1. Nuada Airgetlám

    Nuada Airgetlám New Member

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    Style Is it possible to write a serious story without any humour?

    Discussion in 'General Writing' started by Nuada Airgetlám, Feb 26, 2021.

    I'm planning out and (will hopefully be writing) a trilogy takes that takes itself pretty seriously and very dark while having a distinct absence of comedy. The reason is behind this choice that I feel humour is borderline obtrusive in many fictional works these days (I won't be naming any suspects, so use your imagination), as many jokes inserted in stories that want to get taken seriously by their audience come across as ham-fisted and end up hamstringing whatever tension the writers try to create. I mean, if the characters won't take tense situations seriously by spouting off one-liners non-stop, why should I care for their plight?

    I fell into this trap when I wrote another story starring a character whose sole purpose was to survive as comedic relief given the story's dark tone, yet she came off as obnoxious because she always tended to shoehorn stupid comedic quips in at the worst possible moments. To make things worse, some of the stuff this character said reads like what you’d find in a bad Abridged series, stuff which TeamFourStar or Something Witty Entertainment at their absolute lowest wouldn’t even put to paper.

    So, as the title of this post suggests: is it possible to tell a morbid story without any comedic elements and how should I go about it?
     
  2. Malisky

    Malisky Malkatorean Contributor

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    Of course you can. Just write the story without adding comedy to the mix. Pretty straight forward. I personally hate comedic relief characters. Humour should be clever and unpredicted in order to make me smile and comedic relief characters tend to fail miserably at it. Their purpose is too obvious, they're rarely clever or even convincing, furthermore they have a way to sidetrack the emotional beat of a story. Very cheap installation. You can have humour in a morbid story though. Not having comedic relief characters doesn't cancel out the humor in a story. I can't answer you how to go about it because there's no formula, at least in my knowledge of how to construct a comedic part and balance it out with the rest of the story, this is something a writer does individually and in their own personal way, but you can read some books of your favorite writers and see how they handled it in writing. Try to analyze those parts and figure out why they urged you to show your teeth. Is it in the writer's general voice (A stand-up comedian quality)? A funny snapshot in the character's arch (the two antagonists butt heads for the first time making a fool out of themselves/ overly competitive and arrogant over winning just to show off) or a recurring high-stakes-point only for the character (a character has been looking for a lighter all along his odyssey to light his damn cigarette and when he finally gets a matchbox with a single match, he has to be extra careful, because it's windy. He manages to light the cigarette but as he's reaching nirvana after just inhaling the first draw, a bucket of water from the first floor veranda drenches him to the bone and what you know? It's the freshly introduced... antagonist/love interest/friend/arch enemy/his mom/you name it. He feels like crying. So out of character and so forgivable, because it's relatable)?

    Anyhow, I can think many ways to add some comedy in a story that's not comedic by genre, but the shortest answer I can think about how it works is by incorporating irony, conflict and just a tad of out of character moments that are relatable. Unpredictability, remember?

    I might fail to grasp your question though, because it's a little bit generic, but in case you're just wondering if it's okay not to incorporate humor into a story the answer is: Yes, it is okay.
     
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  3. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Humour in serious work isn't a bad thing, it's just badly done. You yourself said that your 'comedic' character said things at the wrong time. Well, pick the right time. That's the failure of the writer not the style. Getting it right is an art. Just like writing a story without humour is an art to keep it interesting and engaging. We can't tell you 'how to do it.' It doesn't work that way. There is no magic bullet or easy answer. Practice, critique, practice, fail, practice, learn, practice, fail, practice critique etc etc etc until what you're doing is working, or it isn't.

    Writing well isn't easy. Nor should it be.
     
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  4. Ed from Bama

    Ed from Bama New Member

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    Good morning to all-
    Well I reckon it is possible to write a serious story without any humor, but then, I'm not sure I could or would even want to do such a thing. When you consider that ALL humor is based on pain of some sort, serious topics just naturally tend to slide into humor. Just write the piece and see how it stands. If humor creeps in- let it.

    good day to all- Ed
     
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  5. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Sure it is. Ever read Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy? Not funny. Really, really not funny. Or Beloved by Toni Morrison? Also not funny.

    Let's see... Faulkner? Generally not funny, though he'll chuck in some existential things that might elicit a chuckle. Tom Clancy? Not funny. Actually, he seems to be unnecessarily serious to a fault most of the time.

    Honestly, comic relief isn't a literary necessity at all. Levity maybe, but humor isn't required.
     
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  6. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    I agree with the people who said humor isn't a bad thing, but it must be used properly. In fact, humor is a vitally important part of most stories. We've all heard the old saw "If you want to make 'em cry, make 'em laugh and if you want to make 'em laugh, make 'em cry." This works as a sort of cleansing of the palette. If you persistently subject readers to humorless dry prose, it gets old really quickly and they want some relief from it. Humor of the appropriate type is the relief.

    In fact it works for a lot more than just making 'em cry, it works for getting serious or just about anything else that contrasts with lighthearted humor. It's like taking a break between exercises in the gym, or stopping at rest stops every so often on a long road trip to get out and stretch your legs, get some fresh air, and just not be in the car for long periods of time.

    There are kinds of humor that will totally undermine a serious story or serious characters. That tends to be the modern snarky kind of postmodernist sarcasm (which is designed to be destructive to any kind of serious thought) or just ridiculous situational comedy (sitcom stuff, like in the ridiculous TV shows of the same name).
     
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  7. naruzeldamaster

    naruzeldamaster Senior Member

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    I think every story needs at least some bit of humor, BUT the humor needs to fit the tone and theming of the story in question. This is what a lot of writers (including me) tend to get wrong.
    Take the avengers series of movies for example. All of them: very (mostly) serious movies with very serious moments. However they still found time for a quick one liner or something silly to add levity.
    Levity is not the same as comedy outright, it's like a balance between serious and funny.
    It's possible to write a story without actual like, joke jokes, but still have funny moments that don't break the tone.
    You never know what people will find funny or not, so I'd experiment and find what works with the story.
     
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  8. madhoca

    madhoca Contributor Contributor

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    If you want to portray life experience, there will always be humour, even if it's just gallows humour. And by humour, I don't mean jokes or "comic characters".
     
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  9. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    Honestly, there's only one person at fault for this, and it's not the character.

    People talk as if their characters are doing things on their own. You know, they don't. They only do what you write.

    If you don't want humour, don't include it in the story. No one puts that humour there except you. If it's done badly, that's you that's doing it badly.

    I've written plenty of horror stories with no humour in them.
     
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  10. Lazaares

    Lazaares Contributor Contributor

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    I would find a book that actively avoids humour and comedy obnoxious and immersion-breaking. Humour is very much a part of human behaviour; from the graffitis in Pompeii to the quarantine memes we sent around in 2020.

    I believe the point here is to omit humour from scenes where it has no place, and to not have comic relief characters. I agree with prior posters; comic relief characters annoy me far more than they entertain.

    A positive example I can think of is Robert Merle's Malevil. The setting is negative, post-apocalyptic. The characters are desperate and struggle to survive. Yet when they sit down by the fireplace to have dinner at the end of they day, they can afford a brief few moments to have pleasant chatter and poke jokes. I don't recall the book having any comedy or humour elsewhere than these evening chatters.
     
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