Entry 5

I enjoyed reading “Relaxing the Rules of Reason” by Robin Hemley. I felt like I could relate to the author in the sense that comedy and tragedies are similar and that if you try to write funny you will not be successful. Hemley states that writing comedy or just trying to be funny when you are writing is hard if you try to be funny. If you just let your ideas flow it becomes easier. I completely agree with this. I found that when I try to be funny when I write two things happen. One thing is that my paper is not funny and the second thing is that it takes me a long time to write the paper. Forced comedy just isn’t funny. I usually analyze normally everyday events and make sarcastic comments about them and that’s what I need to do when I write. I need to just write my paper and then go back and add elements of comedy after I fully analyze what I wrote. If I over think the humorous aspect of the story it will not sound funny in my writing. I liked how Hemley mentioned her daughter and knock knock jokes. Everyone has a different type of humor. Just because you think something is funny does not mean everyone will, and it works both ways. Some people like quirky or goofy humor while others like more intelligent or intellectual humor. It all depends on the person. I like the advice that J. Kevin Wolfe gave. He mentions how stand up comedians like Bill Cosby have to set up their jokes and that writers have to do the same. Bill Cosby is very good at subtly setting himself up for a one liner. Anyone who tries to be funny in writing need to know how to set up their joke. Wolfe mentions that Cosby’s set ups are so effective because he pauses and waits for the audience to think about what he said and then he tells the joke and pauses again. I never thought about doing that in writing or how I would go about doing that. Overall, both essays were fun and enjoyable to read.