Becoming a Humorous Non Fiction Writer
CJ Baker
Becoming a Humorous Non Fiction Writer
Erma Bombeck was an ordinary woman (by her own admission) but could put out a great one liner. “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’” She started implementing her skill for words while in junior high, high school, and college by writing for the school newsletters and graduated to writing a humorous column for her local newspaper, which paid $3.00 per column. The column became syndicated after only 3 weeks with three weekly columns under the title "At Wit's End". From 1965 to 1996, Bombeck wrote over 4,000 newspaper columns illustrating the ordinary life of a Midwestern suburban housewife. I think she was so popular because she spoke the language of everyday people and was funny because she made fun of herself, which is one of the most basic keys for humorous writing. By the 1970s, her columns were read, twice weekly, by 30 million readers in 900 newspapers—and to keep busy she also wrote 13 books.
Here are some examples of her great lines from her book “Just Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own”:
“Our teenagers withdrew to their bedrooms on their thirteenth birthday and didn’t show themselves to us again until it was time to get married.” (2)
“In my mind, I always dreamed of the day I would have teen-agers. Young boys would pinch me in the swimming pool and exclaim, ‘Gee, ma’am, I’m sorry. I thought you were your sensuous daughter, Dale.’” (2)
“I didn’t mind when my daughter’s hair covered her eyes. I didn’t mind when it cascaded over her shoulders like a cape. I didn’t even complain when it hung longer than her hemline. But when I discovered it wasn’t my daughter at all, but my son, I became alarmed.” (223)
“The family that plays together gets on each other’s nerves” (263)
Erma used everyday life and her “very average” family as her springboard, which gave her a plethora of examples.
Becoming a Humorous Non Fiction Writer
Erma Bombeck was an ordinary woman (by her own admission) but could put out a great one liner. “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’” She started implementing her skill for words while in junior high, high school, and college by writing for the school newsletters and graduated to writing a humorous column for her local newspaper, which paid $3.00 per column. The column became syndicated after only 3 weeks with three weekly columns under the title "At Wit's End". From 1965 to 1996, Bombeck wrote over 4,000 newspaper columns illustrating the ordinary life of a Midwestern suburban housewife. I think she was so popular because she spoke the language of everyday people and was funny because she made fun of herself, which is one of the most basic keys for humorous writing. By the 1970s, her columns were read, twice weekly, by 30 million readers in 900 newspapers—and to keep busy she also wrote 13 books.
Here are some examples of her great lines from her book “Just Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own”:
“Our teenagers withdrew to their bedrooms on their thirteenth birthday and didn’t show themselves to us again until it was time to get married.” (2)
“In my mind, I always dreamed of the day I would have teen-agers. Young boys would pinch me in the swimming pool and exclaim, ‘Gee, ma’am, I’m sorry. I thought you were your sensuous daughter, Dale.’” (2)
“I didn’t mind when my daughter’s hair covered her eyes. I didn’t mind when it cascaded over her shoulders like a cape. I didn’t even complain when it hung longer than her hemline. But when I discovered it wasn’t my daughter at all, but my son, I became alarmed.” (223)
“The family that plays together gets on each other’s nerves” (263)
Erma used everyday life and her “very average” family as her springboard, which gave her a plethora of examples.