Physical Comedy in Serious Novels

IReidandWrite · Aug 15, 2007

Do they belong together?

Situation:

One character is being pursued by the main antagonist. Finally, after an exhausing....20 min or so, maybe? she slips and falls on a waxed tile floor.

Does it belong?

scarletpeaches · Aug 15, 2007

Well...would that be seen as comedy, though, or a cliche? Why must the pursued always fall during the pursuit?

That said, I believe comedy will always have a place in novels - because comedy will always have a place in life.

IReidandWrite · Aug 15, 2007

Is it cliche?

Hmm.

I should balance that out.

Maybe broken-ankle character cuts off one of evil character's stiletto heels.

Chasing the Horizon · Aug 15, 2007

My MC is a bit clumsy, and has an exceptional talent for finding the one and only thorny plant/pointy branch/sharp shell in the general area, usually with his behind. This happens in serious scenes quite frequently, as well as lighter ones. I don't see what's wrong with having someone fall (or whatever) in a serious scene. It isn't necessarily funny, depending on the circumstances, sometimes it just proves that even eminent danger can't change one's sense of balance

IReidandWrite · Aug 15, 2007

Maybe she trips over a wet floor sign. >

And breaks her neck.

And dies.

Shady Lane · Aug 15, 2007

That sounds really cute to me. Go for it.

maestrowork · Aug 15, 2007

Humor certainly is suitable in drama... but you need to watch the tone and keep it consistent.

Wolvel · Aug 15, 2007

Even the most serious works have some comedy in them. When your telling a story you want to draw the reader into the books world, and since no one is perfect it makes the characters more real.

JoNightshade · Aug 15, 2007

I think the funniest moments come in the middle of "serious drama." It's when you aren't expecting it-- and it fits just right-- that you laugh the loudest. If you're EXPECTING humor, it's not quite so effective. Methinks.

Zoombie · Aug 15, 2007

In my story, at one point, the heroes are on a hovertrain and there is another hovertrain behind them, piloted by the villain. The villain is tossing bombs at them, and the bombs are exploding closer with every second.

So the heroes decide to cut the caboose off of their train. They think that the caboose will fall to the rail (it is a hovertrain, remember), slow almost to a stop, and smash into the train behind them.

They cut the train loose...and it keeps floating because it has it's own hover generator. And all the heroes are standing there, staring at the caboose that wouldn't crash.

Then they started bickering. It was such a tense situation and the bickering just made me giggle.

They solved the problem by smashing up the backup hover generator and jumping really fast.

Now, that might not have been as funny as slipping on wet floor, but it was still making me giggle.

And I forgot where I was going with this...

Oh yeah: Drama, excitement and humor mix great!

As long as you don't do it too often. Fortunately, my book is an action comedy, so I can't do it too often.

blacbird · Aug 15, 2007

Good comedy is always serious.

caw

NeuroFizz · Aug 16, 2007

People fall, and sometimes it comes off as funny to an observer, or even to the victim. Two things that should be considered, however, are POV and the tone of the scene (in my opinion, of course). If the "faller" is the POV chracter, and the author has dialed the POV in close (in the character's skin) so the person's reactions are being detailed, will the fall be funny to that character? If the POV is close and jumps to a more distant narrator, then back in close with the POV character, it could jolt the reader. As for tone, it's pretty much the same thing. If the scene is one of suspense, or significant tension, will a comedic fall break the tone for the reader? If it is written as too humorous, and the author then tries to get back to the tension of the scene, it could come off as disjointed to the reader, or the feeling of suspense/tension could be lost.

A fall on a wet floor is not necessarily cliche. Slipping on a banana peel is.

Garpy · Aug 16, 2007

Hope, whether you frame it as comedy, or just one of those things that happen in REAL life...it's a very good idea to build in fallibility to you mc. I can't tell you how tired of coming across protag' who brilliant and beautiful, sassy and smart...always coming up with the winning one-liner, or escape ruse.

Please....gimme somebody I might actually recognise as a real person, and then I'll care a 100 times more what happens to them

Indirectly · Aug 16, 2007

I am a really really really big fan of humour. I think it belongs everywhere - epecially in serious novels. That being said, it all depends on how you do it, imo. But I've seen a few other people already elaborate on that point and I have no new thoughts.

