Arts & Entertainment, Writing

Humor

Lesson time 18:19 min

Neil shows how he uses humor in his work. He includes a close look at his novel Anansi Boys to illustrate his personal techniques such as “sherbet lemons” and “figgins.”

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Topics include: Twist the Cliché · End With Funny Words · Figgins, Cigarettes, and Sherbet Lemons · Case Study: Anansi Boys

Neil Gaiman

Teaches the Art of Storytelling

In his first-ever online class, Neil Gaiman teaches you how he conjures up new ideas, convincing characters, and vivid fictional worlds.

Preview

Humor in anything you do is good for me, anyway. I know there are many writers who write without humor. For me humor, whether it's broad or whether it's subtle, is always vital. Sometimes it can be very dry. Sometimes it can be overt. Whatever you're writing you want some humor, because humor is recognition. Humor is that moment where you see something that you've always thought, but now somebody has articulated it. And they've articulated it in a way that you've never seen before. And sometimes it's just the joy of the unexpected. This is a book that is all humor. It's called, "Fortunately, the Milk." It's a children's book. And it is about a father who sets off to buy milk for his children's breakfast, and finds himself kidnapped by aliens. And fleeing the aliens, finds himself captured by pirates. "'Who be ye, land lover,' said the woman who had a big hat on her head and a parrot on her shoulder. 'He's a spy! A walrus in a coat! A new kind of mermaid with legs!' said the men. 'What are you doing here?' asked the woman. 'Well,' I said, 'I just set out to the corner shop for some milk for my children's breakfast and for my tea, and the next thing I knew--' 'He's lying your majesty!' She pulled out her cutlass. 'You dare lie to the queen of the pirates!' Fortunately I had kept a tight hold of the milk. And now I pointed to it. 'If I did not go to the corner shop to fetch the milk,' I asked them, 'then where did this milk come from?' At this, the pirates were completely speechless. 'Now,' I said, 'if you could let me off somewhere near to my destination, I would be much obliged to you.' 'And where would that happen to be,' said the queen of the pirates. 'On the corner of Marshall Road and Fletcher Lane,' I said, 'my children are waiting there for their breakfast.' 'You're on a pirate ship now, me fine bucko, said the pirate queen, 'and you don't get dropped off anywhere. There are only two choices. You can join my pirate crew or refuse to join. And we will slit your cowardly throat, and you'll go to the bottom of the sea where you will feed the fishes.' 'What about walking the plank?' I asked. 'Never heard of it!' said the pirates. 'Walking the plank,' I said, 'it's what proper pirates do. Look, I'll show you. Do you have a plank anywhere?' It took some looking. But we found a plank, and I showed the pirates where to put it. We discussed nailing it down, but the pirate queen decided it was safer just to have the two fattest pirates sit on the end of it. 'Why exactly do you want to walk the plank?' asked the pirate queen. I edged out onto the plank. The blue Caribbean water splashed gently beneath me. 'Well,' I said, 'I've seen lots of stories with pirates in them, and it seems to me that if I'm going to be rescued..' At this the pirates started to laugh so hard their stomachs wobbled and the parrots took off into the air in amazement. 'Rescue?' they said. 'There's no rescue out here. We're in the middle of the s...

About the Instructor

Award-winning author Neil Gaiman has spent more than a quarter of a century crafting vivid, absorbing fiction. Now, the author of Stardust, Coraline, and The Sandman teaches his approach to imaginative storytelling in his online writing class. Learn how to find your unique voice, develop original ideas, and breathe life into your characters. Discover Neil’s philosophy on what drives a story—and open new windows to the stories inside you.

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Neil Gaiman

In his first-ever online class, Neil Gaiman teaches you how he conjures up new ideas, convincing characters, and vivid fictional worlds.

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