The Horror of Humor

I'm stuck. And being stuck has given me time to think. What I've thought about is the fact that I'm far too serious in my writing. I don't mean that I'm sitting at a type writer, pipe hanging out of the corner of my mouth while Mozart blasts from my speakers, trying to compose the perfect piece of fiction. I mean that I find it difficult to write humorous situations. Everything I compose is stuffy and hard-nosed.

I'm trying to write a story to submit to an upcoming anthology. Part of the guidelines stipulate that there has to be "humor sprinkled in." Heaven help me, but I don't know what that means. My style of humor differs from others (I consider myself witty, but not hilarious). But I know what's funny. I know that when I watch a comedy I can instantly tell if I'll like it based on the type of humor used. For instance, I found Waiting... to be a far funnier film than The Hangover because the situations in Waiting were honest and real. I'm not a huge fan of ridiculous situations that continue to compound for an hour and a half, but there are some, like Idiocracy that are just damn good.

And there's the trouble. I want to write a serious story dealing with a serious situation, but what I consider humorous is much more tongue-in-cheek, a kind of commentary, than opposed to one silly thing happening after another. I want my story to carry a message. I've read and reread and re-reread the guidelines. They clearly stipulate that the story should not be intended as one big joke, and that it should not bowl someone over with laughter. I'm just not sure that my brand of humor is clearly coming through.

I'm on my fifth draft and when I read it, I try and be objective, putting myself in the shoes of an editor. As I go through it, the things I thought were sly might come across as too serious. Confusing, even. Again, I'm avoiding the knee-slapping humor--I couldn't write it if I tried anyway--but what I'm using might be the wrong thing. Unfortunately, given the story I'm trying to tell, I can't change too much more without having to write a completely different story.

Now, I know what you're saying: Well, if that's what you have to do, then do it. But I'm stubborn. I really want to make this story work. The title and premise work to my advantage, but the overall content fails to do what I intended. Luckily, the deadline isn't until the end of December, so I've got time. But school is starting in a few weeks and I'm going to be bogged down. I'm about to put this story in the drawer for a bit, maybe come back to it a little later. The only trouble is that I've invested so much time in it at this point that my brain is tightly wrapped around it.