TECH: Good words

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 28 April 2009

Writer's Digest, December 2005, pages 51 and 60, have an article in the column Humor Writing by Tim Bete with the title, "Word Play." The point is that punchlines in particular often need a perfect word to really make the humor zing. It refers back to the TV game show Match Game where people tried to fill in the blank in a sentence, often with humorous results.

So how do you pick that perfect word? How do you get words that exaggerate, provide a surprise, or make people think twice? Here's some ideas:

1. Listen to how words sound. Read the writing out loud and listen to how it sounds. Try switching one word for another and listen to the difference.
2. Pick a word that breaks a pattern. You mix up sentences -- length and type -- to add variety. Mixing the links and kind of word does the same thing, and can make it funny. When a character lists their preferred diet as various gourmet dishes plus Twinkies, the Twinkies are funny. Any time you set up a pattern, one, two, three, infinity, the break adds zip.
3. Be specific. Generics aren't as funny as specifics. Details make things believable and personal.
4. Put the funniest word at the end. Punchlines belong at the end of the joke, and the funniest word at the end of the punchline.
5. Find words with multiple meanings. Ambiguity, puns, and all that jazz.
6. Use a thesaurus. Don't overload, but a thesaurus is a great brainstorming tool. Look up the key word and see what alternatives you've got to play with.

Make every word count.
Write!