Namastey to all the readers _/\_. Today we are back with an article which focuses primarily on how to infuse humour and sarcasm in a story.

You may wonder why there is a need to use sarcasm or humour but trust me when I say, that it takes your story to another level. I use it sometimes and I feel that sarcasm is one way to make a read funny without any comic scenes.

HUMOUR

Why Humour?

To understand why humour is important, you need to take a reference to any scene from any story you read once which had humour. See the effect. In stories that are not comical and have some serious topic as base, humour provides a much needed relief to the otherwise monotonous pace. The story may be going in just one direction and that may bore many readers, humour is a way to catch their attention and bring them back, while lightening the mood. 

Sometimes, humour is also used to show the personality of a character. This will be illustrated further.

How is Humour Used?

a) As simple as it gets- Anecdotes. We all live in a world where interesting things happen with us everyday. It takes an eye to realise the humour you face in day to day lives. For example, take a bus ride. All of us have traveled in a bus and for those of us who haven't, we have seen countless movies with scenes involving bus rides. Now imagine Sanskaar standing in a bus. The bus pulls to a stop and the passengers jerk. There are two ways to write it:

1. The bus stopped suddenly and Sanskaar almost fell on the passenger in front of him.
While this is a good sentence which describes the scene adequately, it is a normal sentence which may have no significance in the story. Which brings me to my point that humour sometimes brings out the characteristics of a person. See this sentence, for example:

2. The bus stopped suddenly and Sanskaar, who had an otherwise very balanced life, found himself tripping over his own shoelaces, almost falling on the passenger in front of him.
This sentence tells two things about Sanskaar. One, he lives a very normal and balanced life and two, he can be clumsy as his shoelaces were open and he tripped on them. And the purpose of humour was also achieved. 

b) Another way to use humour is surprisingly exaggeration. Exaggerating a particular scene and relating it to real life existences can make it funny. For example, writing a chase sequence can be funny by showing Sanskaar and Ragini as extremely clumsy, falling again and again. Exploit your characters. They are being shaped by you, use their behaviours to create situations that are humourous.

Take a Test:

Sanskaar's deep as chocolate eyes pulled Ragini towards them for she did love chocolates, edible or not.
Q. Detect the humour here and write in the inline comment.

How Much Humour?

Nothing should be done over and humour is one of them. While there is no end to making people laugh and especially if you are writing a humourous story it may not matter, but if you are just putting humour here and there, if you do it in excess you may find yourself diverted from your original path. Many a times, you may forget what was the purpose of writing that scene, what the character had to say and what exactly had to be shown. It ruins the purpose of the whole story then. So, use as much humour as is necessary if you are writing a story which doesn't belong to the Humour genre.

SARCASM

Why Sarcasm?

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit but the highest form of intelligence," wrote Oscar Wilde.

Sarcasm is the mother of all things humourous. While meeting a sarcastic person may not be a pleasant experience in real life, stories give you the liberty to infuse sarcasm and give your characters a certain edge and coolness quotient. Who likes the goody-two-shoes characters anyway? Sarcasm brings out the flawed mindset and thinking of a character, making it more human and real. If Ragini had been sarcastic in SR, it would have burnt the other characters more for it is a method of expressing anger and contempt and is a poisonous manner of stinging and disapproving of people, if done very sharply. For people who aren't used to it, sarcasm is not really easily picked up, making the use of it more wicked and funny. It is an intelligent use which impresses many and brings humour even when you don't have a comic scene.

Another reason to use sarcasm, as a writer, is to boost your creativity. It may not come naturally to you but if you do use it, you have to become creative. The mental process of using, delivering and interpreting the sarcasm is an exercise to boost your creativity.

How to use Sarcasm?

Simply put, Sarcasm involves constructing or exposing contradictions between intended meanings. You say something but you mean something entirely different and what exposes your meaning is either the situation you are using your sentence in, or your way of delivering that statement. For example, imagine the time when Ragini and Sanskaar were negative and were trying to separate Swara and Laksh. Imagine all of Ragini's plans failing. Sanskaar mocks her by saying, "I am impressed with how successful you are in whatever you choose to do. I should submit to you." 

Here, he is obviously being sarcastic because Ragini is failing and the way he says it mockingly leaves no doubt as to what he intends to say.
Understand that there are several things to be considered when you write sarcasm. The following are to be kept in mind:

1. The Timing.
It has to be well timed, otherwise it falls flat. The above example of Sanskaar using sarcasm should be used when Ragini is frustrated and wondering why her plans are failing.

2. The context.
 It has to be relevant to the scene you want to use it in. It has to be in context with the scene and the character's personality. Sanskaar's character in the early episodes of SR is a bitter, revengeful one who can easily be sarcastic. In the above given example, his statement is in sync with the situation and is relevant in the sense that it is very much possible that he could make such a comment.

3. The consistency.
DP cannot be seen using sarcasm. Or he could be, if he has been doing so right from the beginning of your story. Try to be consistent with your characters, only make those sarcastic who have been sarcastic already.

4. Satire/ Irony/ Parody.
Sarcasm is a great tool in a satire, irony or a parody. 

a) A satire is the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. 
b) Irony, in many senses, is just like sarcasm, except that it isn't meant to hurt a person. Sarcasm is more derogatory than irony is.
c) Parody is a spoof to make fun of a work. A parody of SR, for example, will have characters as caricatures who are just joking around. 'Vampires Suck' is a parody/spoof of the movie 'Twilight'.

How Much Sarcasm?

Again, not too much. It is a double edged sword which may delight the readers or offend them. Some of your attempts at it may also fall flat and create unnecessary confusion. Use it sparingly, justly and wisely.

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Hope this was an interesting and informative read. For any other query or help, feel free to contact us through DM or directly contacting the admins. You can also ask questions via comments and we  will be sure to reply to each of them.

Again, there is no shame in learning. Imagine the amount of satisfaction you get when you improve. It is part of your growth, feel free to ask questions and take tests. We can also recommend good books for reference.

Writer's Tip: Use sarcasm and humour sparingly in your initial work. Gauge the reaction of your readers. If even 60% of them respond favourably, start using it more. Always test the water before you dip in ;)