A character’s sense of humour tells us a lot about them. Whether it’s drama or comedy, every character has a unique sense of humour – what amuses them, what makes them laugh out aloud and what they don’t appreciate.
Jokes, humour and silliness can help a heavy drama feel lighter and brighten some dark moments in an emotional scene.
Write a joke / humorous dialogue or humorous action for the protagonist in your WIP (or a new story), your antagonist and one other character.
Write these snippets either in the same scene or across different scenes. What kind of joke would this character make? Think about how other characters might react to a funny incident/dialogue/action in different types of scenes. Is the character’s sense of humour silly or dry or wry? Are they sarcastic? Are they plain silly?Try a light-hearted scene between two emotional scenes. Write a joke that a character utters during an emotional scene. How do others react?
What’s funny is relative to the reader and to the characters. Every person’s sense of humour is different and it can range from physical slapstick comedy to intellectual puns. Use that range to show us a bit more about your character.
Some characters are not funny – even when they try to be, especially when they try to be. Show us how they fail at being funny, make them 3-D.