I always say that a book that can make me laugh and cry is an outstanding book that will remain in my memory. I believe this is because a book like this evokes strong emotions within me – emotions that create two of the strongest emotional reactions.
As a romance writer, I think it’s easier to make readers cry than laugh in a romance story. Maybe that’s because I don’t consider myself to be a very funny person and so I don’t make an effort to put humor in my romance stories. However, as I have been working on my future novel, I found a touch of humor flowing naturally in one scene and later, through one character.
Therefore, I decided to explore how to write humor in a novel. I wanted to be sure these little humorous aspects in my romance novel would be written properly and well received by my readers. Of course, one of the first things I found was advice on reading romance novels that include humor.
Though I am not well-read in romance stories that include humor, I found one romance novelist that made me laugh and thoroughly enjoy her romance stories. Her name is Jen Turano, and she uses humor through her characters, whether it’s built into their quirky personality or things that they do. These seem to be two of the most suggested and, possibly, the easiest to write.
Other humor writing options include juxtaposition, hyperbole, alliteration, or an exaggeration from your own life experience. As writers, we often use metaphors, and one idea was to create a list of metaphors for something then use the most ridiculous one. However, this example was also issued with a warning not to use this trick too often or your readers may think you aren’t good at using metaphors. There was also mention of simply playing with your words.
When writing humor into your novel, think about your sentence construction. Stand-up comics generally use longer more descriptive sentences at first, while painting the picture. Then as they approach the punchline, their sentences become shorter and punchier.
The most important thing when attempting to add humor into your romance is to read what you write out loud, which can help you determine whether what you wrote is really funny or not.
Adding a little humor to your romance can add a sense of fun to your story, make an intense scene more bearable, lighten the mood, or allow your characters or readers a moment to breathe. Humor is a great way to connect with your readers or add a spark of fun to your romance.
Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.
You can find her online at:
Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26
Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer
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