The Germans have this word Schaudenfraude that means pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune. While this might sound cruel, think about the time you might have laughed watching videos on the internet where people accidentally hurt themselves or something unexpected goes wrong. Provided no one gets seriously hurt, it is a natural reaction from many humans to laugh when things go wrong.
That’s why, Schaudenfraude is a great tool for your comedy writer’s toolbox!
Plan for things to go wrong. Of course, that alone is not funny. What you also need is a big reaction from the characters in the story.
In The Nerd Herd so much humour is derived from Billy the Kid. He is an angora goat who loves his mohair more than anything else in the world, so of course, each book I find ways of messing with his mohair. It gets dirty, he gets electrocuted, he gets wet, and lots more. His reaction is always huge and that’s what makes it even funnier.
Illustration copyright, Chris Kennett
So, next time you’re writing comedy you mighty ask what misfortune you can cook up for your characters for your readers to laugh at.
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