It’s time to add humor to my day

Every day I bounce back and forth between engineering/investigative technical reports at work and short humor stories at home.

I think the two build off each other -- the humor stories are better off from the daily practice of working to communicate technical ideas concisely and effectively, and the technical reports carry a conversational tone that makes dry material somewhat engaging.

I applaud your efforts to try other types. It can only help further your development as a writer.

I write novels first and foremost, and most are in speculative fiction. I also write in a vareity of other genres, and have novellas and short stories as well.

I have several humorous essays that I ended up writing because several of my friends kept on saying, "Gee, you should write those down." So I did. (They are my husband's favorite out of all I write...considering he thinks I write well but actually does not like to read anything else that I write tells me something...I'm just not sure what.)

I like writing the humorous essays because, comparatively, they are easy for me to do and they provide me with something to write ON if I am stuck elsewhere. They also provide me with a broader portfolio and, therefore, more options. (On some days, I look at that as giving me MORE opportunities to get published! On a day, much like today, when I have just received a very kindly worded rejection from a big agent, I look at them as giving MORE of the publishing world an opportunity to reject me in new and different ways and in any and all mediums. )

So, I do go back and forth between them and any number of my other WIPs. Obviously, I'd also like to get them published, but that, like everything else, is the query/submit/reject or not process that we all love just SO much.

Some call it ADD -- I call it multi-tasking.

I like being able to switch back and forth between genres as I explore more about my writing styles. I would classify myself as a humor essayist but have dabbled in children's PB and horror -- quite the combination, eh?

My suggestion is to start writing and see where it takes you. Don't put too many restrictions on what you're working on regarding sarcasm or dry wit; have fun with the piece whichever way it goes and it'll be great!

Look at your own sense of humor --do you like Dennis Miller more than Will Ferrell? Bob Newhart or Jerry Signfield, figure out what type of humor most appeals to you, The Onion or Mad Magazine. Monte Python or Chris Rock, or all of the above.

Don't sit down to write a funny piece, sit down to tell a funny story. Then look at the story, how could I make it better, and add a liberal dash of fun. If you are stuck, start with a straight story you've already written and figure out how you could make it more like the Naked Gun or just absurd.

Like if Beauty and the Beast really met each other, He's got buffalo breath, not to mention serious B.O...and she, well, she wants more than this provential life, she and Anna Nicole Smith, so what do they do? Marry Rich guys. "Hi, I'm Belle, I'm really smart because I read fairy tales."
"I'm Beast and I like acid rock, grunge decor and am disgustingly rich."
"MMMMMmmmm, bet you'ld be a great linebacker in the NFL."
"Couldn't find a helmet big enough so I was disqualified. Also censors objected to giving me sports pants that allowed for my tail."
Start playing with some conceit and if you are laughing, the audience probably will too...

I, too, spend my day with technical non-fiction at work and then fiction at home. When asked by one of my subordinates where I learned to write fiction, I told him I get practice every time I do his performance evaluation.