I am writing my story but I feel like I need some jokes to make it lighter.  How do you go about injecting humor into a story?

I don't believe in injecting or forcing humor in a story.  Humor to me is organic.  What's the genre?

Google.

http://qjtzufw4ca.qjtv.e/martin-mcdonagh-seven-psychopaths-interview/

I try not to force it if I can help it.  

Comedy, to me at least, is always best served in a nice dish of improvisation.

I don't think you've provided enough information for anyone to answer this question in a remotely sound way. Explain, please...

Quoted from NickSedario http://qjtzufw4ca.qjtv.e/martin-mcdonagh-seven-psychopaths-interview/

Link doesn't work, dude.

I agree with James here, what's the story about and what genre?  If it's a heavy drama then the jokes needs to be light and just enough to lift the mood at some points.  If however the story is a comedy and you feel the need to inject jokes then maybe you need a rethink as forcing cheap laughs is never the answer.

Chris, you can do it.

A few months into my writing, I wrote a cheesy zombie/gangster script. A year later I determined that if you're going to have cheese you need to have humor, and I had very little. I cleaned up the writing, which opened about 20 new pages for new scenes. I focused on making the new scenes as filled with humor as I could, and injected it in spots elsewhere in the rewrite.

The key to comedy is often conflict, though sometimes random one liners help too. If character A wants to go north and character B wants to go south, they bang heads, which is a chance for humor.

One thing to keep in mind is that it helps to set this in the tone in the first scene. For example, if it's an action thriller laced with comedy, it might help to have some of that in the opening.

Also, the way you set up your characters is key. Not only might they want different things, but they might have opposite personalities which cause them to clash, like 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon, Sherlock Holmes(the recent ones).

Comedy should come naturally.  I think it's one of the most hardest genres to create, because if its not funny and people don't laugh then you're piece really isn't doing its job.

I also think it's hard to have screenplays posted on SS be funny.  Because I think half the fun/comedy, and what makes it funny, is the delivery and the actor playing the character and whether he himself can deliver funny lines well.  So, it's tough.

If I was writing a comedy I wouldn't so research.  Like someone else said, it's organic, and forcing comedy into your script could possibly do more worse than good.  I'd like to get some more insight though as I don't think I have enough background on the story, plot etc.  

Curt

Quoted from James McClung I don't think you've provided enough information for anyone to answer this question in a remotely sound way. Explain, please...

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"   ~Fig Newton

Wanna know how to write comedy? "Google" and get advice from people who've done it before.

Clearer?

http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-4-rules-of-comedy-writing-for-screenwriters.html

http://scribemeetsworld.com/20.....iting-tips-hangover/

I'm writing a youth adult science fiction drama but I kind of think the lack of humor in my story makes it rather dull.

I don't want to force jokes at all but how can I incorporate them organically?  Should humor be the focus WHILE writing the story or should I wait to inject the humor on a rewrite of the story?

I find that the scripts that I find the most interesting on the is forum always make me laugh.  

Those writers kind of make it seem so easy.

Oh and thanks for the links Silverback but I'm really looking for tips from actual writers on SS who can share their actual experiences on attempting to inject comedy in their writings - their failures and successes.

KevinL, most of the humor should be added in the rewrite then?  

I am writing a drama story not a straight comedy.

Quoted from KevinLenihan Chris, you can do it. A few months into my writing, I wrote a cheesy zombie/gangster script. A year later I determined that if you're going to have cheese you need to have humor, and I had very little. I cleaned up the writing, which opened about 20 new pages for new scenes. I focused on making the new scenes as filled with humor as I could, and injected it in spots elsewhere in the rewrite. The key to comedy is often conflict, though sometimes random one liners help too. If character A wants to go north and character B wants to go south, they bang heads, which is a chance for humor. One thing to keep in mind is that it helps to set this in the tone in the first scene. For example, if it's an action thriller laced with comedy, it might help to have some of that in the opening. Also, the way you set up your characters is key. Not only might they want different things, but they might have opposite personalities which cause them to clash, like 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon, Sherlock Holmes(the recent ones).

