Satire is a challenging form of humor that uses parody, exaggeration, sarcasm, or irony to highlight flaws and shortcomings in society. Satirists should avoid malice, cruelty, or obscenity and focus on gently teasing the subject. Choosing a topic can be difficult, but current events and public figures are good sources of material. Satirists should start with a topic they care about and find humor in it.
Writing humor is difficult, and many find writing satire to be the most challenging type of humor writing to do successfully. Satire is a literary form that seeks to highlight or draw attention to something by making fun of it, pointing out its flaws and shortcomings. Satirical works are a form of social criticism, because the goal is often to point out how silly, ridiculous, or even stupid something is in a way that will change people and society itself. Satire writers use parody, exaggeration, sarcasm, or irony to make a point, ideally in a humorous way. Most believe that satire is most effective when it doesn’t cause offence, anger, or indignation, but instead uses humor to gently incite the reader to think differently about a topic, even if the topic is the reader himself.
Anyone interested in writing satire must familiarize themselves with the tools of this literary form. When exaggeration is used, a satirist might highlight the ridiculousness of a subject by portraying it as extreme and over the top. There are many parodies of popular movies, TV shows, and novels. In a novel parody, a satirist might write his own version of the novel, exaggerating things he finds silly about the book. In a sarcastic satirical piece, the satirist might write about a topic as if he genuinely likes or is in favor of it, while throwing in the occasional drool or criticism to show that he really isn’t.
Those new to satire are often warned not to rely on malice, cruelty, or obscenity to make a point. One of the goals of satire is to open people up to seeing something in a new or different way so they can recognize its flaws, which readers will have a hard time doing if they are outraged or offended. The best satire gently teases the subject, making readers laugh even as they are forced to admit a truly silly fad, event, or behavior. For this reason, satirists should avoid being cruel for the sake of being cruel or using obscenities that might offend readers.
Choosing a topic when writing satire can be difficult, but a satirist can find a lot of material by looking at current events, trends, and popular fads. Public figures, such as famous entertainers, sports stars, and politicians can be a good source of writing material. Often, a satirist will find that he writes best about issues and topics that he feels strongly about. So a satirist should start with a topic that he really cares about or is interested in, and then look for humor to find in that topic. Writing satire on a topic that he already finds amusing in some way will make it even easier to write a satirical piece.
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