My plan has a mix of eccentric characters, some adventure and travel thrown in, lots of random musings and it's generally light.
I'm a funny person in real life, very rarely make a serious comment, but I've never really written humour, unless you count a very 'dry' kind of blog, and I want to know if you can have a semi-humorous novel. Like the general tone is light, but there's a few funny bits in it, so only a third to a half of the novel is humour. Would the humour make a funny break and lift the tone of the story? Or would it make it flop because you're a bit like 'uh... is this a funny book or not?' and then get confused about which bits are humour and which aren't.
Comments appreciated.
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23,000 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 06 07
It could definitely work. That's why I read Stephen King - yeah, he writes fantastic plot lines and, as with Lisey's Story I couldn't read after 5 pm or I'd not be able to go to sleep that night - but the real reason I read SK is because of the humorous details he writes. It's actually these details that keep us readers grounded enough to believe in the fantasy.
IMHO, it's the best of all kinds of writing: great escapism for the reader, and still able to leave Reader feeling happy to be a human.
Quick quote. Truly, I just opened Lisey's Story to a random page, random paragraph and this is the first thing I read:
"Lisey brushed the surface of the photograph with the tips of her fingers...and found she could even remember the name of the band from Boston (The Swinging Johnsons, pretty funny)..."
You see, I love it. It's often gratuitous, but so are most of the things we humans actually say all day in an effort to make ourselves laugh.
I say go for it.
----------"But my thoughts flew about, hectic as hummingbirds, and could not settle." - MARCH by Geraldine Brooks
30,164 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 14 11
I've never written humor myself, but yet here I am attempting it this year! My novel sounds about the same as yours. I believe it is very possible to have a semi-humorous novel, you just have to write it right. ; )
----------NaNo 2006: The Clearing of Lindsey (psychological thriller/drama/whatever)
NaNo 2007: ZOMBUNNIE! (satirical horror)
19,188 / 50,000
oct. 30, 2007 - 07 43
Yeah, writing in a light tone could definitely work.
Dropping funny lines into a light toned story will makes for a much better reading experience than a story that tries so hard to be funny but falls flat. I actually like half-humorous stories if they are clever.