 Comedy: February 17, 2010 Issue [#3561] |
  Comedy
This week: Getting to the Point Quickly Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.
Orson Wells, Move director and producer
Greetings! I am a guest editor this week for the Comedy Newsletter, and while I am not a regular editor, I do feel that I am becoming a bit of a regular irregular. This is, after all, my fifth stint as guest editor, and everybody who wasn't paying close attention to the Brothers Grimm knows that fifth time is the charm.
~ Ben Langhinrichs
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Getting to the Point Quickly
Film directors have long understood that you can drag out action and drama for two, even three hours, but comedy fits best in ninety minutes. In writing, this is even more true, with ADD, ADHD and ADOS rampant among the younger generation. (Never heard of ADOS? That is what my friends call Attention Deficit...Oh, Shiny or fans of the movie Up refer to as Squirrel!)
So, you haven't much time and you want to make people laugh. It is time to pull out the shorts. No, not those embarrassing Superman shorts with the Man of Steel zooming up the front with (OMG!) phallic symbolism. I mean flash fiction, ultra-shorts, micro-fiction, etc.
There are plenty of sites on the web looking for flash fiction, but one of my very favorites is here on Writing.com: Storm Machine 's The Hint Fiction Contest
Fifty-five words may not seem a lot to tell a story, but it can be done and done well. Not all the stories are comedy, but many are funny, whether intentionally or not. I highly recommend the contest, but I sometimes think it would be fun to do a special round with an added rule. My suggestion is, do a round where the fifty-five words must be in exactly one sentence. This would be perfect for those of us who are both wordy and attention deprived.
To demonstrate my point, I have written a fifty-five word story of my own about getting to the point quickly.
Getting the Point
With the soothing violins of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons filling the apartment and a comforting cup of Sleepytime in his hands, Lawrence smiled as Rupert leapt to curl up on his lap, when suddenly with utter clarity Lawrence understood the pet shop owner’s concern about taking on a porcupine as a pet, rather than a cat.
With that, I'm outta here. Write on, people! (Oh yeah, for those wondering about the Orson Welles quote, it was the reason Lawrence got Rupert.)
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Short Stuff to Laugh At
This was recently published in a slightly shorter version in 50 to 1 magazine.
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Clever Comments from You
LJPC - the tortoise  HI Ben! How do you have time to write a good NL with everything else you're doing?! I loved the zombie dog idea  and hope you get a bunch of silly stories for next month's NL. And thanks for everything you do. WDC and LP are lucky to have you. 
-- Laura
RICH  Firstly. Well done on a - what was the word...not compelling, interesting, informative, well written (btw. and has one a) news letter. As for the assignment, due to a serious attack of procrastination, I'll have to pass. I do enjoy my news letters. Good news! Thanks.
THANKFUL SONALI Library Class!  Aha. You misunderstood the silence of the masses after your last NL, hence the 'sniff' I take it. Silence means consent. They were consenting to everything you said. Now YOUR assignment is to think up the comic possibilities of misunderstanding that!
Enjoyed the NL, Ben, thanks! - Sonali
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