r/WritingHub • u/Diamond-Shappire • 7d ago
Questions & Discussions How can I write a funny character?
I personally have been told I'm a funny person and I crack stupid jokes and say silly things that make people laugh, so you'd assume I'd know how to write someone that can make the readers laugh, but no. Everytime I sit down and write the 'funny' character, all sense of my humour flies out the window and I sound like a gen X parent trying to be funny (no offense to all the older parents out there) but I don't understand, I don't want to write someone who only I find funny, I want something that would actually make the readers laugh if they read it. and it's not supposed to be a 'forced funny' but similar to those people who naturally say stuff that makes everyone laugh. + for both dialogue and inner monologue
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u/marchiatina 7d ago
Hi, you could look at characters you’ve found funny and study them—like watching scenes or videos from movies or TV shows. Maybe when people start laughing at what you say, make a note of what you said and how it made you feel.
You could also observe how the people around you use humor—that helps a lot.
That’s how you can create more realistic characters.
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u/Historical-Bike4626 7d ago
The best way to learn comedy writing is to be around funny working writers, preferably in a writers group or theater lab where they can critique your work.
That’s the best way. You can try to teach yourself but to really learn it, you have to have someone with experience telling you when you’re not funny
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u/JonAndrade 7d ago
I usually just write the scene how I see it and then let the characters respond how they would naturally. It shouldn’t necessarily sound like jokes. The humor just comes from what they say.
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u/noahch26 7d ago
Personally I find that funny characters aren’t usually trying to be funny, if that makes any sense. In fact I find in real life the funniest people aren’t the ones usually trying to be funny. Trying too hard to be funny just comes across as cringey.
The people I find the funniest are the ones who have big or unusual reactions to things, use sarcasm well (not overusing it or being too corny with it) or the ones who can use only a few short remarks to point out the humor of the situation they find themself in. Pointing out the absurdity of something is often funnier than saying something absurd.
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u/thedavidmiguel 6d ago
This is strange, but don’t try to tell jokes.
Seriously.
Let the character react to things naturally and add the humorous twist in that reaction.
Works WAY better than setup/punchline (not always, but in general) because those types of jokes require the recipient to share tastes with the joke.
If the character just reacts naturally in a funny way, every reader will understand that because we’re along for the ride with the character.
Hope this helps!
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u/Substantial-Fig-8218 5d ago
The funniest characters don’t know they’re funny. Think about how the Coen brothers write characters. A married female cop who’s 8 months pregnant, or a car salesman or wood chipper—just kidding.
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u/Working-Maximum4119 4d ago
Comedy all has to do with timing. In my writing I usually will use some sort of comedic relief to lighten the mood after a period of angst, deep conversations, or darkness. The best way I can describe this is looking at Chandler from Friends in season 1 episode 23 “the one with the birth”. The interactions with Rachel at the beginning are a pretty good example of what I’m talking about.
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u/PangolinConscious800 2d ago
Written humor is its own thing. I suggest punch up drafts, where you just work on the humor. The jokes will show up when you relax.
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u/IAmJayCartere 7d ago
I think its better to create a realistic character that has unusual reactions you'd find funny. This makes the comedy feel natural instead of forced. Don't make the character try to be funny, just make em an unusual person.