Samhain Publishing

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh. ~George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Anglo-Irish playwright, critic

Yes, I write comedy. Sometimes. Other times, no, I don’t. Even in the same story, there is laughter and tears, and I hope, a story that touches you. Laughter and comedy are not in opposition to deeper, more somber emotions. In fact, sometimes they are VITAL in those cases. Here is the thing, you can laugh deeply, loudly and with tears streaming down your face. Or you can snort in bitter irony with tears streaming down your face. Both are humor. To laugh, even to yourself in snarky amusement, is your brain stepping up and managing the despair. Humor does not always equate with joy. Sometimes, it is served with sadness. Humor and Tragedy, just like the Greek drama masks, are barely different, it is all in the delivery.

Comedy is the great humanizer. It brings the pain, the sorrow, the heartbreak into a manageable bite. Go grab your favorite book, I will wait (hums jeopardy theme) Got it? Okay, I don’t care what genre it is, I bet if you look, somewhere in those pages is at least ONE humorous line. I would venture to say nearly all books have SOME LEVEL OF COMEDIC INTENT even if it is just one line here and there to diffuse tensions.

Why? Because that is how life operates. The best types of comedy come with an element of pain, be it physical, emotional or psychological. It revs up that section of our brain that braces for the blow, tenses in anticipation and then… tickles it. The human mind adapts, copes and juggles what is too horrifyingly painful with laughter. It allows us to absorb the event while maintaining sanity. The human brain kicks in and find the one thing to keep us grounded, a buffer to lessen the impact.

Humor as defense. Cool concept, huh?

True, those stories bearing the title of ROMANTIC COMEDY will have more laughs (or attempts at laughs) than others. Nature of the beast, as they say. Romantic Comedy is not slapstick nor is it constant one liners zinging like bees, although, yes, it can be. It is an overall view from the characters who make the situation comedic. Life is either tragic or hilarious, depending on your outlook. Some one backs into your car. Laugh? Cry? Cuss? Fight? You decide.

Most humor is subjective (which is what everyone tells me keeps RomCom from taking over the world) and what I find funny, you might not. It’s all good. I like vanilla, you like chocolate. We can get along just fine.

(Now I have the Coke commercial in my head I’d like to by the world a Coke and keep it company)

SMACK!! Back on track

Romantic comedy can be set in any era, age or world. Historical to futuristic, humor exists everywhere. It is an underlying current of wit (be it tongue in cheek or Jerry Lewis gags). One of the best examples I can think of to illustrate the outlook of a character is Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter tragic hero Zarek. The man is a tortured mess. He has been beaten down for centuries and his closest friends pretty much think he is a rabid dog. His devil-may-care attitude comes out in whizzing comedic lines at the darkest moments. Is it a comedy? No, but it has its moments.

And really, is Simi not comedic relief?

The delivery is the definition. If you laughed through an entire book and never felt another emotion, well, might as well read a book of knock-knock jokes. Human beings are not flat, they are not monotone. Your story shouldn’t be either. To balance humor with love, with sorrow, with tragedy even, is not easy. Too far overboard and you mock the richness of human depth. Too shallow and your words fall flat. A fine balance must be achieved. If it is, bring back that Coke commercial because it is a thing of perfect harmony.

This week, I had my debut as a Samhain author. JINXED is a Contemporary Romantic Comedy. It is funny. It is sad. It is sexy. I hope you laugh… and cry.

Inez Kelley

http://inezkelley.com/