Young Writers Society

Do you use humor a lot in your stories?

I must say I can't get enough of it. I make sure not to make it too out of place or cliche though. Like these moments.

“Why do you even want to come? You could be killed!”
“I’m the one who watched you fight, Xavier. You might as well just be wielding a giant grain of rice than that sword. At least you can eat rice.”

As the man’s head disappeared, Xavier, who was still on one knee, tried to rise, but couldn’t. His shin hurt terribly, and the pain had only intensified once the battle was over. He looked up at Lily. “Will you—”
“I don’t know,” she said, cutting him off. “We’ve just met.”

The character Merenor has the must humor points. He's pretty arrogant and sarcastic.

Nothing wrong with humor at all. It's just a question of careful timing in most parts; you can't go over the top with the humor. Placing a few quips here and there will always keep the reader delighted without making it a comedy.

I like sprinkling humor occasionally in my stories, I find when I'm reading it lightens the stress the reader has for a moment (which is nice because my story's a fantasy thriller). There's been many a book I've read that I've come out so tense from because there wasn't a brief break in the suspense. Of course, you go right back to it, though, to keep with the story.

You wouldn't want to go insert it, however, in a really serious scene like a key character's death or the revelation of something really drastic. In that way, it's like laughing at a funeral. It kills the mood you are trying to establish.

Sometimes I'll throw some humor into my story, though I'm not very good at it yet. The problem is that the story I'm writing now has a rather serious tone to it and there arn't many places for humor. I'll just have to keep working on it

~Wolf

P.S.- Amaryllis, your signature cracked me up

Humor is great in a story in the right moments, yes. I agree with Amaryllis, don't add humor or saracasm in serious parts. It could sound like your characters aren't taking their situation seriously or are being flippant about a serious matter, and who wants to read about characters like those?