Dear Reader: prepare to drop your guard
What builds up readers’ guards?
When you consider that the five most popular genres right now are (in descending order) ...
•Romance/Erotica •Crime/Mystery •Religious/Inspirational •Science Fiction ... and ... •Fantasy and Horror
And that the novel I wanted to write –
– didn’t fit neatly into any of these, then I had to find a way to land a punch. How about I try to be funny? I thought. I reckon I can do that. And then I remembered reading about the Ig Nobel Award that honors the ten best achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. Way to go! I thought.
The Ig Nobel prizes, by the way, are presented annually by genuine Nobel laureates in Sanders Theater at Harvard University. The ceremony contains a number of running jokes at the most unexpected times, including Miss Sweetie Poo, a little girl who repeatedly cries out, "Please stop: I'm bored", in a high-pitched voice if speakers go on too long.
The awards ceremony is traditionally closed with the words: "If you didn't win a prize — and especially if you did — better luck next year!"
James Thurber once said “Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our greatest earliest natural resources, which must be preserved at all cost.”
Here is my single simple aim:
To get the reader to say “Now that bit was funny. I’ve gotta read it again. But wait a minute. What’s he saying? Is it me he’s writing about? Hold on, this guy wants to know what I think.”
Right. So the novel is a two-way thing. Like a conversation. But if you don’t want to talk, well that’s OK. As long as I know you’re laughing.
(-from an interview with Jason Howell)
Colm Herron is the author of four novels and numerous essays and articles. He hails from Derry, Northern Ireland, and his newest novel The Wake was released this November.
