The hardest thing about writing humour when you are in pain is to avoid spite. I know this kind of humour is very common now. Gervais revels in it. Many late night talk show hosts have made a living by it. It is the humour of persecution, real or imagined. It wallows in self pity but tries to masquerade as "dealing with the 'real' issues". It's none of these things. Can you tell I don't like it?
And yet it's hard to avoid when you hurt.
I'll wait until we're allowed to share our stories (that usually comes before the judges make their decisions) and then I'll post it here. I honestly think the tone is too ambiguous to hold it's own. We will see. Let the judges decide.The hardest thing about writing humour normally is that, after very few reads, every word loses it's humour. You have to hold onto the core of the joke(s) against every edit. In this, more than any other genre, you will need readers. Each reader will only be able to read the story a time or two before they too lose the humour from it. You'll probably get the best criticism at this point, but they won't know any more than you if this stale joke is funny.
Once your readers are done, be sure to have a fresh set of eyes to read the final manuscript.
Then finish your work.
Then submit.
No matter what, you have to do this.
