Why using analogies in your blog posts can increase your humor factor.
Think about an analogy kind of like the Olsen Twins. The look the same, they talk the same, but they are CLEARLY different people (so they say…I still think they might be clones). That’s exactly what an analogy is! An analogy is when you illustrate the properties of one item or action by drawing a reference to another item or action.
(I don’t know if you noticed my genius up there…but I totally used an analogy to describe an analogy. I’m kinda proud of me.)
So why is an analogy important in humor writing…or writing in general? Ok…you write a blog, right? I’m going to hedge my bets and say that your blog TEACHES something. Whether that’s how to keep a clean house, how to take care of a horse, or how to be He-Man for Halloween.
Analogies are the ART of teaching with simple comparison. For example “Riding a horse is like riding a bike…when you fall off it hurts a lot and you’re usually going relatively fast.” They help to clarify SOMETHING that you are trying to teach to your audience.
Writing a funny analogy takes it one step farther by adding the element of surprise.
How To Craft an Analogy
A simple analogy has the conjunctive phrase “is like” or “like a” between your topic and what you are comparing your topic TO.
For example: “The lamp just sat there…like an inanimate object.”
The surprise factor in this is what makes it a FUNNY analogy. The lamp IS an inanimate object…but the writer has written the sentence as though the lamp were DOING something…therefor saying it is LIKE an inanimate object is funny. 0_o
If your analogy is not funny in and of itself, you can add an extra line to the end to clarify. For example:
“Kids are like gremlins…come 7 o’clock, you DON’T want to get them wet.”
(If you can’t tell…I’ve been hanging out with the nephew who is NOT a fan of the bath word.) The original analogy wasn’t humorous at all…but with clarification tacked on to the end, you’ll be able to bring the phrase full circle for a chuckle.
Homework
Head over to your last blog post and pick the paragraph that really hits home what you are trying to teach to your readers. If you haven’t already…try to come up with an analogy to really describe what you are trying to say! If you have any issues, are stumped, or want to share what you have…head over to the Facebook group!!!