Class Description
In this class we'll geek out on humor in fiction and draft new funny fiction of our own. What makes a story funny and why? And how can we put humor to work for us? Humor in fiction can serve as social commentary, character development, and emotional release. It can be dark or buoyant, chilling or humanizing, transgressive and transformative.
We'll look at excerpts from fiction by writers like Lorrie Moore, Junot Díaz, Mat Johnson, Jennine Capó-Crucet, Aglaja Veteranyi, and J.D. Salinger, as well as clips from films, TV shows, and sketch and stand-up comedy. We'll also look at poets and writers who infuse comedy into their social media personas (like profane and hilarious tweeter Mat Johnson) and bring literary acuity to writing comedy for television (like poet Jonterri Gadson). You’ll draft scenes, dialogue, and character descriptions, and bring in existing fiction—funny or not—that you can infuse with humor.
This class is for writers interested in incorporating elements of humor into short stories and novels; comedy writers seeking a literary perspective; and people who just want an excuse to laugh upstairs from a former piano store once a week!
Note: Class will not meet on April 19th.
Did you know that we have scholarships available for all GrubStreet classes? To apply, click the "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button in the top right corner of this page. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your scholarship application and await our Scholarship Committee's decision before registering for the class. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.