WRITING

HUMOUR FOR CHILDREN

JoinAndyGriffithsasheshowsyouthetrickstoticklingthetiniestfunnybones!Andywillshow youtheprinciplesofwritinghumourforkids.Throughaseriesofpracticalwritingexercises,hell explorehowtofind,generateanddevelopideas,charactersandstorylineswithcomicpotential forallchildren,youngandold. Bringyourplayfulself:asenseofhumourisanadvantage,but notcompulsory.

SUCCESSFUL COMIC WRITERS:

Play with words, ideas, images and narrative voice Turn the everyday world upside down Tell the truth (i.e. tell childhood as it is) Are not afraid of the dark! (Everybody loves a good train wreck.) Are not afraid of hard work. They understand that effective comic writing depends on their willingness to rewrite and reinvent until its right. Dont underestimate comedy: they realise it is more complex than others might think. Understand that the most powerful way to connect with readers is through story. Realise that there are many things competing for a childs attention, and books are often not at the top of that list as they require more concentration than many other forms of entertainment. Know that it is the writers job to grab and hold the readers attention not the childs job to seek out the writer.

1. WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

Exercise: Write about a funny book, movie or TV show that you remember fondly from your childhood. Why did you like it? How did it make you feel? Did it tell a story? Chances are that the book/tv show/movie you remember was both funny AND told a story. Todays worshop is not so much about writing jokes or gags as it is about exploring useful approaches to help you discover your unique way of being funny on the page.

2. FAST WRITING EXERCISES: Where do ideas come from?

Exercise: Choose one of the topics below. Write for 3 minutes without stopping. Dont think about what youre writing or try to edit or control it in any way. Be honest. Tapping into your own experiences and emotions will give you all the ideas you will ever need. I HATE IM SCARED OF I GET ANNOYED BY I LOVE I BELIEVE I USED TO BELIEVE YESTERDAY, I I WISH I WAS SO EMBARRASSED WHEN THE DUMBEST THING I EVER DID WAS 1

 Homework exercise: Other rich sources of ideas are books, both fiction and nonfiction; movies; television shows; newspapers, especially local papers, which contain many small humaninterest stories. Keeping some form of scrap or note book, whether paper or electronic, is vital. The internet is also a potential source of good ideas, but bewareit can also be an enormous waste of time. (You dont need millions of ideas to write a storyjust one will do.) NB: Copying passages from your favourite authors into your writing journal is a powerful way of learning how writing works. Children love:* Being spooked Suspense Action Ghosts Treasure Chocolates, toys, money Magic Being made to giggle New inventions Eccentricity Secret information Monsters Time travel Unorthodox methods Seeing the villain meet a grisly death Marvellous/funny/incredible places Love a hero and love a hero to be a winner (*According to Roald Dahl in Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl by Donald Sturrock) ORIGINAL DETAIL, ORIGINAL STORIES Original details and original stories come from your own life, not some mysterious force called the imagination! Look at the word imagination: image nation: It refers to all the images and impressions you have gathered over your life. Originality comes from the way in which you select and arrange these images and ideas so that they strike the reader in a fresh and powerful way. Example: NAPOLEON DYNAMITE Play the first twenty minutes of Napoleon Dynamite. Then play it again with commentary: these utterly original, compelling scenes are all based on incidents from the writers life. a) catching school bus b) trailing action figures behind the bus c) phoning home and asking brother to bring him his chapstick d) your favourite bike e) cargo pants f) the man down the road who shot a cow in front of a bus load of kids g) being tormented by other students before gym class Exercise: Write down ten apparently unremarkable, but original incidents or experiences from your life that might form the basis for some of your stories.

If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like old faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape. (Ray Bradbury)

