Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "austen"
Humorous Fiction
I have a very soft spot for humorous fiction, ranging from Jane Austen’s irony in Pride and Prejudice (in particular) all the way through to Wodehouse and Pratchett.
Story writing is challenging enough but to make it funny as well takes a particular skill set and one I think the world could do with much more of especially now. Well, let’s be honest, 2024 has not been a great year, has it?
So books and stories which make me laugh will always go down well with me. I do wish humorous fiction was taken more seriously, funny enough.
I’ve long held the view it is looked down on a bit because it “looks easy”, Big mistake there. I learned years ago if someone makes something look easy, that same someone has worked hard for years to get to that point.
For a writer to come up with funny lines for their characters, they have to know their creations inside out and ensure that what the characters speak is something which arises naturally out of the situation they’re in.
Nothing must seem forced in any book. It never works. Humour especially cannot be forced - readers literally won’t buy it. It’s the equivalent of laughing at your own jokes, which most of us don’t do.
But when a writer gets the humour right, it is sublime.
Story writing is challenging enough but to make it funny as well takes a particular skill set and one I think the world could do with much more of especially now. Well, let’s be honest, 2024 has not been a great year, has it?
So books and stories which make me laugh will always go down well with me. I do wish humorous fiction was taken more seriously, funny enough.
I’ve long held the view it is looked down on a bit because it “looks easy”, Big mistake there. I learned years ago if someone makes something look easy, that same someone has worked hard for years to get to that point.
For a writer to come up with funny lines for their characters, they have to know their creations inside out and ensure that what the characters speak is something which arises naturally out of the situation they’re in.
Nothing must seem forced in any book. It never works. Humour especially cannot be forced - readers literally won’t buy it. It’s the equivalent of laughing at your own jokes, which most of us don’t do.
But when a writer gets the humour right, it is sublime.
Books For The Darker Times of Year
January can be the gloomiest month of the year. Christmas is over and it is still ages before spring turns up. It is a great time for getting more reading done though!
One of the simple delights in life is curling up with a good book in a cosy chair with a hot drink or several to hand.
For me, January is definitely not the time to be reading anything gloomy in itself. I want something to make me smile or laugh (Wodehouse, Pratchett and Austen are my go-tos for this).
I also like to read plenty of short fiction (it’s so often easier to find funny short stories tor flash fiction than novels - well that’s been my experience).
But if there is anything positive to be said for January, it is a good reading month. Escaping into a world contained in the pages of a book always seems like a good idea to me but never more so than when it is dark and cold outside.
One of the simple delights in life is curling up with a good book in a cosy chair with a hot drink or several to hand.
For me, January is definitely not the time to be reading anything gloomy in itself. I want something to make me smile or laugh (Wodehouse, Pratchett and Austen are my go-tos for this).
I also like to read plenty of short fiction (it’s so often easier to find funny short stories tor flash fiction than novels - well that’s been my experience).
But if there is anything positive to be said for January, it is a good reading month. Escaping into a world contained in the pages of a book always seems like a good idea to me but never more so than when it is dark and cold outside.
Books and Their Moods
Now it’s no secret the books I read often depend on what mood I’m in.
When life is grim (and the news even more so), then I will usually go for humorous reads such as works by Wodehouse, Pratchett, and Austen, something I know will make me smile basically. I see it as having something lighter to counterbalance the darker side of life.
But books too have their moods and certain genres play on this to good effect - horror, crime, and thrillers, all indicate the moods of their stories to name but a few.
Now I’m one of those readers where I don’t want the mood the book to match my mood. I like that counterbalance though there are books I will always read regardless of what mood I’m in.
For example, I will always find time to re-read Agatha Christie or Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time (which is a fabulous book and the only novel to make me change my view on a historical person, in this case Richard III).
So which books do you use to lighten your mood?
Which ones do you read regardless of mood of book or your own mood?
When life is grim (and the news even more so), then I will usually go for humorous reads such as works by Wodehouse, Pratchett, and Austen, something I know will make me smile basically. I see it as having something lighter to counterbalance the darker side of life.
But books too have their moods and certain genres play on this to good effect - horror, crime, and thrillers, all indicate the moods of their stories to name but a few.
Now I’m one of those readers where I don’t want the mood the book to match my mood. I like that counterbalance though there are books I will always read regardless of what mood I’m in.
For example, I will always find time to re-read Agatha Christie or Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time (which is a fabulous book and the only novel to make me change my view on a historical person, in this case Richard III).
So which books do you use to lighten your mood?
Which ones do you read regardless of mood of book or your own mood?
