LW as comedy

[desecration]

Comedy is one of those genres that I think is hard to do well because it has to be tied to utter sadness. For example, Caddyshack works well because after the 1960s there were a lot of divorces, broken families, swinging, suicides, and other crazy stuff in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The story centers on a child of divorce who feels utterly unloved and unlovable, and it would break your heart if they did not turn the whole thing into a send-up. Of course, the best comedies are human hubris versus an inflexible reality, sort of like the people who accidentally mix chlorine and muriatic acid in pool sheds and are amazed to find themselves dead shortly afterwards (many of the dead wear an expression of shock on their faces; Arthur Schopenhauer apparently died at 72 with an expression of wonder on his face).

One of my favorite LW comedies is from Tnicoll and addresses the hubris of someone living in a mental bubble which places her completely of touch with reality, including her (soon-to-be-former) husband:

"Please Evan I love you, this didn't mean anything at all. It was just..."

"A hobby?"

"Sort of like that baby."

"Oh man, I wish you had told me that sooner. I was worried that you loved him and were going to divorce me. Wow, now I feel bad. I guess I really over-reacted didn't I? I mean you still love me and all."

I get Shakespeare flashbacks with this one. Anyway, Big T-nic has just posted his/her/its latest, "I'm Not Sure How to Act?" in the LW category. Whoever has to look over and approve these stories gets a hat-tip from me for keeping 'em coming despite what looks like a heavy work load.

 

[lovecraft68]

And of course your example is painting a woman in a bad light. Shocking.

Category is already a comedy because its populated by jokes.

 

[desecration]

Wolves don't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep

I think in this case it is a particular character who is a woman, not women in general. LW stories usually feature saints, devils, and people in the middle who are just conflicted.

Seems like you borrowed your tagline from something like this, but I like the Nietzschean outlook.

 

[RetroFan]

I'm a comedy writer (well I try to make readers laugh, sometimes with a spectacular lack of success) and I've used comedy in all of my LW stories.

Many of the LW readers didn't appreciate my attempts at humour and said so, but some did like the funny scenes in my stories, such as one narrated by a male detective who has to go and buy sanitary napkins for a hot Russian trophy wife in witness protection, and ends up looking like some sort of pervert in the feminine hygiene products section of the supermarket.

 

[OffNSFW]

"The Houseguest," one of my LW stories, is a comedy at least in my eyes. (I don't know if the readers saw it that way, but I did.) All about a big talker who has to deal when his ideas become a reality.