The First Laugh

Writing is a journey to the center of ourselves. For comedy (for any audience, any age) it means understanding the kinds of humor you resonate with most. Two questions:

What makes you laugh?

What made you laugh when you were little?

Jot those down. The following are some things to be aware of and some techniques, tips, and tricks to try when writing humor for children. 

Pre-Writing Mindset

Originality

This is one of the most important elements of comedy. If you are not afraid to express your weird (I hope) and wonderful (surely) sense of humor, you are ahead of the game. Trust that what you think is funny, other people will find funny too. What makes you laugh is your North Star.

Photo Op!

Find a photo of yourself as a kid. Frame it and put it on your desk. Framing it gives a sort of permanence to it. It’s like the kid in you is sitting there saying: “Yeah, I’m on the playground! Let’s do this!”

I’ve had mine on my desk since I started writing for animation years ago. Age three, in a two-sizes-too-big velvet dress, circled by cats, on cinder-block steps in front of our trailer, grinning. There’s something about this photo that constantly reminds me of a few things: simplicity, don’t try to be too fancy, the joy of animals. Also: find a good tailor.

Eileen Robinson, editor and owner of the Charlesbridge imprint Charlesbridge Moves, shared in a workshop that she does this and encouraged us to do the same. I can’t overstate the importance of this step. It supports not just finding the funny, but connecting with an important kid—you!

Types of Humor

Is Body Humor for You?

Kids won’t usually laugh at sophisticated things or get wry, sarcastic, dry humor. In exchange, they do love body humor. Remember, they are just understanding their bodies and they are literally growing as they read. So, it makes sense. It makes them giggle, or downright burst with bubbly laughter. And part of that is seeing our reactions when we read it to them. That can be funny to them.

As Tarō Gomi asks in the classic Everyone Poops: “Which end is the snake’s behind?” It’s not for everyone, but nearly every kid is ready to laugh at this. Don’t force it, and don’t pander. But, if you write something along these lines and think, This is fun-nee, keep it.

Consider Slapstick

Another way to get extra jokes is extra slapstick. Cartoons and silent films contain plenty, which are globally translatable.

Physical Humor and Action Can Crack ’em Up!

If you have a knack for describing physical action, it plays well to younger readers. They light up when they imagine the ridiculous images you’ve created. Adam Rex does this throughout The True Meaning of Smekday which is one reason kids love it:

When they passed and were only feet from our restroom, I grabbed an empty milk bottle and hurled it across the street. It crashed and spread glass all over the floor of one of those stores that sells electric nose hair trimmers and solar-powered vacuum cleaners. The noise or the motion or both set off two Dancin’ Santas and a robot dog. The Gorg turned around and went to investigate where all that barking and Feliz Navidad was coming from.

This is partly why cartoons are so popular with kids and have been since their invention. Viewership declines as kids get older, and it’s no wonder: young kids in particular love watching the physical gaffs and gags.

The rise of graphic novels in every age group includes an array of humorous tomes. A great thing about graphic stories is you can sometimes get more jokes on a page.

“We don’t have to write for the parents reading the story. If we write genuine, fun, and funny stories that connect with their child, they will love it and will read it again and again. Because they have to.” —Jorjeana Marie

Writer’s Digest

First Drafts

Be Quick

Making kids laugh requires brevity and clarity. Their attention span is shorter, we know this. But it bears repeating and hitting hard with a wet noodle. It’s also good practice for making anyone laugh.

Tone

Tone varies wildly and can be subtle. “The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants,” Minions, “Angie Tribeca,” and “Seinfeld” are all comedies, but the tone of each is different. From the characters’ personalities to the way they appear to the way the characters are shot and lit, the tone is set and the rest follows. Write everything within the set tone. This is like reading the room. Feeling the vibe. Are we writing ridiculous shenanigans or gentle sloping humor? Tone trickles throughout the story, the characters, their relationships, and individual jokes. So, we might have a fantastic joke but need to cut it—it’s out of character or doesn’t fit the project.

