如何让你的写作更幽默 - 切里·斯坦克尔纳：英语精读讲义

Did you ever notice how many jokes start with did you ever notice? 表達脈絡

你有没有注意到，有多少笑话是以“你有没有注意到”开头的？

And what's the deal with what's the deal? 短語搭配

还有，“到底是怎么回事”到底是怎么回事？

There's a lot of funny to be found

其实有很多有趣的事情可以被发现，

by simply noticing the ordinary everyday things you don't ordinarily notice everyday. 表達脈絡

只要留意那些你平时不会每天注意的寻常事物。

So if you'd like to add a little humor to that story or speech or screenplay you're writing,

所以，如果你想为你正在写的那个故事、演讲或剧本增添一点幽默，

here are a few tips and tricks for finding the funny. 用詞

这里有一些寻找笑点的技巧和窍门。

All great storytelling,

所有精彩的故事讲述，

including comedy writing,

包括喜剧写作在内，

consists of a handful of basic ingredients. 短語搭配

都由几个基本要素组成。

Who, what, when, where, 表達脈絡

人物、事件、时间、地点、

why, and how.

原因和方式（5W1H）。

Writers have been asking these questions since at least the first century BC,

至少从公元前一世纪开始，作家们就一直在问这些问题，

yet none can be answered with a simple yes or no. 表達脈絡

然而没有一个能用简单的“是”或“否”来回答。

They demand details,

它们需要细节，

and the more specific the details, 語法

细节越具体，

the funnier the story.

故事就越好笑。

Let's start with the who,

让我们从“人物”开始，

the comedic character.

即喜剧角色。

Think about the books, TV shows and movies that make you laugh.

想想那些让你发笑的书籍、电视节目和电影。

They're usually filled with funny types or archetypes.

它们通常充满了有趣的类型或原型。

The know-it-all, the lovable loser,

万事通、可爱的失败者、

the bad boss, the neurotic, the airhead.

坏老板、神经质、傻瓜。

Incidentally, these are all stock characters 用詞

顺便说一句，这些都是定型角色，

found in commedia dell'arte 文化背景

源自意大利的即兴喜剧，

or the artists' comedy of late Renaissance Italy,

也就是意大利文艺复兴晚期的艺术家喜剧，

and they have yet to get old. 短語搭配

而且它们至今都没有过时。

The commedia rule for creating comic characters

即兴喜剧创造喜剧角色的法则是

is find the flaw,

找出缺点，

then play it up. 短語動詞

然后放大它。

Or you can try playing with opposites.

或者你可以尝试玩反差。

When the smartest guy in the room does the stupidest thing 表達脈絡

当房间里最聪明的人做了最愚蠢的事，

or the doofus outwits the brainiac,

或者笨蛋智胜了天才时，

we tend to laugh because

我们往往会笑，因为

we didn't see that coming. 習語

我们没料到会这样。

Ancient Greek funnyman Aristotle

古希腊的幽默大师亚里士多德

is said to have said, 語法

据说曾经说过，

"The secret to humor is surprise." 語法

“幽默的秘诀就是惊喜。”

This surprise or incongruity theory of humor

这种幽默的惊喜或不协调理论

says we laugh at things that seem out of place 短語搭配

认为我们会对那些显得格格不入

or run up against our expectations, 短語動詞

或与我们期望相反的事物发笑，

like a frog dating a pig

比如一只青蛙和一头猪约会，

or a lizard selling insurance,

或是一只蜥蜴卖保险，

a baby disco dancing,

一个婴儿跳迪斯科，

a nun disco dancing,

一个修女跳迪斯科，

a cat disco dancing.

一只猫跳迪斯科。

Actually,

实际上，

a baby, a nun, or a cat

一个婴儿、一个修女或一只猫

doing pretty much anything,

做几乎任何事，

especially involving disco.

尤其是涉及迪斯科的，都会让人发笑。

One fun way to find incongruities

发现不协调感的一个有趣的方法

is by drawing connections, 表達脈絡

是建立联系，

actually drawing them with a mind map.

实际上就是用思维导图画出它们。

Start small.

从小处开始。

Pick a word.

挑一个词。

I choose pickle.

我选“酸黄瓜”。

Jot it down,

把它写下来，

then quick as you can,

然后以最快的速度，

try making connections.

尝试建立联系。

What do pickles make me think of? 短語搭配

酸黄瓜让我想到什么？

Who eats pickles?