(Good) comedy comes from the audience totally understanding the characters. All you really need to think about is what's funny in real life -- what makes you laugh on an average day? -- and then put similar dynamics into your scenes.

For example, it's funny when your friends fearlessly do something totally inappropriate in public --> the famous "restaurant orgasm" scene in When Harry Met Sally.

It's funny when your friends have a huge, frustrating argument that stems from a small misunderstanding, and you can see the misunderstanding --> the famous "Who's on First" bit.

It's funny when a friend suffers from massive hubris when anyone can see their obvious incompetence --> the famous Black Knight of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and while I'm on that, it's funny when a friend doesn't understand why something is funny --> the "Biggus Dickus" scene in Life of Brian.

It's funny when people fart, and Mel Brooks gave us farting cowboys.

What I'm getting at here is that humour will be organic if your characters are realistic and they end up in these situations. So if you have two believable characters that totally can't understand each other, but we get the misunderstanding, there will probably be humour there. If you have a believable character who suffers from totally unjustified arrogance, this could well be funny. If you have a believable character who farts in the right context...well, I'll laugh, anyway.

Haha, so it's all about making the most of good characterization then.

Quoted from Heretic (Good) comedy comes from the audience totally understanding the characters. All you really need to think about is what's funny in real life -- what makes you laugh on an average day? -- and then put similar dynamics into your scenes. For example, it's funny when your friends fearlessly do something totally inappropriate in public --> the famous "restaurant orgasm" scene in When Harry Met Sally. It's funny when your friends have a huge, frustrating argument that stems from a small misunderstanding, and you can see the misunderstanding --> the famous "Who's on First" bit. It's funny when a friend suffers from massive hubris when anyone can see their obvious incompetence --> the famous Black Knight of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and while I'm on that, it's funny when a friend doesn't understand why something is funny --> the "Biggus Dickus" scene in Life of Brian. It's funny when people fart, and Mel Brooks gave us farting cowboys. What I'm getting at here is that humour will be organic if your characters are realistic and they end up in these situations. So if you have two believable characters that totally can't understand each other, but we get the misunderstanding, there will probably be humour there. If you have a believable character who suffers from totally unjustified arrogance, this could well be funny. If you have a believable character who farts in the right context...well, I'll laugh, anyway.

Chris, sorry, I've given you the wrong impression. No, ideally you don't want to wait until the rewrite. It was my impression that you had a completed script and you wanted to inject humor in the next draft.

Humor IS something that you can grow into your script which each pass, though. Humor often comes from having things set up so that the characters are in conflict or have contradictory natures. If you did that well in the first draft, it's easy to find ways to inject more humor in the rewrite.

I am assuming your script is not a comedy, but is perhaps a horror or an action thriller and you want humor to spice it up. I agree with your goal, and think that humor is often neglected by amateur writers. Set your characters in motion with conflicting goals and natures and then just look for opportunities for humor. You'll find them.

Thanks KevingL, that was very helpful.  I definitely don't want to make the rookie mistake of neglecting humor.  I can already see where I can add some conflicts that have a humor like edge now.

Quoted from KevinLenihan Chris, sorry, I've given you the wrong impression. No, ideally you don't want to wait until the rewrite. It was my impression that you had a completed script and you wanted to inject humor in the next draft. Humor IS something that you can grown into your script which each pass, though. Humor often comes from having things set up so that the characters are in conflict or have contradictory natures. If you did that well in the first draft, it's easy to find ways to inject more humor in the rewrite. I am assuming your script is not a comedy, but is perhaps a horror or an action thriller and you want humor to spice it up. I agree with your goal, and think that humor is often neglected by amateur writers. Set your characters in motion with conflicting goals and natures and then just look for opportunities for humor. You'll find them.