If you’re as old as I am, you’ve probably seen Singing in the Rain more than once. I love when Cosmo, played by Donald O’Connor, sings “Make ‘em Laugh.”
You could study Shakespeare and be quite elite,
And you can charm the critics and have nothin’ to eat.
Just slip on a banana peel, the world’s at your feet.
Make ’em laugh. Make ’em laugh. Make ’em laugh.
When my memoir came out almost two years ago, I soon began receiving emails from people I didn’t know. Many were thanking me for adding humor to my memoir, some saying the darkness and violence would have been unbearable without the levity. I was confused. I did not “add” humor. That was real. My dad might have been the meanest SOB to come from Sand Mountain, but he retained every joke and riddle he ever heard. He loved to make people laugh more than he loved to make people cry.
Too often, when we’re writing our manuscripts and developing our characters, we focus on what sets our protagonists apart. If we want them to be the hero, we concentrate on making them heroic. Or villainous. Or super smart. Or whatever. We forget about all those little traits that make them real. We forget that most people have a sense of humor. So, definitely work on the unique traits that set your characters apart but remember the common traits that make them human.
Most of you have probably seen how well the Deadpool and Wolverine movie is doing. And I’ve mentioned before about how popular Marvel’s Spiderman is. The reason we love Deadpool and Spiderman is not because they are the strongest. Nor is because they’re the best, or the brightest, or the nicest, etc. We love them for their sarcasm. We love them because they’re the biggest smarta$$e$ in the world. We love them because we can relate to them.
If you’re thinking your story is a romance, or horror, or thriller, or whatever, so it doesn’t need humor, you’re wrong. I’m not talking about in the narrative. I’m talking about dialog from the characters. Think of ten people you know right now and then think about how many of those ten have ever told you a joke. How many love when you tell them one. How many joke around so much it gets on your nerves? If you want your writing to ring true, it should mimic reality.
Remember, one key to great fiction is making it believable. Keeping it real. Having your readers relate to it. So, make your sexy characters sexy. Make your rugged silent characters strong and quiet. Make your bad guys villainous. Make your jock characters jockish. Most importantly, however, make them real. At some point, everyone has a joke to tell or pulls off a great retort that even amuses themselves.
Make them mean, Make them cute. Make them scary. Make them awesome. But don’t forget to make ‘em laugh.
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Neal Wooten is a contributor to the Huff Post, columnist for the Mountain Valley News, author, artist, and standup comic. His new true-crime memoir, With the Devil’s Help (Pegasus Crime/Simon and Schuster), is being made into a miniseries. He is also the creator of the cartoon, Pancho el Pit Bull, which is being made into an animated series in South America.