Laughter is the best medicine, so they say. Although, probably true --it's at the very least a proper core workout-- but not everyone has the same giggle threshold. What would make a teenage girl burst with fits of giggles would most probably make a grown man cringe. Alas, we all have a funny bone and as writers, we just have to find the right approach to tickle said funny bone.

This shall be called the humor code; a how to produce a smile guide for writers. In it, we will discuss some forms of comic approaches.

First, a few things to consider: not everyone that falls in the gutter will be looking up at the stars, they will be unable to look beyond the gutter wall. Meaning, there are some tough nuts out there that easily take offense when you call it nut juice instead of almond milk; lesson number one, know your audience.

There is some humor that can be quite dangerous and not well received by those with a high giggle threshold or distal attachment to the funny bone. Yeah, tough crowd...regardless some humor can be downright inappropriate; lesson number two, don't be rude or any of the [insert here]....cism's out there. Luckily most jokes are not meant to be taken seriously, but some still sting the comically challenged.

They say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit...nah, not having a comeback is the lowest form of wit. We can definitely appreciate a snarky character. Which brings me to lesson number three; smart humor is boss. it's also easier to get away with some less than appropriate humor if it's wrapped in sarcasm. It really softens the blow if a jab at something is disguised as 'sass'. This particularly useful to us as writers, it's easy to hide behind the authenticity of a character. But add in a smart-mouth character to spew out the hard truths in a comical manner and BOOM...people not only accept it they have a good laugh while at it.

Point is, no matter the genre, a moment of humor among all the high flying kicks, soppy love drama or bone-chilling terror can provide a sense of relief. A smile can bring us back to basics can make a situation or character more relatable.

  **********  

"It takes a genius to make people laugh."

– Stephen King

  **********  

Humor Code: Terms and definitions - there are more but these are some of the more prominent ones.

Dark/Gallows/Morbid: Grim or depressing humor dealing with misfortune and/or death. This usually entails some sort of pessimistic outlook on a moment that should be considered sad. Black humor makes light of serious, often taboo subjects like death, violence, discrimination, disease, sexuality, and religion. Nothing is off limits here, but don't be surprised if some take offense to your material! Black humor tends to be used as a tool to explore what makes us mortified, often through irony and twists of fate.

**********

Deadpan/Dry: An impassive, expressionless, matter-of-fact deliverance. Quite often it's merely stating the obvious, but for some reason when the timing is right we find it hilarious.

**********

Droll: This a case of that truly eccentric humor. Often we scratch our heads at people's odd behavior which they seem to execute with sheer determination, blissfully unaware of the fact that society finds it bizarre.

**********

Epigrammatic: This is something we use to have a jab at something or someone that, under normal circumstances, ought to be rude but when disguised with witty words allows us to get away with it.

**********

Farcical or Screwball: Often used in situations of exaggeration or unlikely circumstances to emphasize frantic behavior or fast-paced responses that are, in fact, ridiculous in nature. Probably the best way to put it is that these responses are less than rational.

**********

High/highbrow: Humor pertaining to cultured, sophisticated themes. Yep, not everyone's cup of tea...or should I say not for those that think big biceps are importenter...

**********

Hyperbolic: Known to be an extravagant exaggeration of just literally everything! And often seen in those larger than life, peacocking, characters that experience everything in UHD and technicolor.

**********

Ironic: In a nutshell, this is when you say one thing but the opposite is true. When we write/say something that contradicts the situation it can be quite entertaining or misleading if you take things too literally. Like standing soaked in a rainstorm because your friend just made a comment about the 'pleasant' whether you're experiencing so you left your raincoat at home.

**********

Juvenile: When you result to childlike humor, often seen in immature characters who love to pull pranks and call people silly names.

**********

Mordant: Oh yes, the type of humor that gets you spanked if you encounter a true diva. This humor often has a bite to it (the word stems from a Latin word meaning "to bite") and if you don't like this type of humor you can just bite me, Bambi. Not to be confused with morbid/dark humor.

**********

Parodic/Parody: When we are feeling less inclined to fangirl/boy and more inclined to ridicule something/someone. It's funny AF, but it is often just a mockery of the original version.

**********

Satirical/Satire: When it's easier to just joke about the tough times and the things that make us feel vulnerable. A kind of when life hands me lemons joke, so it's really just tears of laughter to mask the sadness.

**********

Self-deprecating: When the character takes one for the team just to get a good laugh in. This is when the characters belittle them self in a comical way, either they refer to themselves as an example of -how not to- or they whine in an attempt to fish for a compliment.

**********

Slapstick: Those big hitting comedies that use violence and simulated bodily harm to make us laugh - if only out of relief that it ain't us. Which is why we all laugh at those poor unfortunate souls in FailArmy.

**********

Puns: A pun is a play on words, in which a word of multiple meanings, or a word of similar sound but different meaning, is used to create the joke and it's rather punny!

**********

Innuendo: Ohh, this is a dirty little bugger that may appear innocent but often has a double meaning behind it. And 69% of the time it's hinting at something sexier than it seems, but it can be hard to grasp sometimes.

**********

Malapropism: A malapropism is created through either the intentional or unintentional misuse of a word - substituting the 'right' word for another with a similar sound.

**********

Mixed metaphor: These can be confusing, but it's basically when you smoosh two, usually cliche, metaphors together to make something more amusing. Now it can get confusing and not everyone always gets it but we will burn that bridge when we get there.

**********

Exclusive humor: This the kind of humor specific to a group, culture, country or even an inside joke between friends. Not everyone will get this, but it's usually the exclusivity of the laughing that makes it so much more enjoyable.