But I smiled a lot.

Any fabulous tips you'd care to share that make stories laugh-out-loud funny? Or even smile-out-loud?  

Just to make your Monday a little lighter, I'll end with librarian humor.

What I'm Reading During Hurricane Watch

A few years ago-- okay a long time ago-- I started married life with a Navy Hurricane Hunter in Weather Reconnaissance Squadron 4, based as NAS Jacksonville, Florida. Back then, we were totally tuned in to hurricane season. And this was before the Weather Channel.

 But while living in the northeast, I kind of ignored hurricanes. We worried more about blizzards.

When we moved to Florida, it all came back to me. Especially during 2004, a Big Season for storms. We normally aren't in Florida during hurricane season. We button our little house up, move everything out of harm's way, and head back to New Jersey. But that summer of 2004, we were in St. Petersburg and passed the storm hunkered down with our dog and our family. I seem to recall learning how to play Texas Hold 'em in that storm.
 
Hurricane Irene, through a strange set of crazy circumstances, found me in Florida, and the hurricane barreling toward my New Jersey condo. Go figure.

Thanks to nice neighbors who popped over there yesterday, the plants were secured, the flag removed, the packages left on the doorstep safely put away. My New Jersey basement, maybe not. I'm keeping a weather eye out, as they say.

But today, I'm saturated with this post-hurricane 24/7 coverage. So I decided to  re-read Jennifer Holm's TURTLE IN PARADISE. Remember the hurricane? The Florida Keys, 1935.

Here's a little bit of it, from Turtle's point-of-view:

Raindrops belt the shack like spitballs. The storm is scarier than anything I've ever been in before because the shack is so flimsy. I keep waiting for it to blow away- and us with it.

Then the rats crawl over their feet. What kid wouldn't just love hearing that scene read aloud? The roof cracks and the boys are crying. Turtle starts singing that stupid Shirley Temple song.
About the Good Ship Lollipop. And the boys join in.

The wind howls, but the Diaper Gang of Key West belts out a song as the angry storm washes everything away.
It has a happy ending for the kids. I think it would be a perfect book to share with young readers, post hurricane.

I'm reading it again to see how that gifted writer put it all together. How funny I think Turtle is. How well Holm pulls the history in, the details, the music, the language.

I love what the Story Sleuths said about the book in their postings. (Click here to go there. Note to Story Sleuths- come back! I loved your in-depth looks at books!)

I already blogged a bit about TURTLE IN PARADISE when it first came out. I reviewed it on my friend Joyce's "history" blog. If you go to my earlier blog entry about the book, you can read my review.

I was inspired to write this post by Kate Messner's blog invitation.
Maybe you were too? Hurricane thoughts anyone?

Turtle in Paradise

Here's a fun summer book for middle-grade readers. I posted my review to the Reading, 'Riting & Research Blog before I left on my trek northward. Not much blogging time on the long drive to New Jersey.

TURTLE IN PARADISE is a terrific novel, set on Key West during the Great Depression. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and of Turtle, a wise narrator whom kids will love.

Click on over to read the whole review. And if you have a young reader, looking for a topic not that familiar and a story that's truly fun to read, check out Jennifer Holm's newest book.

Great cover, no?