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Why I write comedy

...Straight from my Shameless, Outrageous, Passionate Heart.
by Ashlyn Chase

I just read an article about how comedy writers should not use too much humor and how they should temper it, i.e. curb the urge to let the heroine crawl out the bathroom window. Huh? What’s wrong with that? Hey, I’ve done it myself (and I’m not just talking fiction!)

Fine. Some people aren’t comfortable letting their slips show. Isn’t that what editors are for? To reel us in when necessary? I don’t care if my Freudian slips show and it seems to be okay with my editors. Even more okay with fans. I can hardly believe that I actually have fans or that my work generates great reviews and reader mail! Maybe others are warped too, I don’t know.

What I do know is this. 1) Our world can use a few good belly-laughs and a lot of love. 2) I enjoy writing when I’m having fun with it and the more fun I have the less I care what people think. And 3) Readers can tell when words come from a place of passion and truth. My passion is making people laugh.

And truth? You might think that’s an odd word to describe a fiction writer’s goal, especially one who writes Vampire and Shapeshifter comedies. Here’s the thing…a wonderful quote I read ages ago said it best. “You must be fearless to be a writer.” I wish I could remember the fearless female’s name, but I can’t. The idea being that each writer has some sort of truth to tell, regardless of the manner in which they tell it. It takes guts to tell your own truth with your own voice.

We all have words to live by. Whether positive or negative, some of these words hit a chord and stick. I’ve found some wonderful mentors along the way who’ve imparted words of wisdom. My number one wise woman was my mother. She often said to me, “Nothing ventured; Nothing gained.” Yup. She was right. Well, except when great things just fall into one’s lap with absolutely no effort, but how often does that happen? It even takes faith, foresight and effort to buy a lottery ticket.

She also said people would be jealous of me all my life. Wow, that was a trip to lay on a teenager! But she was right about that too. And you can’t let jealousy stop you. Some people will be jealous of the time you spend writing. Tough noogies. Some will be jealous that you can do something they can’t. Yay you. Who knows…some people might even be jealous that you once had the guts to climb out a bathroom window to avoid a lounge lizard who thought he could charm your pants off. So what? Be fearless enough to write about it. Whatever your gift, embrace it. Be passionate about it. Write whatever you really love and take no prisoners!

Comments

  1. Well said, Ashlyn! I love a good laugh along with my romance. Glad I'm not the only one!

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  2. Loved your 3 things Ash!

    Yes, the world needs all the belly laffs it can get! I definitely too old to care what others think when I'm having fun. :-) And I believe (and HOPE) readers know when writing comes from the authentic passion.

    AC

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  3. Thanks for commenting! It's nice to know my sentiments are shared.

    Ash

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  4. I love to laugh, and even in the darkest of stories, it can be quite "poignant" when a hero or herione says something quite witty and make readers laugh along with them in the face of whatever is in front of them :) Glad to hear we have another author with a sense of humor that translate over to their writing!

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  5. One of the things that turned me on about the romance genre was that even the non-comedic stories were frequently liberally laced with humor.

    For me, heart-lightening humor rachets up the satisfaction quotient on any romance by a factor of ten.

    Love and laughter in one book. What could be better?

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