Black Comedy

So what makes Black Comedy black?

Well, according to John Truby the protagonist must have a negative goal. The world he inhabits must be full of madness; mad people pursuing negative and illogical aims. A good example is Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Yossarian wants to be grounded to escape the madness of yet more bombing missions and the danger of imminent death and tries every insane technique to achieve his aim. Around him are a hilarious cast of characters, each as mad as the other in their reaction to the war: the doctor who moans constantly about being drafted after having unsuccessfully exempted himself from active service, the General who thinks he can have people 'taken out and shot' on a whim, the inadequate Major Major who only allows people into his office to see him when he isn't there.

And in the midst of it is the inevitable tragedy of death and destruction, otherwise it wouldn't be "Black". The shocking deaths which occur are made all the more poignant by some hilariously crafted scenes, like Yossarian standing in for an already dead airman whose parents have come all the way from New York to visit him before he dies. And somehow the dire straits of all the characters makes their predicaments funnier.

I've discovered Catch 22 late - I seem to remember school friends talking about in my early years. But that may not be a bad thing.

A Small Hooray

Nothing very exciting really but I've finally started writing some actual words of my new Black Comedy. Strange to relate it is not the black comedy I set out to write when I started this process. My original intention was to write a dystopian black comedy and I still want to do that. But for the moment, just to keep the muscle exercised and to alleviate my writerly frustration, I've started a small scale domestic black comedy.

It's about a murder. Or an attempted murder. If I told you the outcome before it was finished I'd have to kill you too.

Anyway, it's strictly for fun. I'm on my holidays this fortnight so trying not to take things too seriously. Chilling.

New Project Planning

I'm itching to get to grips with something new, having finally put the WIP to one side for a cooling off period. I don't know about you but by the time I get to the end of a draft of something I'm so sick of being immersed in that world I'm twitching for a complete change. As it's a paranormal mystery with high drama and life or death stakes it's not surprising I fancy something a little lighter.

I had a go at a romcom last year but it ground to a halt. Romance isn't as easy as it looks, I've decided. Maybe I'm just too nasty to want lovey-dovey endings. But I haven't given up on wanting to write a comedy so I'm thinking a Black Comedy would suit me better. Or satire. I love taking the piss out of things so it's right up my street. But choosing a subject is tough. It has to be original and yet have enough potential to sustain the comedy from start to finish. Trying to figure out what I want to write is nearly as tough as writing it.

So I'm reading Catch 22 as an example of black comedy. There are lots of movie examples too, like Brazil and Dr Strangelove which are two of my favourite films. Any other suggestions?