How I Started Writing Cartoon Gags

I became interested in writing for newspapers in junior high. This interest continued in high school and college where I wrote news and features and became Co-Editor-in-Chief my senior year. After college, I was hired by a group of suburban newspapers where I was offered a job selling advertising space. I took the job and found out that I really enjoyed advertising sales. This became my full time career. However, my interest in writing never dimmed.

I was always interested in humor and while holding a full time sales job, balancing marriage and kids, I started writing one-liners on the side. I probably wrote thousands of them and sold them to publications that geared themselves to disc jockeys, public speakers and comedians. One day I looked at something I had written and decided it could be illustrated. It could be a cartoon! Now I don't draw, but this realization led me to study single-panel gag cartoons, specifically in The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, Reader's Digest, Barrons and the Wall Street Journal. A collection of New Yorker cartoons going back to 1925 became my textbook, and this is how I learned how to write a cartoon gag. First, which situations were being used again and again (desert island, guru on mountain, husband and wife, prisoners, little old ladies, job interviews, etc.) Who was doing the talking. And, finally, how to write gags that were short and to the point. I had to edit, edit, edit.

I don't work for newspapers any longer and write gags full time. Currently, I write for the syndicated cartoons "Dennis the Menace," (Sunday and daily), "The Lockhorns" and "9 to 5." I've written for many others in the past. I also write for one New Yorker cartoonist right now and have written for several others. I read newspapers and magazines. (Yes, I have subscriptions...and home delivery!)  I regularly get my news from the TV, radio and online. I'm still learning, perfecting my writing skills and still selling.  

"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.