May I hang here?

Say something funny and you may dangle for certain. (I'd better run; the bouncers don't find me amusing...)

Welcome

I have this wonderful humor writing course. I only costs you the shirt off your back. Please insert your shirt into the CD drive and wait for your fun-filled course.

As an added bonus, for only your pants, you can get a second course. Yes, it's the Writing Funerals for Fun and Profit course. SImply remove your pants and stuff them into the modem slot.


(If you are funnier than that, you are a humor writer. Maybe not a good one, but a humor writer anyway.)

Allen

Welcome, Nancy!
You don't have to have writing credits to hang here, just a sense of humor.

I've never taken an online class, so I can't recommend any. There are some humor resources pinned to the top of this board, and some prompts for when the well runs dry.

The best way I know to learn to write humor is to read other humor writers. Read everything funny that you can lay hands on from Comic strips to The Congressional Record. Oops. Slipped. Anyhooooo...

Welcome!

Barb
Your sometimes helpful Humor Mod and Tour Guide.

Nancy:
I, too, am an old newbie. In fact, I just found this site less than an hour ago.

I remember back in the dark ages my creative writing prof at UT in Austin telling us to write what we know. That would not even make a short story, even after 53+ years. But humility was rarely in my vocabulary, so I have ventured into writing a semi-humorous work called Hot Flashes Are Contagious. http://aguidetomiddleage.blogspot.com

After a dozen rejection letters from prospective agents, I got the bright idea of posting various excerpts on a blog. The comments were encouraging, but they came from friends and friends of friends.

The question I have is, "Where can I go to get valuable (objective) criticism?"

Hell, if they allow me here they'll allow anybody.

Thanks, Nancy.

I look forward to some fresh eyes.

Though the book is ostensibly for men, I really think that women will be the driving force behind any real acceptance. But, isn't that just the way it is in the real world?

John

johnwcarlisle said:

http://aguidetomiddleage.blogspot.com
After a dozen rejection letters from prospective agents, I got the bright idea of posting various excerpts on a blog. The comments were encouraging, but they came from friends and friends of friends.

The question I have is, "Where can I go to get valuable (objective) criticism?"

Click to expand...

John,

You can post excerpts in the Humor part of the Share Your Work forum (password vista), and link to it in the "Need a Humor Crit" thread.

Also, take a look around this board, especially those boards and threads dealing with finding an agent and a publisher, and writing non-fiction books in general. There's a lot more to the biz than simply writing the book -- you have to know how to pitch it, and who to pitch it to.

Best of luck to both you and Nancy, and welcome to the cooler!

Yeshanu said:

John,

You can post excerpts in the Humor part of the Share Your Work forum (password vista), and link to it in the "Need a Humor Crit" thread.

Also, take a look around this board, especially those boards and threads dealing with finding an agent and a publisher, and writing non-fiction books in general. There's a lot more to the biz than simply writing the book -- you have to know how to pitch it, and who to pitch it to.

Best of luck to both you and Nancy, and welcome to the cooler!

Click to expand...

Nancy:

Ruth's suggestion was great, i.e., to put something on the Share Your Work forum. Although I am still figuring out what "pledge" to make concerning submissions to the real world, I am pledging to critique at least 5 works a week for the next few weeks while I am getting my feet wet. If I want feedback, I have to give feedback as well.

Good luck and I am looking forward to reading some of your work as well.

John