Every year here at Writers In the Storm, we picture one word to guide us through the coming year. It might be an action or a belief or a philosophy. Below are our words. We hope you will share yours with us in the comments!… Read the post

by Ellen Buikema

In this last in the series, we have Situational comedy—the sitcom—referring to comedic situations that are inescapable, awkward, and generally lighthearted. Look for Part1 on Physical Comedy/Slapstick and Part 2 on Verbal Comedy.

Sitcoms include a series of events meant to make readers or viewers laugh.… Read the post

by Ellen Buikema

Humor is an interesting concept. The goal is to be funny, but responses may differ. What makes some people laugh out loud may make others cringe.

In part two of the series on how to write comedy, we’ll take on verbal comedy—the art of comedic dialogue.… Read the post

by Ellen Buikema

Three main categories of comedy, often used in combination, are:

1. Physical comedy
2. Verbal comedy
3. Situational comedy

Situational comedy involves characters, environment, and events. One, two, or all of these will need to be comedic in order to make the humor work.… Read the post

by Ellen Buikema

“I’m not creative.” Not true.

We all start life as creative people—you may have been discouraged during childhood or another time along the way to now, but creativity is within, waiting for you to rediscover it.

How can we cultivate our creativity to finally call ourselves ‘creative’?… Read the post