One Impossible Thing

Part 7 of 30—"how to write a funny prose piece"

photo: Ryan Somma

A Crazy Thing

I read a lot of comedy. And sometimes, I get about three paragraphs into a story and feel exhausted. Like I’m being pummeled by absurdity. It’s a joke with no oxygen in it.

This happens when a writer over-bakes the cake, packing in too many wild or impossible elements at the same time. The humor gets lost in the chaos. The r…