Greetings, rock stars, and welcome to Kidlit HAHA week!
My name is Jason Perkins, and in addition to being a special education teacher and a father of two, I am the author of ROCK STARS DON’T NAP, illustrated by Cale Atkinson (HarperCollins). When I heard Brittany was hosting a whole week dedicated to humor, I leapt at the chance to participate.
So, without further ado, here are five ways to find humor in the everyday.
#1. Begin with the Familiar
Think of the last few stand-up comedy shows you watched. What did they have in common? Most of their set covered topics we’re familiar with-jobs, relationships, family, etc. Literary agent Fiona Kenshole calls these Sparkle Moments. For children, sparkle moments are those milestones every child experiences in their lifetime. Making new friends, the first day of school, nightmares, or moving to a new home.
The basis of your story should be something children are familiar with. In my story, it was taking naps. Unless you’re Jordy, children can’t relate to being a rock star, but every one of them will tell you they are NOT a fan of naps.
#2. Mix it with Something New
Now that you’ve found your sparkle, let’s spice it up a bit! For that, we’ll need the highly specialized comedic device known as…the Venn Diagram! See that little sliver where the two categories overlap? That’s where humor lives.
Choose two seemingly unrelated things and see if you can find what they have in common. For ROCK STARS DON’T NAP, I compared babies and rock stars and found:
A love of/need for attention
Staying up all night/sleeping all day
Liquid diets
Lots of noise
Destroying things/making a mess
Once you’ve found the overlap, it’s time for our next tip, courtesy of Spinal Tap.
#3. Turn it up to 11
For this example, let’s turn to the always serious, never silly world of professional wrestling. It’s been said that the biggest stars are playing a version of themselves, turning one aspect of their personality all the way up to 11.
It’s how a cocky jock went from being Dwayne Johnson, to the most electrifying man in Sports entertainment, the Rock!
It’s why everyone related to Stone Cold Steve Austin. Deep down, he was just a guy who hated his boss. Many of us have felt the same way, Stone Cold just turned it up to 11, and the crowd went wild.
In ROCK STARS DON’T NAP, Jimmy has a totally average day. He enjoys breakfast with Mom, stops at the playground, runs some errands, and takes a bath. Normal stuff, but by describing them in the context of a world tour, they transform from average to epic.
#4. Give them power!
Role reversal is another great opportunity to bring out the humor in your sparkle moment. Children have shockingly little control over their own lives. Adults are always telling them when to wake up, when to go to bed, what to eat, and how to behave.
In books and movies, the creators often find some way to get the parents out of the picture. The adults who do show up are depicted as silly or incompetent. Seeing other children in a position of power can be exhilarating. Jean Reagan and Lee Wildish’s “How to Babysit” series are great examples of this.
#5. Humor is fun, but don’t forget the heart
All that brings me to my last, and maybe most important tip: don’t forget the heart.
Humor is fun, but if your readers don’t care about your characters, none of it matters. My first picture book manuscript was an ugly duckling story set in a school. The main character caused all sorts of trouble.
At 1500 words, I thought every single one of them was hilarious. Then I sat down with an agent at an SCBWI conference, who told me my character wasn’t funny, he was just a jerk. It hurt, but in the long run, it helped me realize the importance of connecting your audience with your character.
In ROCK STARS DON’T NAP, I struggled for a long time finding the perfect ending. Jimmy would run low on energy and be unable to rock, or he would fall asleep during a performance and wake up thinking naps rocked, but nothing clicked. It wasn’t until a New England SCBWI conference where I heard keynote speaker Joe Knowles ask the question, “What is true?” that I found my answer.
I thought of many sleepless nights with my own son, who would only sleep on my chest in our recliner. I added a rock star twist with an epic stage dive, and I had my ending.
I hope you’ve found something true that speaks to you. Happy humor week, and may you always find the funny. Rock on!
Jason Perkins is the author of ROCK STARS DON’T NAP, illustrated by Cale Atkinson (HarperCollins, 2023), special education teacher, husband, and father of two rock star children. Find more about Jason at https://www.jasonperkinsbooks.com/
Awesome blog post! I can’t wait to start brainstorming!
Gret article and advice. Thanks for sharing, Jason!
Thanks for the rock star humor tips! I had never considered creating a venn diagram fur this purpose. Genius!
Yes, yes, yes!! Epic first post to kick of Kidlit Haha Week! Thanks for sharing, Jason and thanks for organizing, Brittany!
Thanks for sharing these great tips, Jason! And for admitting that it didn’t come out perfect the first time. It really helps to hear that!
Thanks for your insights into PB humor!
I love everything about this, but the Venn diagram has to be my favorite! Thanks for the tips!
I was laughing at your Venn diagram list, but then I reached “liquid diets” and lost it. Thank you for the funny & rocking post.
Thanks, Jason! Great tips! I’m going to bookmark this one to come back to!
Your book would be a perfect fit for PBJamz. If you’re interested in doing a zoom interview for my multimedia blog, let me know. Previous episodes at http://www.tonnyefletcher.com/PBJamz. Check it out and let me know if you’re interested.
Love the Venn Diagram idea! Thanks for sharing!
Great post, Jason. Thanks for sharing!
I lol’ed at the post and loved the venn diagram! Thank you for these rocking tips!
Great article. Love the #1 – #3 journey. Thanks, Jason and Brittany!
Thank you! I especially agree with your observation about children having little control over their own lives. It’s helpful to remember that feeling of powerlessness, whether we’re writing humor, SEL, or something else.
Great tips! I love the venn diagram idea. I would have never thought of that. This blog gives me a lot to Pinder for some of my stories that need some work. Thanks!
Love the process to find the perfect story. Thank you for sharing.
I love how you incorporated the venn diagram! I love using them. I have a humor MS I’m working on with two topics – one relatable, one new – and I’m definitely going to incorporate using this strategy.
Thanks for sharing!
Great post and thank you so much for all you shared, Jason! I especially liked the point you made about the perfect ending so often being tied back to heart in (maybe *especially* in) humor picture books! Looking forward to reading your book now–off to get ahold of a copy!
Love this! Thank you, Jason!
What a great post! Thank you so much for these great tips! I love your book. So funny and cute!
So many amazing tips – thank you for sharing!
Your tips gave me things to consider in my own WIP. Thanks for sharing!
Yay! Fingers-crossed for a stronger (and funnier) WIP.
Jason! Thank you for sharing five ways to create humor.
As an educator I love the Venn diagram image.
Wow! These are all great tips that even kids can use for writing. Thanks!
Love this! Thanks so much for sharing Jason. Can’t wait to have fun with these ideas.
Some great tips written up in a fun, memorable way. Venn diagrams and liquid diets–I love it. You rock.
I like the balance between the everyday and that “sparkle”
Thanks! Appreciate the insight.