How To Write Funny

And make more money…probably.

Everybody’s got a funny bone, even Aunt Mildred, who has all the charisma of a dead rat. It’s a universal yearning, this need to giggle and guffaw; it’s in our DNA. So, how do you sprinkle a little joy into a topic that’s drier than Aunt Mildred?

It’s like seasoning a cardboard burger — tricky but not impossible. The key is to keep it as breezy as a Sunday afternoon nap without looking like you’re trying too hard. You want to tickle your reader’s funny bone from the first sentence to the last.

Now, when it comes to humor, my personal Yoda is David Sedaris. The guy could make a dental checkup sound like a circus act. Remember his essay on his Fitbit obsession? If you don’t, you’re missing out on a laugh riot.

Here, then, are a few nuggets of wisdom to sprinkle humor into your writing:

1: Don’t Force the Punchline

I’m all for jokes, but shoehorning one into an article like this would be as out of place as an Iranian at a pool party. The trick isn’t to slap humor on like a sticker; it’s about blending it into the narrative.

Take, for instance, the time a company asked me to pen an article on data-driven decision-making. Snooze-alert, right? But with some digging, I unearthed some real comedy…