Had you told me when I first started writing fiction that my forte would be humor writing, I would have scoffed. At the time, I was working on my Kate Caraway Animal-Rights mystery series, which I categorized as an amateur sleuth with a touch of suspense. Then I got hooked on reading Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody series, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, and Carl Hiaasen’s mysteries. These books are character-driven, or I should say quirky character-driven. Since then, I’ve added other humorous series to my must-read list.

My modus operandi for writing has always been to write what I love to read, so I set my Kate Caraway series aside for a few years and decided to cultivate a sassy, outspoken, amusing protagonist who was determined to make a difference in a man’s world in the 1950s. I was surprised at how easy it was. However, I’m not sure I could take much credit. All I did was plant a seed. What sprouted from my imagination was Sydney Jean Lockhart. One day, she walked into my life and said, “You got to hear this. You won’t believe what just happened to me?” So, I sat back and listened to her tell me her crazy, unbelievable story, and soon I was writing a lighthearted, humorous mystery. That was fifteen years ago, and thankfully, Sydney hasn’t shut up once.

Here are my five tips to develop your literary funny side.

1. Don’t try to be funny. Great humor is organic. Think about the times you told a friend a hilarious story. It could be about something you heard, saw, or experienced. Maybe you added your own twist to the story and garnered a few more laughs.
2. Read and watch. Read what you desire to write. List what you love about the books that make you laugh. Is it the protagonist’s personality, the unbelievable situations she encounters, or the banter between the characters? Also, consider the movies, TV series, and YouTube videos you enjoy watching. These are excellent avenues for you to hone your writing skills.
3. Break the mold. Create a protagonist that is unique and not stereotypical. What if she’s a habitual liar? What if she’s a travel writer who’s afraid to leave the house? What if she’s determined to become a career woman but falls in love? Sydney Lockhart is adamant about staying single and being a self-sufficient career woman. Marriage and family are not on her agenda. She plans to avoid the domestic lifestyle at all costs. But when an attractive detective enters her life, sparks fly, and conflict results. This thread runs throughout the entire series. Remember, there’s humor in contradiction.
4. Focus on the absurd. Put your character in farcical and outrageous situations. Have them involved in one shenanigan after another. What if an Uber driver picked her up in a stolen car? What if she was attacked and got amnesia? In one scene in Murder at the Arlington, Sydney tracks a suspect to an illegal casino. Just as she is about to discover valuable information involving the murder, the place is raided, and she’s forced to flee across a railroad trestle that crosses a river. She’s wearing stilettos with straps, not a shoe style that can be easily removed. Her foot gets caught in the rails, and you guessed it, a train is racing toward the trestle.
5. Don’t let your protagonist off the hook easily. I have numerous madcap scenes in each book, often one after another. It’s great fun to begin a chapter with a hook and send it with a cliffhanger.

As a result, readers tell me they enjoy reading my books because I make them laugh out loud. That comment alone fuels my funny side.