Hari's Corner

Not a full post, but more like a filler. I thought I'd just jot down my ideas/ingredients for effective written humour.

1. A funny idea/concept. Or any serious issue that can be twisted enough to make it funny or satirical.
2. A smart punch line. Too much rambling will ruin the humourous touch.
3. At least two different levels of humour - one working on the idea itself and the other with the language usage and delivery mechanism. This can be a bit tricky and might not always work out.
4. A picture or two for effect if necessary.

Straightforward jokes that you read in pocket-size joke books are totally different and unrelated to what I'm talking about. I admit that I'm not very good at spontaneously inventing the kind of jokes you tell at a party among friends, but I do love exploring off-beat humour and parodies.

And while I do enjoy reading regular jokes, I think a lot of them tend to be repetitive and obvious while parodic humour has much a wider scope for individual creativity. More importantly I believe any kind of humour needn't rely on any single technique or method to be effective.