The Best Humor is the Truth

Where do I get my gag writing ideas? I read...a lot. Mostly I read newspapers, both daily and weekly. I like to think of it as getting paid to read the papers. I also read business and general-interest magazines, new books, old books, coupons that come in the mail, advertising inserts, all kinds of things. To be a writer I believe you have to love to read.

I also watch TV news about four times a day and listen to news radio when I'm in the car. I'm just trying to keep up with what's going on in the world...and there's a lot.

Over the past 25 years or so that I've been writing gags I've read many books about cartoon gagwriting and comedy, but, most importantly, I taught myself how to write single-panel gag cartoons by studying cartoon collections. This has given me priceless information about what subjects to write about and how to write a concise caption. Of course I have some favorite subjects. Besides husband/wife and business gags, I really like to write gags and help create cartoons about heaven and hell, the Grim Reaper, desert islands and prisoners.

Where else do I get my ideas?  I write about people I know and their quirks, but mostly I write about myself. I write a lot of self-deprecating humor and then have the words come out of the mouth of one of the cartoon characters I write for. The best humor is the truth. You just have to be able to see it, realize it, and then get it down on paper.

Any questions or comments? Write to me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.