Welcome back to the monthly Writing Yoga, where we stretch and strengthen our writing craft together.
This month, experiment with humorous taglines related to your life. Write as if you were a marketing copywriter, selling the thing you’re writing about. But instead of writing for sales, you’re writing for smiles.
Here’s a famous example: Garrison Keillor’s description of his fictional town, Lake Wobegon: “Where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.“
Subjects to try
Start with something easy:
- Your job/role (like a LinkedIn headline)
- Your workplace (“Anne’s office: Where ideas come to life and pens disappear“)
- Your hometown (think Lake Wobegon)
If you get inspired, write a tagline for a stretch of road you drive or your favorite old car. Look for subjects you enjoy, with faults you recognize and tolerate. Or write a tagline for a situation exasperates you, as exasperation is a great entry point for humor.
What makes it funny?
One of the defining characteristics of humor is that it sets and then defies expectations. The tagline does this very efficiently. The format itself sets an expectation of marketing hype, then your words gently deflate it.
Word to the wise: If you make fun of other people, be gentle, not harsh. Self-deprecating humor is safest.
3 reasons to write witty taglines
- Short descriptors make you choose your words with care.
- This exercises the ‘humor’ muscle in our writing, which many of us neglect.
- It’s fun. Don’t we all need more joy and creativity in our lives?
Give this exercise a try this month. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments, or send them to me by email.
Related reading
Writing to Be Understood, about nonfiction writing, includes a chapter exploring humor. If you don’t already have the book, the ebook version will be on sale for 99 cents April 7-11! Watch for an email from me.
Find all of the monthly Writing Yoga exercises so far here, or on my YouTube Channel.