3. RULEBREAKING

Exercise: a) Write down a list of rules that you have been taught throughout your life. Important rules, silly rules, rules relating to safety, hygiene, etiquette, whatever. Just write them down as they come to mind. b) Now choose the rule you would most like to break and write an imaginary account of yourself breaking it in first person present tense slow motion detail. Childrens humour often involves turning the everyday world upside down. One of the fastest ways to achieve this is to show a character breaking a well established rule and exploring the consequences. Exercise 1: Channel somebody you know well into a monologue. Selecting and exaggerating certain aspects of friends/family/acquaintances is a great way to build convincing comedic characters. Every writer in the world has to use characters that have something interesting about them and this is even more true in childrens books. I find that the only way to make my characters really interesting to children is to exaggerate all their good or bad qualities, and so if a person is nasty or bad or cruel, you make them very nasty, very bad, very cruel. If they are ugly, you make them extremely ugly. That I think is fun and makes an impact. (Roald Dahl) Exercise 2: Create a really exaggerated character. E.g. He was bad. He was SO bad that She was nice. She was SO nice that He was bossy. He was SO bossy that Other adjectives you might like to try: Silly Stupid Mean Kind Scared Smart Friendly Exercise 3: What does your character want? Think about a character in a story you have written and see if you can define their major aim. The more clearly you can define what your characters objective is in a particular story the easier it will be to tell the story. The more clearly defined a character is the easier it is to know what they might say or do in any given situation. Comedic characters are often quite inflexible in what they want and will go well beyond where a normal noncomedic character would give up. (See In the Shower with Andy problemsolution outline below.)

4. CHARACTER

Characters are funny when: They say one thing and do another. They say exactly what theyre thinking without regard for social conventions. (Shut up, Just Stupid!) They act without looking ahead to the consequences of their actions. (In the shower with Andy, Just Annoying!) They act mechanically and/or inflexibly. (Andy in almost any story/The Bad Book) They make mountains out of molehills. (Bandaid, Just Stupid!) They have a simple task to do and end up turning it into an epic struggle for survival. (Busting, Just Stupid!)

Comic characters dont change The difference between tragic and comic characters is that tragic heroes undergo suffering and learn something as a result. Comic characters undergo suffering and learn nothing.

5. STRUCTURING YOUR STORY

Exercise: Create a problemsolution outline for one of the following scenarios (or use your own). You want to get out of going to school You just broke a valuable item belonging to your mother/sister/brother/father and want to hide the evidence Youve been locked out of your house You want to impress somebody that you have a crush on Stories rely on dramatic structure. For example, a character with a strong desire or a problem to solve tries to satisfy that strong desire or solve the problem but encounters resistance, which requires ever more heroic or inventive actions. (Note: In their efforts to make things better comic heroes often make the situation much worse!) Example: IN THE SHOWER WITH ANDY problemsolution outline Problem: Andy wants to fill the shower cubicle with water Solution: He puts his foot on the plughole Problem: The water runs out through the cracks in the shower screen Solution: He gets a silicone glue gun and fills in the cracks. (What if?) Problem: His sister wants to use the shower. Solution: He tells her to come back later. Problem: The water gets so high that it starts going over his head. Solution: He tries to turn the taps off. Problem: The hot tap is stuck. Solution: He hits the tap with the glue gun and breaks the handle off. Problem: Hes going to drown. Solution: He tries to climb over the top of the screen. Problem: He realises the screen goes right to the roof. Solution: He tries to break the glass. 4

Problem: Its triplereinforced safety glass. Solution: He tries to drink the water. Problem: Drinking the water makes him need to pee. Solution: He climbs through the air vent in the roof. Problem: He drops his rubber duck on an unsupported section of plaster. Solution: He tries to rescue his rubber duck. Problem: He falls through the roof right onto the dining table where his parents are hosting a dinner party. (Worst thing.) Solution: He decides to act as if nothing is wrong and gets off the table, informs Jen that the shower is free and leaves the room as fast as possible. Notes: Worst case scenarios (Whats the worst thing that can happen next?) Surprising the reader (What is the reader expecting to happen next? What is the reader NOT expecting to happen next? E.g. baby and Godzilla story.) One of the ways of keeping a reader interested is to keep them guessing. To lead them to think they know how the story is going and then to do something completely different to what they were expecting. The Baby & Godzilla story If I ask children what they expect to happen if a baby and Godzilla were to meet, they usually expect that Godzilla is going to eat the baby. Then I ask them what would be the lastor oppositething that they might expect. They are very quick to realise, with delight, that it would be a situation in which the baby ate Godzilla. This instantly creates a much more interesting story for the reader, and a greater creative challenge for you as writer as you attempt to explain how a baby might actually set about killing and eating Godzilla. After weve explored various options I then invite the children to think about a range of different possibilities for when Godzilla and baby meet. a) Godzilla adopts the baby. b) The baby adopts Godzilla. c) Godzilla and the baby fall in love, get married and have children half baby/half monster. NB: Its much easier to demonstrate this than it is to explain it, and you can see a video posting of me with Godzilla and the baby on youtube at http://andygriffiths.com.au/links/ Example: In the shower with Andy (Just Annoying!) Observation: Its fun to try to fill up the shower cubicle by blocking off the shower plughole (based on personal experience plus talking to children reveals this is a common desire) Idea: Andy fills the shower cubicle with water Scenario: Andy is having a shower Define characters main drive: To fill the shower Define characters main problem: To stop the water leaking out through the cracks in the shower Define my main objective as author: To get Andy into the MOST embarrassing situation possible how do I get him there?

