Writing Like a Cartoonist

1. The topic is the thing: 80% of successful humor writing is picking a topic that is funny by its very nature.
2. Humor likes danger: humor works best when you sense that the writer is putting himself in jeopardy.
3. Humor is about people: all humor involves how people think and act.
4. Exaggerate wisely: anchor your story in the familiar.
5. Let the reader do some work: humor works best when the reader has to connect some dots.
6. Animals are funny: animal analogies are generally funny.
7. Use funny words:  some words are simply funnier than others.
8. Curiosity:  good writing makes you curious without being too heavy-handed about it.
9. Endings:  a simple and classic way to end humorous writing is with a call-back.

Taken from Scott Adams' "How to Write Like a Cartoonist" appearing in the Wall Street Journal "Word Craft" section October 9-10, 2010.