Joke Structures

Lists: things on the list get funnier as the list goes on.

Set-up/punch one liners: the first part is serious, has emotion and a strong viewpoint behind it, then the punch twists the idea, possibly making the first part mean something completely different.

Stories: a character with a goal gets into more and more ridiculous situations, says hilarious things, meets funny friends and frenemies along the way, gets into loads of trouble, then weasels their way out of it.

Exaggerate

It’s common for a comic to get one laugh on a bit and move on—whoa! No! There’s more meal to be chewed, there’s some fat on that! Grab that grub! Take the joke further.

Make a Big Mistake

There are two reasons I support mistake-making. First, we know that failure means we tried. It also means if the mistake is wrong enough, we can make someone laugh. Kids will engage with this endlessly until they’re certain we’re all idiots. Even then, they’ll try to help us. (So kind.) Haven’t you met a kid who is having their fifth birthday and said:

YOU: Well, how did the test go?

BDAY KID: What test?

YOU: Your driver’s license test. You’re driving right?

BDAY KID (laughing, confused, pleased): NO!!! That’s silly!

Roll Around in Wordplay Like a Muddy Puppy

Do a deep dive on the following and see which ones come more naturally. If you pick one to work on each week, in a month you’ll have quite the arsenal.

Alliteration: The same consonant occurs two words or more in a row. E.g., pudgy puppy. Assonance: Same, but with vowel sounds. E.g., a fleck of heck. Consonance: A variation of alliteration except the consonants repeat in the middle and end instead. E.g., Elle was at the mall with all of her elves. Onomatopoeia: My favorite. Sounds coming alive! Whoosh! Similes: Compare two ideas. The thing and the idea of something the thing could be like. Like is often a tip-off that similes are in the vicinity. Similes plus imagination allow for very fun images. E.g., Mrs. Flanners’ footsteps could be heard tromping down the hall like a stegosaurus looking for its next meal—and I was the plant it was going to chew on. Metaphors: Connect two things and suggest they are similar in some way. The funny/clever happens if you can surprise us when doing so. E.g., The cop barked orders at the dog.

Puns Are Number One

To us, they can be annoying, groan making, and don’t always translate with a global audience. But, do kids love ’em, or do they just put up with them like we adults do? No matter, I have prepared a pun primer for the punniest among us!

Similar sounds: Olive juice. I Love you. Spellings: When his parents drove off from the sundae shop, Kai was desserted.Double Meanings: Did you have French fries in France? No, I could only get ’em in Greece.Two in One: The firetrucks are the best part of the parade; the Dalmatians are easily spotted.

Rhyme

Rhyme is a great way to connect with kid readers. It’s the perfect place to sneak in surprise because the rhyme scheme ABAB sets up an expectation of what the rhyme might be, then offering something different. Some stand-up comics use short poems as a joke format to great success.

Write Evocative Sounds, Smells, Feels

This is yet another way to capture hilarity. Bring the funny into the five senses and what we imagine hearing or smelling can be as powerful as what we visualize. In The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex he describes: “Her voice had changed from birdsong to something like the sound of windshield wipers on dry glass.”

Build, Build … Build!

Escalate situations building on what’s working. Think of your comedy like a fireworks show. It starts with something intriguing, bright, shiny, a pop. Then more wild color. Then the big finale; blasting off. All the trouble the character can get into is multiplied until belly laughs are undeniable.

REVISING

Punch-Up Pass

Do a pass just for jokes. Take your goggles, put in the “punch-up lens,” and look for places to up the antics and add wordplay.

Read it aloud!

This is so important. You will catch typos, think of new bits, add, take away, realize it is drooping like a sad-sack-sicle in the middle. Read it aloud to a very funny friend and before you get started, tell them you are looking for ways to escalate what’s already there. Tell them it means you trust them, and you think they’re either as funny as you or funnier.

