Lighten Up: Infusing Humor Across Genres with Liz Alterman— August 2

Even the darkest and most intense novels and memoir have moments of lightness that bring a sense of balance to the work. In this course, we'll explore how to add humor to your writing regardless of genre.

A little comic relief goes a long way with readers. Whether you're writing a gripping mystery, soul-searching memoir, or swoon-worthy romance, infusing your work with humor adds a nice counterbalance that your audience will appreciate. In this workshop, we'll look at how essayists, memoirists, and novelists masterfully and seamlessly blend in wit without ever compromising the power of their words. From clever dialogue and quirky character traits to laughable moments and singular settings, we'll explore how to bring smiles to readers' faces regardless of genre.

You will learn ways to add dialogue to:

• Dialogue

• Character

• Situation

• Setting

Course Takeaways

• Add a new dimension to your work by infusing it with levity

• Consider opportunities to include funny, quirky, characters who feel real rather than like caricatures

• Explore the balancing act of writing satire

• Learn when to use humor to break up tension or create it

Additional info

If you can't attend this class live, it will be recorded! Students will receive a recording the day after the class, and it will be available for 30 days.

About the Instructor

Liz Alterman is the author of the award-winning memoir, Sad Sacked, the young adult thriller, He’ll Be Waiting, the domestic suspense novels The Perfect Neighborhood, The House on Cold Creek Lane, and You Shouldn't Have Done That, as well as a romcom, Claire Casey's Had Enough. Her work has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and numerous other outlets.