Maybe it’s because I have a quirky sense of humor, but the stories I enjoy reading the most, the ones that stick with me long after I’ve put the book down , are ones with a smattering of humor. Okay, maybe a bit more than a smattering. Come on, don’t you like it when the story takes you some place you didn’t expect to go and zang, you find yourself smiling?
There isn’t a genre that can’t benefit from a bit of humor. It’s a powerful tool to stir our emotions. Technically, mirth is the actual emotion humor evokes in us, and it affects our minds and bodies. Think about it. If something strikes you funny, don’t you smile, giggle, laugh, chortle, grin. . .? You get the idea. You’re mind, brain and your body all react positively to mirth.
The pleasure centers of our brains are affected by humor. When we experience mirth, our brains are very happy and reward us by doling out that lovely little hormone, dopamine . And our dear friend dopamine is the same chemical that causes us to fall in love . . . or out of it. Oh, and it’s the main chemical released during an orgasm. Ah, now you’re making the connection.
Read a steamy sex scene and the pleasure center of your readers’ brain is turned on. Make your readers snicker or guffaw, and you’ve done the same thing. Plus, you’ve made them want to read more because they do so love their pleasure center titillated. Humor is a fantastic way to diffuse tension, prove a point, add character depth, and you can even use it to persuade your readers.
So, get out there and write something droll, hysterical, witty, amusing, or just plain funny. What can it hurt?
