National Humor Month is Here!!
It’s not a late April Fool’s joke at all. April is, among other things, National Humor Month. That means, aside from the jokes, pranks, and assorted hijinks you may face today, you now have 30 29 days of state sanctioned time to find more humor and laughter in your life. Whether you’re finding three things to laugh at each day, as I recommended in my TEDx talk, (you knew I had to get that one in there) or practicing laughter yoga, or making time to visit more comedy clubs, or even watch those funny cat videos, make sure you’re doing something.
If you’re interested in exploring coming up with your own humor, then I would suggest doing a couple things. The first is to sit down and figure out what sorts of jokes you find really funny. What are the jokes that really get you to laugh and laugh hard? See if there’s something about them that comes out as a theme. Maybe you’re a big fan of satirical jokes. Maybe you’re more into slapstick? Do you like jokes that take a while to build, or are you really into the quick one-liners? Don’t make any judgements on your style. If fart jokes are your thing, then go for it. The point is to try and identify the sorts of jokes or humor you like and then see if you might be able to write some jokes along the same lines.
For me, I am trying to be less of a storyteller and more a quick joke puncher. It’s hard for me to do this because of my long-developed habits of writing and philosophy. It doesn’t mean stories are bad. I’m just trying to work out a different part of my humor musculature.
If you find yourself bored or longing for a different humor to bring into your life, then take some time to watch, listen to, or read comedy from a different time. Aristophanes famously lampoons one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Socrates, with a fart joke. It’s probably a little easier for a modern person to look back to Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, than to jump headlong into an ancient culture’s humor, but you go where the muse leads you. Regardless, take time to try and enjoy what you’re doing. If the journey is the important part, then don’t fret if you don’t find too much “humor” in these other places. If you keep at it, you’re going to find something that tickles you.
The last two things I would encourage you to do are these. The first is to find someone you think is funny and then pay more attention to how they behave and how they use humor. It’s one of the ways I started. I had a friend who was funny and I thought, “Hey, I want to be funny too.” While how I am funny is different than how he was/is, the inspiration was important. I steal jokes and bits all the time. I even give them away to folks. So don’t get worried that you didn’t “make it up.” As long as you’re not cribbing other folks’ work to make money, you’re good. The second I would encourage you to do, would be to read what other comics or funny people write. You don’t have to read their comedy, but maybe an interview or two. When you get them talking about their work, you start to see how the sausage was made.
Whatever you’re doing, as long as you’re flexing your humor muscles and diving deeper into that world, that part of that world you want to get into, you’re doing well. Remember, the Funny 30 started today, so get to it. Comment below with some of your explorations and lessons learned.