What I do want to know is how slipping on a banana peel became cliche in the first place. I've tried it, and the banana peel stuck to the floor.
Who was sitting around going, "What should I slip on? A twig? A plate? A UFO? A banana? Bye Jove, that's it! Bananas, like aarvarks, are intrinsically funny! I'll slip on that!"

NeuroFizz · Aug 16, 2007

I believe the banana peel thing goes back to silent films, but I don't know its origin beyond that.

As for humor, as Garpy said, it's an excellent tool to use for producing believable characters. There are some scenes, however, where humor, or a humorous action, might not be appropriate. In a 80,000+ word novel, there are plenty of opportunities to develop a humorous touch to a character. A quick slapstick action will not have the same humorous effect as a carefully structured quirk that reflects humorously on a well-developed character. In other words, I agree with blacbird--the best humor is serious, or at least subtle.

Bubastes · Aug 16, 2007

The first example I thought of: the salmon-in-the-pants scene in The Corrections. Serious novel, very funny moment.

JoniBGoode · Aug 16, 2007

I agree that making a character clumsy makes them more believeable and interesting.

I seem to remember reading a Tom Clancy(?) thriller years ago where the president of the U.S. was physically clumsy. (The character was very loosely based on Gerald Ford, if I'm not mistaken.) You'll notice that 10 years later, I don't remember the author or the title, but I remember those scenes.

But, none of the funny accidents happened in the middle of a chase scene.

Humor is a great tool for diffusing tension, both internally and between people. (Some psychologists believe that's why humans are capable of humor.)

The question is, do you want to diffuse the tension in this particular scene, at that particular point? Or do you want to increase the tension for the reader?

On the other hand, tripping is not necessarily funny. If you land on your butt on a sunny day in the park with no harm done, it's humorous. If you trip while fleeing a burning building, and it collapses on you, it's tragic. That's up to you, as a writer.

BarbJ · Aug 16, 2007

I think humor is always appropriate, as long as it doesn't jump up and down waving its arms and shouting "Look at me!" If it fits in and doesn't interrupt the action, go for it. If it does, squelch it.

katiemac · Aug 16, 2007

Physical comedy can work well in serious situations. Your example doesn't make me think of humor outright, just because I'd assume that if she's being pursued I'd find the situation more stressful than funny if she fell. Of course, that's completely down to tone.

One very recent example I can think of that actually made me laugh out loud was in the last Harry Potter. It was right in the middle of a very serious, climactic moment, which probably made it funnier than it would have been normally.

HourglassMemory · Aug 16, 2007

If the scene is extremely dramatic, like dark hallways with the windows casting moonlight and then all of a sudden she missed her step, it could either add to the drama, she falls, the man is getting closer...or it could be humurous.
And I agree with JoNightShade. The best humour is when you least expect it. Especially in dramatic scenes.

Don't you notice that everybody likes those parodies of famous films like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? It's grabbing a piece of known scenes, usually serious, and making the characters do or say something that just doesn't fit.

mscelina · Aug 16, 2007

any time you break up the building of the plot with a completely unexpected directional change, it allows the reader/audience to release tension. They take that moment for a laugh--and then hen the tension starts to build again it's more intense. It's a viable--and effective --plot tool.

wayndom · Aug 22, 2007

Project nachonaco said:
Maybe she trips over a wet floor sign. >

And breaks her neck.

And dies.

It's gonna take some writing to make that funny.

Red Robin · Aug 23, 2007

Project nachonaco said:
Maybe she trips over a wet floor sign. >

That's funny.

IMHO, comedy should just come out and punch you. Don't wink at the reader or try to explain something is funny.

eg.

"They hung in the air exactly the way bricks don't." An absolutely brilliant line. A humorous book yes, but it happens during a tense scene, and sets the tone for the whole novel.

Physical Comedy in Serious Novels

IReidandWrite

scarletpeaches

IReidandWrite

Chasing the Horizon

Blowing in the Wind

IReidandWrite

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

Wolvel

Write the Damn Book!

JoNightshade

has finally arrived

Zoombie

Dragon of the Multiverse

blacbird

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

Garpy

keyboard monkey

Indirectly

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

Bubastes

bananaed

JoniBGoode

BarbJ

katiemac

Five by Five

HourglassMemory

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

wayndom

Red Robin

Veni Vidi Scripsi