So, You're Not Funny?

Raise your hand if you wished you were funnier.
That picture? Those are my hands. Well, two of them. Sort of. Instead, imagine my hand waving like that schoolkid who wants the immediate universe to know that their answer will save, well, the universe.

Sure, in certain situations, I can make people smile. In better situations, I can make them chuckle. But all-out laugh? That happened maybe 2.3 times in my life. And I can only remember the .3. I’m sure even that was an accident.

My humor is situational. It tends to come out in sarcastic, under-my-breath remarks. Sometimes those creep into words my characters say. I love when that happens.

In fact, I wish my characters were funnier than me. I could have them tell a joke or two, but unless you’re clever that way, those jokes fall as flat as the paper they’re printed on. Unless, of course, you’re using an e-reader where there’s a screen involved.

The fact is, I wasn’t born funny. Some people seem to come out of the womb with a Nick Bargatze/Kevin Hart/Kate McKinnon sense of humor. Even the people without capital-N Names make me laugh all the time.

At least that proves something. I do have a sense of humor. And I can absolutely live with that.

Jody Feldman believes her funniest character is Travis in The Seventh Level. Possibly, though, in a ghosty book that’s now waiting for her agent’s thoughts, Oscar has surpassed him. Both those guys crack Jody up.