Gay romance fiction

Funny Bones: the structure of comedy

a craft workshop for genre authors

  • Format: available in lengths from one to six hours.
  • Technical requirements: projector/screen if available.

 

Class Blurb:

FUNNY BONES with Damon Suede

Being funny is a serious business. Even in the darkest books a dash of humor can make your scenes sizzle because audiences love to laugh. Careful comic plotting and characterization can turn “meh” into mesmerizing. Defy gravity! We’ll tackle the ins–n–outs of making folks smile with tips and tricks that will help you find the rib ticklers underneath your romance.

"No one deserves to be punished for loving with an open heart." (Hot Head - D. Suede)

Class Description:

Funny Bones is a craft workshop looking at comic theory and tools for writing humor in all kinds of genre fiction. Covering history, technique, and project planning, this session explores:

  • the mechanics of comedy
  • recipe for a comic beat and humorous rhythm/pacing
  • the power of rhythm and pace
  • comedic characters and the role of jokers in the genre plot, and the possibilities of a comic ensemble
  • Applications of wit and schtick to leaven your manuscript regardless of genre

Though this class operates primarily as a lecture, there are exercises throughout to provoke relevant discussion and experimentation. 

Takeaways:

  • A comprehensive theory of humor and the craft of evoking laughter.
  • A dissection of joke construction and humorous beats
  • An analysis of comic characters and the power of ensemble comedy casts
  • Exercises and references to develop your own comic voice.

 

Presentations:

  • "Funny Bones" workshop for the Crazy Scribes in Nashville, TN (June 2025)
  • "Comedy of Manners" seminar online for MSC Writers Collective in New York, NY (February 2021)
  • "Funny Bones" masterclass for NECRWA Conference in Burlington, MA (April 2019)
  • "Funny Bones" for the Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers in Harrisburg, PA (November 2018)
  • "Rom–Com Toolbox" for Dreamspinner Author Weekend in Orlando, FL (March 2016)
  • "Funny Bones" for the Long Island RWA in South Huntingdon, NY (March 2015)

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"For an endless moment, Runt imagined the crooked corporation had folded and they’d been forgotten, laughing and living together under these perfect suns, waiting for wives that would never come, happily hunting fresh meat at the sharp edge of the galaxy." (Grown Men - D. Suede)

Recommended reading:

CRAFT

THEORY

 

HISTORY

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"No one deserves to be punished for loving with an open heart." (Hot Head - D. Suede)

If you'd like to book Damon to come present a workshop for your group, chapter, coven, or posse, just give a holler.