I have a soft spot in my heart for funny women who can write. I don't think there are enough of them, so when I find them, I slobber all over them and make them uncomfortable. Anyway, writer Elizabeth Hanes also knows the importance of humor writing and the difficulty of trying to produce it. Hanes is the Senior Editor of Happy Woman Magazine and contributor to "RANDOM ACTS OF MALICE: The Best of Happy Woman Magazine."

When I was growing up, people often remarked, "There's something funny about that girl."

Turns out they were right.

I don't claim to know how to write funny stuff. I just do it. I think you can do it, too.

Many writers seem to believe writing humor involves magic or some other, arcane knowledge they do not possess. Nothing could be further from the truth. All you have to do to create funny prose is burn the tail feathers of an exotic chicken under a full moon, snort crushed sesame seeds, and dance naked in your yard at midnight.

Seriously, humor writing isn't that different from other types of writing. Believe it or not, there are specific techniques you can use to humorous effect in your writing. Here are two that are easy to grasp.

1. Hyperbole. Dave Barry has built his career on the skilled application of ridiculous exaggeration: "She serves moist, tender turkeys the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger, accompanied by a vast array of exotic hors d'oeuvres and 350 kinds of sweet potatoes made from scratch." Since Dave Barry's net worth exceeds the gross domestic product of most third-world countries, it's safe to say people think hyperbole is very funny.

To use hyperbole effectively, you must make sure people understand you're exaggerating. If you say "Yesterday was a bad day. At least ten people complained about me to my boss," no one's going to laugh. If, on the other hand, you say "Yesterday was a bad day. Ten customers, fourteen schoolchildren on a field trip, a meter maid, and a talking parrot complained about me to my boss," people will guffaw loud enough to startle their co-workers.

2. Irony. The queen of biting irony was Dorothy Parker, who once quipped, "If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised."

As Ms. Parker so ably demonstrates, irony can be used to create a humorous contrast between the audience's expectation of where an idea is going and where it actually ends up. In other words, when your audience expects you to zig, you zag. And the wider the gulf between zig and zag, the harder your audience will laugh. Not, "If you asked me who's the more vapid celebrity, Britney or Jessica, I'd be hard-pressed to choose," but "If you asked me who's the more vapid celebrity, Britney or Jessica, I'd have to say 'yes.'"

Like any other kind of writing, crafting great humor requires dedication and long hours of practice. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some chicken feathers to burn.

Elizabeth also has a special deal for you on RANDOM ACTS OF MALICE--yes, you. "We'd like to offer the special rate to MBToolbox readers: $9.50 per copy, postpaid (media mail) or $11.85 postpaid
(Priority Mail) (US readers only), provided your readers send an
e-mail to malice.book@gmail.com." Full disclosure: many years ago, I contributed to the Happy Woman website, but am in not in the book so you buying the book will not benefit me in any way other than in general happiness for your support of the funny woman arts.