What are the key elements of a humor story?
I've always loved humor stories, and relish the idea of making one. But the thing I cannot grasp is the key elements of one. Are the key elements the same as a normal story (Problem, Solution, etc.)? Or are they different?
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1 answer
+1 to Hink, the elements are the same. They still follow the three-act structure.
But often the "problem" facing the protagonists is ludicrous (a funny friendly alien needs help, the end of the world is coming, they discover a time-traveling hot tub), and their reaction to the problem is likewise ludicrous and irrational, or self-indulgent.
The essence of a joke is to lead the audience to rationally expect one outcome, and spring either the opposite or something else on them that still makes sense. "Spring" is an important word here, a joke has a surprise ending, often in the final word, and they won't laugh if they anticipated the twist. The surprise is why it is called a "punch line", it has some kind of impact like a punch. Which is why jokes wear out, people learn the punch line as one possible outcome, and stop laughing if the punch line is something they already expected. The punch line has to be unexpected to elicit a laugh.
This is actually somewhat difficult to pull off; and also difficult to analyze logically and decide whether a joke works. That takes years of experience in the comedy business. It is also why many intended comedies fall flat.
But that said, a comedy story is the same as other stories, but usually using characters with noticeably unusual personality traits, as a device by which the author(s) can create the unexpected outcomes necessary to get the audience to laugh.
For the same reason, comedy (minus stand-up) is often written in collaboration, because the author can be "too close" to their own material, they already know the punch line. So others that can be surprised by the punch line provide a valuable critique.
The key element of a humor story is whether the jokes are funny. A story is necessary, but you get much more leeway in the plot and realism of the characters and settings and reactions, most people will forgive a lot if they are busy laughing at the jokes.
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