3 Simple Steps for Picture Book Hilarity!
Funny picture books are fun! And hilarious! But humor in picture books is complicated, requiring extraordinary intelligence, sociological expertise, and memorization of the entire internet. Sometimes the process even requires burpees. The good news is that’s not true at all. Picture book humor is only complicated because we overthink it into a wad of Christmas tree ornament hooks. If you want to make a kid laugh, all you have to do is shout “BOOGERS!!” Bonus points if you attempt a bad cartwheel. Mega bonus points if attempting a bad cartwheel makes you fart. Slam. Dunk.
Here are 3 simple steps for picture book hilarity. It’s as easy as booger-cartwheel-fart!
(Booger!) Perfect the fundamental story. Forget humor. Forget perfect word choice. Forget word count. Polish that stuff later. Make your story rock solid. If something doesn’t move your story forward, it’s out! (See #4 (Bonus Fart!) for a Beloved Line Emotional Support System (B.L.E.S.S.)). Be ruthless. Revise until that story is tighter than your college jeans!
(Cartwheel!) Do something weird. Trying new things removes the pressure to be great. Trying new weird things exposes your brain to unusual combinations of information, aka fuel for humor. For example: Attending a David Copperfield show in Vegas where everything went wrong including, but not limited to, a David Copperfield temper tantrum put lots of informartion in my brain that became weeks of comic strip material. *Please share your experience(s) in the comments to encourage others!* Humor happens when the mundane slams into the unexpected.
(Fart!) Listen to kids. You have a friend or know an organization who will love you forever if you volunteer. The children’s section of the library is full of mentor texts (read them!) and opportunities to observe children interacting with them. Be receptive. Take information in. Shut down your sophisticated humor brain, and turn your kid humor brain to volume 11. Once your brain is in silly, weird, zany zone, reread your story. Do you have enough Bernie Sanders gags? Trick question! There should be ZERO Bernie Sanders jokes. Obliterate adult gags, and replace them with fart jokes. Be dumb. Be simple. Be gross. But most of all, be authentically you. If the gag makes you laugh, it stays! If it doesn’t make you laugh, adios.
(Bonus Fart!) It’s hard to let go of your precious perfect words and phrases. Great news: Keep it! Move every brilliant gem that doesn’t move your story forward (yet) to a section at the bottom of your manuscript. Name the section “BELOVED LINE MORGUE.” I like to put little crosses on both sides of the title like I’m in a cemetery (no, a cemetery is not a morgue — just go with it!) So, it looks like this…
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + BELOVED LINE MORGUE + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
(Where joy goes to die)
[awesome line that doesn’t move the story forward, but Dan Santat will whisper it in my ear as he hands me my Caldecott]
[poignant, genius stuff that doesn’t move the story forward, but will help my parents see I am the next Dr. Seuss]
Etc.
You can keep all of it! Forever! As a draft. Remember to delete your morgue from the final draft.
Try these ideas and see what happens to your humor. The name of the game is progress, not perfection. Focus on improvement, learning, and growth. You’ve got this!