谁吃酸黄瓜？

What treasured pickle memories do I have from childhood?

我童年有哪些关于酸黄瓜的珍贵回忆？

Another great way to generate comedic material

另一个产生喜剧素材的好方法

is to shift from observation 短語搭配

是从观察

to imagination.

转向想象。

Try going from what is 表達脈絡

尝试从“是什么”

to what if.

变成“如果怎样”。

Like, what if,

比如，如果

instead of a horse, for example,

没有马，

you just had a pair of coconuts?

你只有两个椰子会怎样？

Okay, let's think of some other memorable moments

好了，让我们想一些其他令人难忘的时刻，

in history, literature, or film.

在历史、文学或电影中。

Now, what if they featured coconuts?

现在，如果里面出现了椰子会怎样？

Get wild.

尽情发挥吧。

Let it go. 習語

顺其自然。

Even if an idea seems overdone 語法

即使一个想法看起来已经被用烂了，

or too obvious

或者太显而易见，

or just plain dumb,

或者纯粹就是愚蠢，

try jotting it down anyway.

无论如何也试着把它写下来。

What's obvious to you

对你来说显而易见的东西

may not be to the next person. 語法

对下一个人来说可能并非如此。

And the opposite of the dumbest idea

而最愚蠢的想法的反面

might just turn out to be the smartest. 短語動詞

也许刚好是最聪明的。

What about all that dumb stuff that happens in real life?

现实生活中发生的那些蠢事又如何呢？

Have you ever noticed how much comedy

你有没有注意到有多少喜剧

revolves around things that irritate, frustrate, and humiliate us? 短語搭配

围绕着那些激怒我们、让我们沮丧和难堪的事情展开？

Will Rogers said,

威尔·罗杰斯说过，

"Everything's funny as long as it happens to somebody else." 語法

“只要是发生在别人身上，任何事都是好笑的。”

So if you're having a crummy morning, 用詞

所以如果你度过了一个糟糕的早晨，

imagine it happening to a character you're writing about,

想象它发生在你正在写的角色身上，

and by afternoon,

到了下午，

you may at least get a funny story out of it. 短語搭配

你也许至少能从中得出一个有趣的故事。

Once you've got your characters and story,

一旦你有了角色和故事，

here are a few quick and easy comedy writing tricks

这里有几个快速简单的喜剧写作技巧

to make them zing. 用詞

能让它们更有活力。

The rule of three, 表達脈絡

“三的法则”，

or zig, zig, zag.

或是“顺，顺，转”。

Try setting up an expected pattern, 表達脈絡

尝试建立一个预期的模式，

zig, zig,

顺，顺，

then flip it,

然后反转它，

zag.

转。

A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut walk into a bar. 文化背景

一个拉比、一个牧师和一个椰子走进了一家酒吧。

The punchline rule says

抛梗法则说

put your punch at the end of the line. 表達脈絡

把你的包袱放在一句话的最后。

A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut walk into a disco.

一个拉比、一个牧师和一个椰子走进了一家迪斯科舞厅。

That brings up the rule of K.

这就引出了“K音法则”。

For some reason,

出于某种原因，

words with a k-sound catch our ears 文化背景

带有k音的单词很吸引我们的耳朵，

and are considered comical.

并被认为具有喜剧效果。

Coconut,

椰子（Coconut），

disco,

迪斯科（disco），

pickles.

酸黄瓜（pickles）。

Crickets? 習語

蟋蟀（Crickets）？

Okay,

好吧，

so we don't always get the laugh.

我们并不总是能惹人发笑。

Humor is subjective.

幽默是主观的。

Comedy is trial and error.

喜剧就是不断试错。

Writing is rewriting. 表達脈絡

写作就是不断重写。

Just keep trying.

坚持尝试就好。

Find the flaws,

找出缺点，

discover the details,

发现细节，

insert incongruities,

插入不协调感，

incorporate k-words,

融入含k音的词，

and remember the most important rule of writing funny.

并且记住喜剧写作最重要的一条法则。

Have fun.

玩得开心。

As Charles Dickens said,

正如查尔斯·狄更斯所说，

"There is nothing in the world

“世界上没有任何东西

so irresistibly contagious 語法

能像笑声和幽默一样

as laughter and good humor."

具有如此不可抗拒的传染力。”

And disco. 表達脈絡

还有迪斯科。