h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It says not to try and write funny, but what if funny is the only way you know how to write? Even if its not funny? I grew up writing as funny as possible - most of the time being able to at least bring a smile to someone's face. I don't agree to not writing funny, but I'll agree to not doing one-liners.

I don't think anyone really means that you must strip your articles of all humour (at least I hope not! ), but I think they mean don't try to write DNA funny. Somebody correct me if I'm ... erm.. mistaken.

It means don't press it! If you try too hard, it's usually just not funny, at best. Bottom line, write like you usually do.

Write in the way that you feel comfortable...

Funny is as Funny does.... Stop me if I'm getting too technical.

Er, yes. What exactly do you mean? That physical humour is the only comedy? That Morecambe and Wise really slept in a bed together? One man's joke is another man's misfortune (somebody must have said that once).

A lot of humour is very personal and contextual, and often involves lots of shared history - my partner and myself laugh like drains at a particular word or phrase, or quote from TV, because it keeps appearing in appropriate contexts or relates directly to us - but I know that 90% of it won't work (say) in my office (even though it's a very silly office) and even of the remaining 10% about half of that falls flat anyhow, usually because the time isn't right or "The way I tell 'em" - conversely a lot of the office humour doesn't work at home because "you had to be there". So... you need to think long and hard about whether any humour will work stripped of nearly all your personal context plus any vocal emphasis etc.
Also, you develop a lot of "unspoken language" with people you know so you can say one or two words and they know the rest...
The best stuff on h2g2 from most people will probably be spontaneous/accidental stuff which arises directly from the words they are typing.

I've always written funny stuff. Some people actually said that what I wrote was funny (shock horror large flashing exclamation marks and no what is written between these brackets is not meant to be funny). I can't do one-liners anyway.

#69@

Now, what we have here is NOT FUNNY. The merest thought of laughing has not entered my mind. If you want something funny, then you should stop using potty humor. Let's face it, the author of the last obscene entry was either:

A: 12 years old or under,
B: Drunk off his or her ass, or
C: A person who enjoys fish... a lot

That, the above, was funny. By the very fundamental laws of nature, I immediately made it not funny by saying this. This just goes to show that trying to be funny and trying to make people think you're funny is the only guarunteed way to stop being funny. If you can understand what I just wrote, you'll find it funny that I'm saying this. If that made any sense to you, you're better off with the fish.

-Your Cosmic Contributor, CReimer86

It probably would have been even funnier had some of us not realized how close A was to the mark.

'Nonnie

Nonnie, would you join me in a beer?@

Is there room for us both in there?

'Nonnie

Thats not funny......