Many believe that writing comedy is the hardest of all genres, but comedy appears in most of them. Why would a writer inject comedy into a crime thriller or a horror novel?

Comedy is a great way to bring realism to a tragic situation. It will make the characters more realistic and draw your reader to connect with them more. Comedy appears in most situations in life, even the most tragic, so why not use it. Humour will also catch the reader off guard especially during a particularly tense moment in the chapter. They will not be expecting it and it will add some twist and turns to your story. So what are skills to writing comedy?

Comedy relies a lot on the pace of delivery, timing, tone and the vocabulary used. Remember comedy in real life is spontaneous so while you are writing a scene, keep in mind which of your characters would use a comedy line maybe out of nervousness of the situation or maybe to impress another character.

Always use your own comedy dialogue. Study the humor of others and examine the logistics of why it made others laugh. What made the story funny? Was it toe-curlingly funny or because the situation was embarrassing? Can you remember any funny stories yourself? Why did they make you laugh? How was the story delivered?

Write what makes you laugh. Like in any other genre of writing, if you write horror novels you write about situations that scare you, well, the same can be used for humor. Comedy is subjective and it is hard to know for sure if others will find your writing funny. So if you write what makes you laugh, that is a good place to start.

Exaggerate true life but ensure the story is so ridiculous it is obviously untrue. For example, you can tell the story of how your character lost 250lbs of belly fat in a day. True life is funny so pay attention to everyday situations and think how they can be altered for a comic delivery. Maybe a character could be relaying a story and, at the end, he adds an absurd twist or exaggeration of the truth.

Don't overdo the humor. We all know of that one person who is constantly cracking jokes in all the wrong places. They become irritating and far from humorous. So remember to inject the comedy wisely and remember you are not writing a comedy novel so don’t let the humor overshadow the true objective. Remember not to use humor that is in bad taste. This means anything that could be construed as spiteful, sarcastic or cruel unless you have created a mean-spirited character that would use such distasteful dialogue. Always be conscious of how the reader perceives each character.

The three rule formula means using two similar ideas and adding a third off the wall idea. For example: A happy marriage is simple - mutual love, mutual respect and the PIN number to his bank account

Study the comedy timing of others. Examine great comics, how they relay a funny story, keep a close eye on their timing, delivery, and the punchline.