6. STORY WRITING PROCESS

Problemsolution (see above) Opening paragraph: Im in the shower. Singing. And not just because the echo makes my voice sound so cool either. Im singing because Im so happy. Ever since Ive been old enough to have showers Ive been trying to find a way to fill a shower cubicle up with water. If I put a facewasher over the plughole I can get the water as far up as my ankles, but it always ends up leaking out through the gaps in the door. But I think Ive finally found the answerDads silicone gun. Closing paragraph: I cover myself with the rubber duck, swing my legs over the edge of the table and stand up. I beg your pardon, I say. I was looking for the kitchen. Nobody says anything. They are all just staring at me, their faces and clothes white from the plaster dust. I head towards the door as fast as I can. As Im about to exit I turn towards Jen. She is still standing there, eyes wide. Well, what are you waiting for? I say. Showers free! Research: Stand in shower cubicle and imagine what it would feel like to be trapped. Attempt first draft Revise problemsolution accordingly Revise opening and closing paragraphs Attempt second draft Repeat as many times as necessary (in this case, around 2030 drafts) Exercise: Retell one of the fast writing exercises in a different form. Does one form have more comic potential than another? For example, What I learned on the Museum Excursion last Tuesday and Sleepover of Doom (Just Doomed!) were not working as conventional stories so I rewrote one as an illustrated class presentation and the other as a chooseyour own adventure story. Forms to consider: Diagram Diary Instructions Letter List (Rule of Three) Map Poem Poster Script Report Powerpoint presentation Guide book Writing comedy is as much about what you cut as what you write. In fact, cutting is the comedy writers primary skill. No idea is beyond cutting. Besides, youre creative. Theres always another idea around the corner. (Tim Ferguson) (Note: Beware of the Wouldnt it be funny if? trap.) Every joke should ideally be part of the storyeither revealing or confirming character or driving the story forward in some way. Whether it starts trouble,

7. FORM

8. EDITING

deepens it, complicates or resolves it, a gag moves the action when it causes a degree of change in the fortunes of the characters. (Tim Ferguson) Beginning: Grab your readers attention with a strong opening image or statement. Fill them in on the backstory as necessary only as much as you strictly need. Many of my stories take 1 to 2 pages to really get going. My editor (and wife) Jill compares this to the way cartoon characters run on the spot before taking off, and this is usually the stuff that gets cut on the first readthrough. (Its okay to do it; just remember to cut it out later. You would be surprised how many published writers forget to do this and end up creating an unnecessary barrier for potential readers.) Comedy writing editing principles Strive for clarity and simplicity. Dont be afraid to cut words and ideas are cheap and plentiful. Dont overestimate your reader: make sure they know what is happening. Check your vocab. (The five finger test: you may know the meaning of these words but does your intended audience?) Check your material for too much scaffolding and/or description. Less is more. Read your material out to a group of children. (Check for signs of boredom and/or restlessness.) Beware of Wouldnt it be funny if? moments. (i.e. Are your characters acting in accord with their nature or are you making them do things because it would be funny?) Are your characters different enough from each other? Do they all sound the same? Have the same types of reactions? All sound like the writer? Is your story relateable i.e. would kids care about it? Do you have a title that grabs the readers attention or, even better, makes them laugh? Do you have a provocative first line that makes the reader want to continue reading?

9. WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW

Exercise: Write an imaginary review of a funny book or a story that you would like to write in the future. Let yourself go and write exactly what you would like the reviewer to say (this is not the place to be modest.) If youre finding it difficult to get started, try the following experiment: find a biography of a writer you admire, or a glowing review of a book that you would like to have written. Copy the review/biography out but as you do so change the authors name to your own and change the book title/titles to original ones of your own. Place the rewritten biography at the front of your writing practice folder where youll see it on a regular basis. It may seem silly, but an exercise like this provides a powerful compass for guiding you in the right direction. Have fun!

