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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/12009-Pratfall-Comedy.html
Comedy: June 14, 2023 Issue [#12009]




 This week: Pratfall Comedy
  Edited by: Leger~ Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

The purpose of this newsletter is to help the Writing.com comedy author hone their craft and improve their skills. Write to our editors if you have an idea you would like presented.

This week's Comedy Editor
Leger~ Author Icon



Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

The Pratfall


We've all been out with our friends and done something to make them laugh at us. Sometimes that includes falling down. And our friends, if they're good friends, will help us up. After they have a good laugh at our expense.

A pratfall is a staged fall on your butt, for comedic effect. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were famous for their pratfalls. The fun thing about a pratfall is that it doesn't make fun of others, it's pure simple comedy with the joke on yourself. The pratfall effect happens when a likable person and competent actor does something silly and surprising, making the audience laugh. I've done a few silly things to get my babies to laugh.

Think about how you can add a little pratfall to your story. Perhaps your character spills a drink on himself. Or stumbles into the bar stool next to a pretty lady. In the boardroom, someone is getting admonished and your character drops something loudly to distract the boss.

Put the pratfall in your writing toolbox, it could be useful to change the mood of your scene.
And as always, Write On!



This month's question: How would you use a pratfall in your writing? Send in your answer below! *Down* Editors love feedback!


Editor's Picks

 One Morning at Shorty’s Diner Open in new Window. (ASR)
A pleasant morning at an eatery is interrupted by a patron breaking a house rule.
#2294770 by Bobby Lou Stevenson Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: On most weekday mornings, Richard McKellop can be found sitting in a booth next to a window at Shorty's Diner. There, the thirty-seven-year-old father of two, sucks-up several Diet Cokes while perusing the morning Register. The pleasant hour of leisure sets Richard’s mind right before driving to Lloyd's Hardware where he is employed in the screen door repair department.

 The Academy for the Riding of Dogs Open in new Window. (18+)
A cat and a boy take it upon themselves to rid their neighborhood of a dog.
#2270927 by jackson Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Old Fraidy Cat was my Mama's cat, although I held the belief that he belonged to me. Actually, whether I or my mama knew it or not, Old Fraidy Cat was his own cat. Mama found him one Sunday afternoon at the Old Regular Baptist fried chicken affair. She had just finished her third game of Bingo and was looking for a means to offset her Sunday evening boredom when she first saw him. He was just a little bitty fellow. He was sitting on a stool halfway pushed under a table while he chewed on a chicken wing. Beside him on the stool were the well-polished bones of an extra crunchy six-pack.

 
STATIC
The Funeral Fiasco Open in new Window. (E)
When everything goes wrong at a funeral, a family finds laughter is the best medicine.
#2036665 by Angels in my Ear Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Terry heard voices in the hallway and froze. His heart pounded as he realized he'd been caught. The whispering women stopped as they came in the room and stared at him with their mouths agape. How was he supposed to explain this! He'd just been caught red handed at a funeral going through the dead man's pockets. In the hallowed silence of the church, he could swear he heard Roy's ghostly laughter in his ear.

STATIC
The Interesting Case of Mrs Ganly Open in new Window. (E)
Jerome applies to join the Superheroes League. 1st in BlackAdder’s Contest 2023.
#2296000 by Beholden Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Jerome parked his jetboard in the alcove next to the imposing entrance to the League’s Headquarters. It had taken several days but he had finally built up the courage to enter that esteemed building. His father had been a member of the League and Jerome was determined to follow in his footsteps.

 
STATIC
A Thanksgiving Memory Open in new Window. (E)
I remember it well, it was the Thanksgiving of 1985. It's still being talked about today.
#2206339 by Jeannie Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: It was the year 1985: when our neighbor knocked on the door and presented me with the largest turkey I’d ever seen. When he handed it over, it was so heavy I almost dropped it. He smiled and came to my rescue.

 
STATIC
A Question of Hearing Open in new Window. (13+)
A need for auditory amplification devices, or institutional confinement
#1934375 by Joey' Falling for the Season Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: “Your Aunt Winnie’s not happy either. She’s got mashfrytitsis.”

STATIC
Try The Uni Open in new Window. (13+)
Join me on a trip to the local sushi bar.
#1076553 by W.D.Wilcox Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Sometimes what constitutes as a culinary delight can be a choking nightmare to an unsuspecting palate. I refer, of course, to Japanese sushi--a raw piece of fish, about the size of a hacked-off finger, stretched across a scoop of sticky rice.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2293865 by Not Available.

Excerpt: Today’s my 21st birthday, and I’m in court. Not how I envisioned celebrating the occasion, but at least I’m wearing a suit. It’s the little things in life that matter, right? I didn't use to think so, but it must be. Why else would I be standing trial over a chicken nugget?

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer

This month's question: How would you use a pratfall in your writing? Send in your answer below! *Down* Editors love feedback!


Last month's question isn't available since I'm a guest editor in the Comedy newsletter.
Tell us about a real-life pratfall with a fun ending!

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