: Re: How do you make a character witty? How can a character be made to appear witty, or funny? That is, the character amuses other characters, not the reader, who should ideally be impressed with

First, you need to decide: what KIND of funny? Watch a bunch of comedy shows / movies / standups. Analyze them, and you'll find that there are MANY kinds of funny. Too many to list here, but examples are: dry, intellectual, self-deprecating, wry, wise-ass, idiot, childish, buffoon, crude, goofy, crazy, hostile, nerdy, gallows. You must pick ONE (or maybe two) of these for your funny character, and of course it must fit his/her other characteristics. Also, it must fit the other characters.

That leads me to my second point: you'll need at least one straight man (who could be a woman). The straight man can also be funny, but in an opposite manner. He is funny as a receiver. His reactions make the jokester funny. A stupid, corny joke instantly becomes funnier if the hard-boiled, no-nonsense guy responds with, "Haha. You're a laugh a minute."

Which leads to my third point: people are funniest in combination. That's why stand-up comedy is so hard, and why so many stand-ups have multiple personas in their act. That's why sit-coms have a variety of characters. Most jokes need a foil, a target. A couple of idiots acting stupid isn't very funny. A couple of idiots acting stupid, but one of them thinks he's smart, is funnier. Those idiots inadvertently embarrassing their dignified, cultured, and intelligent companion is very funny (or could be), especially if the uptight guy is forced by circumstances to depend on those clods.

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: Is this a good description of a jew looking out the window at nazis? Cautiously I rose, briefly leaving his side. Turning to the lugubrious window when suddenly I was forced to duck down as

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: Character development in a story? I am working on a book for fun and have thought a lot about character development. Is character development as important as the actual dialog of the story?

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: Your idealistic young heroes kill the 20, thereby getting what's necessary to change their dystopia into a utopia (at great personal sacrifice) -- and then watch in horror as human nature takes

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: Building on @what's answer (to his own question ;-) ), I'd say that the question is falsely assuming the protagonist will improve. Much more interesting is the case where the protagonist

: Re: How do you make a character witty? How can a character be made to appear witty, or funny? That is, the character amuses other characters, not the reader, who should ideally be impressed with

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: Is this a good description of a jew looking out the window at nazis? Cautiously I rose, briefly leaving his side. Turning to the lugubrious window when suddenly I was forced to duck down as

: Character development in a story? I am working on a book for fun and have thought a lot about character development. Is character development as important as the actual dialog of the story?

: Your idealistic young heroes kill the 20, thereby getting what's necessary to change their dystopia into a utopia (at great personal sacrifice) -- and then watch in horror as human nature takes

: Building on @what's answer (to his own question ;-) ), I'd say that the question is falsely assuming the protagonist will improve. Much more interesting is the case where the protagonist

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