"Why did the chicken cross the road?" What does this have to do with an author that wants to learn to write? This is a classic line, that begins a classic joke; a little bit of humor that almost everyone can recognize. In fact, it's so clich that it has been re-worked and re-done hundreds upon hundreds of time. The answers to this simple joke varies depending upon the mood of the teller and the specific situation. However, it is humor- plain and simple- basic and understandable. This concept can add value to your children's book. Here are a few simple tips that will help you incorporate humor into your manuscripts. Simple is Better When you are dealing with children, they often have a hard time grasping abstract concepts. Humor is no different. The humor in children's books should be straightforward and easy to understand. That doesn't mean you can't use things like a play-on-words, but they must be very basic. Humor with layers is often lost on kids and that will distract from your goal of creating a fun and engaging children's book. When you learn to write, there is a lot that goes into the process, but don't complicate the humor. Rediscover Your Funny Bone One of the biggest challenges for an adult author is the difficulty in really getting inside the heads of their audience. After all, it's been an awful long time since you were playing in the sandbox or riding bikes on a dirt road. As a children's author, however, you need to take the time to rediscover those childlike parts of yourself. How can you write something that kids think is funny, if you have no idea what makes them laugh? Get in touch with your inner child and start to see things from that viewpoint; find out what really is funny to children. This will be a great help as you learn to write humor. Play With the Limits Some situations are fairly everyday in their nature. However, if you start stretching the limits of the logic surrounding the basic events, real humor is found. So what if a man is so stuck in his routine that he always travels a certain way every single day? What's so interesting about that? However, create a character that begins to travel that route at all hours of the day and night, whether sleeping or awake, and you can see how some funny situations would be the result. Pushing the limits of the mundane can create humor that children appreciate. Words are Your Friends Children are primed for and steeped in language development. They have been examining and experimenting with language since they were first born. Because of this, humor that deals with language in a fun and clever way is particularly appealing. When you learn to write, pay attention to words, and use them in a creative way. Use puns, incorporate dual meaning, and create nonsense that will make your young audience giggle. Humor in Art This last principle is especially important when you are dealing with children's picture books. When you learn to write in this genre, the pictures must support the text. Work with your artist to add funny details in the visual presentation of your story. This works especially well if there are nuances that the reader will have to search for.
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