Start Strong, End Strong

Go over the beginning and ending to tighten them up. Can you start stronger? Can you escalate those fireworks and crackling bits at the end? Can you raise the stakes again with one more (funnier) bit?

Some Things to Avoid

Kids don’t laugh at the same things as adults do. Concepts that might be funny to an adult might not ring true to a kid because they don’t have that experience, including jokes about adult relationships. Kids don’t often relate to marital/partner/office/co-worker/boss jokes. (The Boss Baby has that whole baby part, so it gets a pass.) Kids relate to and find humor in jokes involving other kids, parents, teachers, caregivers, and so on, the main characters they see in their world. Someone like a loud-burping librarian who can’t help herself and over-apologizes. It’s got physical comedy, but it’s not offensive and although librarians, to me, are near perfect, some might occasionally have to burp!Don’t be afraid to get silly yourself. Kids love seeing adults be silly because it’s out of the ordinary. A kid walking into a room to discover their parents acting like their pets, chasing each other, rolling around on the ground, barking or mewing would be funny because it would be unexpected and yet still familiar to the kid.Don’t forget about their world and what is important in it and to them.Let negativity drizzle down the drain. Writing for kids is helped by getting into a fun headspace. Not always easy to do, it’s true, but any effort to find playful positivity is a step in the right direction.But don’t ignore the negativity. Just because you’re writing for children doesn’t mean you have to always be in a fun headspace. The things that drive us nuts or make us mad are fodder for comedy. They need to be molded into hilarity (and to fit the tone of the piece).Skip the cynicism and the sarcasm. We don’t have to write for the parents reading the story. If we write genuine, fun, and funny stories that connect with their child, they will love it and will read it again and again. Because they have to.When you do repeated passes on a humorous piece, be cautious about changing original jokes from the first draft. Just because it doesn’t feel as funny doesn’t mean it needs to be changed. Remember, we need surprise, and you know what’s in there. Someone who reads that bit for the first time will love it and laugh!Don’t write big kid jokes for little kids, and vice-versa. Different aged kids laugh at different things.Don’t only watch shows meant for you. Watch shows and read books for all ages, especially the ones you want to write for. It is a requirement for the job. Really. If you’re not interested, you might not be ready to get into the sandbox.

Most Important

Have fun, crack yourself up, and joy will ooze onto the page, likely resulting in your best work. Give yourself permission to get into the mindset of play at every stage, from brainstorming to outline, draft, revision, and second revision. Even when notes are stripping the fun, return to that which makes you laugh. North Star.

BONUS GAME: ABSURD BIRD

Choose a character from your WIP. If you can’t think of one, choose an unusual bird (one that makes you laugh with their antics!). Name them if they don’t have one yet and write it at the top of a blank page. Put them in a setting that would be awkward for them. Fish (or bird, as the case may be) out of water style. Set the timer for three minutes. Release expectations, set aside judgment, prepare for ridiculosity. Remember there are no mistakes with this kind of game—permission to get absurd granted! Jot down absurd things that could happen to this bird (or other character) in this place. The only rule to follow is to keep the pen going, keep the fingers type-tap-typing.

For example, I am working on a story about a female drummer. Her whole world is her apartment building and school. And her drumkit. I put her on a field trip to the aquarium and set the timer. My absurd findings:

She drums on the glass, gets thrown in aquarium “jail.”

She counts each clown fish to a 2/3 beat; they gather around her and dance to it.

She gets the octopus to drum alongside her in a drummer-duet.

She taps her toes, and an alligator sings a little Dua Lipa back to her.

She gets lost and the janitor asks her to stay put, but she can’t sit still, so she wiggles all the way to a tank of electric eels. They put on a rock show together!

*****

I feel like I have a second story just from playing around, but it makes me want to go back to the last draft and make bold choices.

For more on games and using improv to create comedy writing (or any writing), check out my previous article “Laugh Track” in the July/August 2018 issue of Writer’s Digest.

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