Gag: Humor

: Extra words weigh down a joke. Make your writing as lean and tight as possible. Drafting Exercise: The "Humor Blueprint" Try this process for your first draft:

: Instead of "The River," try something like "A Guinea Pig Became a Father to 400 After Breaking Into a Female Enclosure".

: Read the draft aloud to check the rhythm and trim any "air" out of the setup. Gag Humor

: Bizarre or harebrained headlines often perform better.

: Start somewhat normally to give the reader a sense of reality before departing from it. : Extra words weigh down a joke

: Give personality to inanimate objects—like a military backpack filled with "self-loathing".

: The best place for a joke is often at the end of a sentence or paragraph to maximize impact. 3. Use Proven Humorous Devices Incorporate these tactics to punch up your writing: : Read the draft aloud to check the

: Don't try to cram three different jokes into one title. 2. Structure the "Gag"