10. RECOMMENDED READING/VIEWING

Writing down the bones, Natalie Goldberg, Shambhala Press The Cheeky Monkey: Writing Narrative Comedy, Tim Ferguson, Currency Press 2010 The IT Crowd Series 4, A Guide to Sitcom Writing (audio commentary by writer Graham Linehan in which he answers all the questions he gets from aspiring comedy writersthe best 2hour lecture on comedy writing EVER and relevant to any medium, not just sitcoms.) Everyone loves a good train wreck: Why we cant look away, Eric G Wilson, Sarah Crichton Books, 2012 Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl, Donald Sturrock, Simon & Schuster If you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. It means you are so busy keeping one eye on the commercial market, or one ear out for the avantgarde coterie, that you are not being yourself. You dont even know yourself. For the first thing a writer should be isexcited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows itd be better for his health. (pp 35 The Joy of Writing by Ray Bradbury, Zen and the Art of Writing)

11. THE FINAL WORD

A GUIDE TO ANDYS BOOKS

The JUST! series (illustrated by Terry Denton) A wildly popular series of funny, fast-paced short stories told by young Andy, who considers himself the worlds greatest, craziest, most annoying, and most stupid practical joker. Just Tricking!, Just Annoying!, Just Stupid!, Just Crazy!, Just Disgusting!, Just Shocking!, Just Doomed! and Just Macbeth! (a script based on Shakespeares Macbeth, featuring the characters from the Just series) The BAD BOOKS (illustrated by Terry Denton) Packed with crazy cartoons, revolting rhymes, putrid poems, dumb drawings, bad riddles, bad jokes, cautionary tales and bad characters doing bad things, the Bad Books will catapult you into a topsy-turvy world in which everything good is bad and everything bad is VERY bad! The Bad Book, The Very Bad Book and Killer Koalas from Outer Space (an anthology of some of the least worst bits of the two Bad Books) The FLAT CAT & BIG FAT COW series (illustrated by Terry Denton) A joyously silly series propelled by kid-pleasing, tongue-tripping verse and edgy, stick-figure-filled illustrations. Ideal for beginning or reluctant readers, but will delight readers of all ages and abilities. The Cat on the Mat is Flat The Big Fat Cow that goes Kapow The 13-STOREY TREEHOUSE (illustrated by Terry Denton) An illustrated novel detailing the epic struggles of Andy and Terry as they attempt to write their latest book. Set in an amazing 13-storey treehouse complete with bowling alley, see-through swimming pool and tank full of man-eating sharks, this is a ridiculously silly adventure crammed with ridiculously silly pictures. The 13-Storey Treehouse The 26-Storey Treehouse (to be published September 2012) The SCHOOLING AROUND series A set of four novels chronicling the amazing goings on at Northwest Southeast Central School. Sure to appeal to both confident and emerging readers of all ages, they are also ideal for both parents and classroom teachers to read aloud. Treasure Fever Pencil of Doom Mascot Madness Robot Riot The BUM series The epic BUM trilogy tells the story of Zack Freeman, his crazy runaway bum, a crack bum-fighting unit called the B-team and some of the biggest, ugliest and meanest bums ever to roam the face of the Earth. The Day my Bum went Psycho Zombie Bums from Uranus Bumagedoon: the Final Pongflict

Andy & Terry's WORLD OF STUPIDITY (illustrated by Terry Denton) Andy & Terrys World of Stupidity is a series of seriously silly, fully-illustrated 100% fact-free guide books that aim to present as much unscientific data and misinformation as its possible to cram into a series of seriously silly, fully-illustrated 100% fact-free guide books. What Bumosaur is That? What Body Part is That? The Naked Boy and the Crocodile (edited by Andy) A collection of stories written by children from remote indigenous communities in Australia. Written in simple picture book formats, these tales are surprising, funny and touching ... and sometimes true! All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Andypedia The Andypedia is a complete guide to every book, every story and every character in the world of Andy Griffiths books. Available as an ebook only. http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/andypedia/ Once Upon a Slime: 50 Fun Ways to Get Writing Fast! (to be published April 2013) Designed for teachers, students and young aspiring writers, Once Upon a Slime contains 50 fun writing and story-telling activities, such as lists, instructions, cartoons, letters, greeting cards, personal stories, poems and pocket-books. Examples from Andys books are used throughout to demonstrate techniques and to inspire readers to have as much fun playing with words, ideas and drawings as Andy and Terry do when they get together to create their crazy books.

More information at http://www.andygriffiths.com.au

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