"Where I Get My Ideas"

The answer is: from many places. First of all, I read at least two newspapers every day plus follow the news on TV, radio and online. Of course I also have a subscription to The New Yorker. I think it's really important to know what's going on in the world. When I read I jot down words and phrases that can be used in my gags. Let's just say I have a lot of filled notebooks in my office, from writing gags for over 30 years.

I pay attention to what people say. What I say. When I hear a conversation that interests me, many times I can use part of it for a future gag. Since I have a skewed way of looking at things, I try to remember and write down my reactions to what people say or do. Many times I've written gags this way. The best humor is based on the truth. It's also really important that people can relate to the situation.

I'd also like to say that it's important to get out into the world. Be exposed to people, places and things. I get a lot of ideas from eating out in restaurants (something I love to do) which I believe is ripe for humor. It's important to see the humor in situations and then write it down. For example, in restaurants: high prices, snooty waiters, demanding customers and bad service. I've written tons of gags about dining out.  

Finally, I write about myself: my insecurities, my fears, my quirks. There's lots of material there.

Any comments? Contact me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com. Have a great week!

How I Taught Myself To Write Cartoon Gags

 I started out writing one-liners (jokes) for comedians, public speakers and broadcast personalities. After writing hundreds (thousands?) of them, one day I realized that one of my jokes could be illustrated and made into a single-panel cartoon. I don't draw, knew very little about creating single-panel cartoons but decided to explore this. 

I started by studying cartoons in The New Yorker, going back to 1925. I must have looked at thousands of cartoons, seeing patterns in location and who was talking to who. I found a lot of desert island cartoons, people seeking entry into heaven, husbands and wives, kids and pets, prisoners, gurus on mountains and the Grim Reaper. There were lots of business gags: job interviews, getting fired, nasty bosses, nasty co-workers. I also found tons of restaurant gags: high prices, nasty waiters, demanding diners and awful food.

Besides the New Yorker, I also studied cartoons in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Barrons and Saturday Evening Post. I was on my way.

I still study published cartoons. I still read several newspapers each day. I read the news online. I also try to be aware of what's going on around me, what I say, what I hear. It's all material for my gags.

Any comments? Email me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com

Return to Weekly Posts

For those of you who have been missing my weekly column, I plan to return to a set schedule starting today.

Rest assured, I'm still writing, every day, doing the same things I've been doing for many years.

I read three daily newspapers every day and The New Yorker every week. I still write every day. Still submit gags to the syndicated strips "Dennis the Menace," and "The Lockhorns" on a regular basis. Still work with cartoonists who submit their work to The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, The Oldie, Air Mail and other publications. Still read memoirs written by cartoonists. Still study cartoon collections. Still go to events sponsored by the National Cartoonists Society. I just haven't written my blog in a while.

I plan to write this column every Monday. I plan to give gag writing advice, including how to write a caption, how to come up with cartoon situations and convey that information to the cartoonist who will be taking my information and drawing the actual cartoon. I plan to let you know of upcoming events I plan to attend and let you know about events I have attended. I plan to let you know how important it is to network with other creative types. That's one of the best ways of finding out about new writing opportunities.

I can tell you I plan to attend the MOCCA Festival in New York City on March 15-16. I look forward to The New Yorker's 100 year anniversary issue later this month and hope to visit a special exhibit about this anniversary at The Society of Illustrators that's going on right now. 

Stay tuned...there's a lot of interesting stuff on the horizon!

You can write me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com. Have a great day!

Another Helpful Hint for Inspiration

 I keep a portfolio of published cartoons using my gags. Occasionally I go through the pages for inspiration, especially when I can't seem to come up with new ideas. Looking through these pages of gags that worked and resulted in a cartoon sale, it says to me that I did this before, and I can do it again.

Any comments? Write to me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com. Have a great day!

Books to Recommend

 For those of you who are interested in how single panel gag cartoons are created, I highly recommend reading a new book, "Funny Stuff" - How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons, by Phil Witte and Rex Hesner. There's a foreward written by Bob Mankoff, former cartoon editor of The New Yorker.

The book contains interviews with many cartoonists who favor this means of expression, delving into their creative process, going from idea to finished drawing. Very interesting book. It also discusses how some cartoonists collaborate with writers, a section I had great interest in reading.

I'm really looking forward to reading "At Wit's End: Cartoonists of the New Yorker," which will be published Nov. 19, 2024. It highlights the work of 50+ New Yorker Cartoonists. Photography by Alen MacWeeney and words by Michael Maslin. Foreward by Emma Allen. Can hardly wait to read it.

 

Writing What I Know

Every writer has a perspective. A way of seeing the world. I read, a long time ago, that comedy writers have a skewed way of looking at things. I believe this.

Anyway, it's easiest to write about something you know. What do I know? Well, I've worked in offices through all of my career. I know about co-workers, bosses, job interviews, salary negotiations, getting hired, getting fired. These memories are what I write about when I need ideas for business gags.

I've been married for a long time. I know about dating, getting married, having children, balancing career and family, arguments and downright fights. I draw from all of this to write gags about families and relationships.

I'm not the world's best cook. I have accidents in the kitchen. I write a lot of gags about kitchen disasters, meals that have no taste, recipes calling for too many ingredients and so on. My food and cooking-related gags come from my own experience.

What else do I write about? I write about not being computer-literate. I'm sure we were the last family on the block that bought a microwave. My husband and I still use flip phones. We get our TV programs through a roof antenna. I still call people. I still read a newspaper every day. I make fun of myself because I know I'm living in another era.

I guess you could say I write self-deprecating humor. I am my best subject.

Any comments? Email me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.

"How I Taught Myself To Write Gags for Single-Panel Cartoons

My full-time career was in print advertising sales. I worked for several newspapers over the years, mostly in advertising, but also in features, mostly writing calendar of events listings. Anyway, newspapers is where I was and still am the most comfortable.

At the same time, I was always interested in humor. About 25 or so years ago I started writing one-liners for comedians, broadcasters and public speakers in addition to my advertising job. After writing hundreds (or thousands) of these, one day I realized that this particular one-liner that I had just written could be illustrated and make a single-panel cartoon. Knowing that I can't draw, I knew I would have to collaborate with people who could. I started studying cartoons, specifically the ones in the New Yorker. 

I obtained New Yorker cartoon collections from the library, showing cartoons going back to 1925, the year the magazine started publishing. These collections became my textbooks. I found out what situations were common, such as the desert island, heaven's gatekeeper, jail, husband and wife (relationships), gurus on mountaintops, the Grim Reaper, the Desert Crawler. I also studied the tone of the cartoons, how sophisticated they were. I also learned how to write captions: short, sweet and to the point.

I wrote and still write a lot of business gags, so I also studied cartoons in the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Harvard Business Review and Reader's Digest.

This is how I learned how to come up with ideas and captions for single-panel gag cartoons. Later on, I found out how to write multi-panel cartoons, such as "Dennis the Menace" on Sunday. (Start with a strong punchline, and work back).

I hope this gives you some idea of how my writing career evolved. I'm still learning.

Comments? Write to me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.

Have a good week!