I have two characters I want to have a bit of wit to them. The first one is the protagonist's best friend, Ash. Ash enjoys cracking a joke whenever he and his friends are bonding, and when they're in a tense situation, his sarcasm manifests itself. He's not overly cynical but he has a little skeptical of a lot of things. The second character is the antagonist's pet snake, Sartigar. He speaks in hisses only his master can understand, but they are translated in italics for the reader, and I want him to be quite amusing. Sartigar has a dark sense of humor, and enjoys messing with people who might be slightly intimidated by a snake as intelligent as he is. His humor either serves to bond with Zarakharn, his master, or to hint at how deadly he can actually be, since he has a venomous bite and isn't shy about using it. He also uses the fact that other dragons can't understand him to roast them with his sardonic observations. His perspective should be interesting, since he is an intelligent snake in a world of dragons. So, what advice can you give in writing these characters?
Give them good lead lines. In real life, being witty is about being able to improvise quickly and riff off what other people have just said. When you're writing, you can give them the perfect setup.
Well, for one thing, don't bother looking up your favorite sarcastic people, seeing what they've said, and coming up with different line about different topics but that have the same effect. True writers are never inspired by other people. ... In all some seriousness, the key to sarcasm is reversal: the victim has to figure out for herself that the words "X" mean the concept "not X."
Be sure to keep your sarcasm in line with the person, place and time. Early on I put some sarcasm using book references in my WIP and the critique group had a cow because "it took them out of the story."
I know I'm a newbie and all, but I saw this thread and I just can't help commenting! Witty banter is so important in characters because it not only lightens the atmosphere in the story itself, but it also really endears your figments of imagination to the reader. One key to banter, in my opinion, is to put witty characters in interesting situations. When an interesting situation comes about, have them say what everyone is thinking (whether it be appropriate timing or not lol). This should work quite well for Ash. I quite enjoy the idea of Sartigar! You could have him always taunting others with his intelligence perhaps? While maybe having scenes where he's doing obvious snake things, like eating rats or shedding skin. All that being said, humor is mostly a spur-of-the-moment thing (at least for me) and highly personal as to what you find funny. Hope I helped a little!
The best wit seems almost unintentional. I watched Deja Vu last night on TV. Denzel's character was interviewing the bomber. The bomber asked for a smoke. Denzel's character got up to fetch a cigarette for the bomber. "A man can always use more alcohol, firearms, and tobacco," said the bomber. "I can think of one more thing," said Denzel's character. The comeback, along with Denzel's acting, elicited a chuckle. If it fits, and it's natural, it works.
Just for the record, Winston Churchill was the master. Nancy Langhorne, the Viscountess Astor: If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea. Winston Churchill MP: Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it! Or when he found out that General Bernard Montgomery was offering a meal to a captured German general: "I sympathize with General von Thoma: Defeated, in captivity and... (long pause for dramatic effect) dinner with Montgomery."
I'm a sucker for sarcastic, snarky characters whether they be in books, TV or movies. My default setting is about 60% sarcasm on a daily basis, so I really enjoy writing snappy dialogue where the characters often try to match wits and attempt to take each other down a peg or two. I think it helps if trading verbal barbs comes naturally to you - my family's #1 pastime is giving each other shit (my daughter will fondly introduce me to friends as "My mom, the one with the mad roasting skills"), so it's relatively easy for me to slip into my characters's shoes during those kinds of things. I think the biggest challenge is to make your characters's sarcasm sharp enough to be effective while not crossing the line into outright meanness or cruelty. It can be a fine line sometimes, and you need to take into consideration how the other person in the banter is going to take things based on their characterization. If one of your dragons has a particularly sensitive relationship with his parents, I wouldn't suggest that Sartigar go in the "Hey, your mom's a whore" direction.
James Bond approaches his car only to find bad guys surrounding it. One of them tries to smash the window - causing the car to explode. Bond looks at his female companion, thumbs the car key in his hand and then drops it to the ground. "Well, I hope YOU have a car," he utters. In my last completed novel I created a character, Mitch. Mitch is an 'employee' of a mysterious businessman who probably (but not definitely) kills people. Mitch is almost always grinning, cheerful and rarely phased by anything happening around him, no matter how dire. My female MC finds him grating...and physically attractive. Mitch ceaselessly calls her pet names, teases her about her height and matter-of-factly guides her to be an assassin of sorts. Mitch: "Your problem is you need more Taylor Swift in your life and less Joan Jett." Brianna: "What the hell does that mean?" (Mitch explains that it is a metaphor for her childhood: sweet and innocent vs. cold and hard) Brianna: "I hate Taylor Swift." Mitch: "You only hate her because you can't relate to her music." Brianna: "Why are we talking about Taylor Swift? Who the fuck cares?!" Mitch: "You do, apparently." Brianna: "You're exasperating." Mitch: "Its one of my many fine characteristics." The sarcasm here is subtle. It is meant to goad his 'opponent' to a point where she gives up the argument by calling him exasperating. To perpetuate the mild irritation of Brianna he addresses her: "Yes, my little dove." "Well, my height-challenged friend..." "Yes, my sweetness." ...and so on. Meanwhile, she calls him 'asshole', to which he smiles ever broader and drives her even crazier. Sarcasm comes naturally to me (to a fault) so I'm not sure I can 'coach' someone on being witty, sarcastic or using dry humor. I can only say that for me the continued but well measured use of sarcasm between two characters is sort of like a tennis match. The two players volley back and forth somewhat equally. One may eventually cave in any given interaction or they may call it a draw. If the characters secretly or admittedly like each other then they may look forward to these exchanges. Brianna is not yet there, though she indulges Mitch and tries to parry with him in her own profane way. The danger lies in doing too much of this and it distracts from what the book is really about and also makes the characters caricatures. Other tools might be Agree and Amplify ("Yes, I am an asshole. But I am King of the Assholes. It is a great achievement") or illustrating absurdity with more absurdity. The James Bond example is a simple one-liner. I think those need to be used sparingly or again it will come across as you are trying too hard.
Are you a sarcastic asshole in real life? That's a good first step. If you're not, I think you can still write believable sarcasm. Just be careful that it doesn't come across as flat and/or campy. I find myself to be a big fan of deadpan humor such as saying something utterly ridiculous but as if you're being serious. I would recommend turning to stand-up comedy and studying how they set themselves up for jokes. I hear a lot of people say how sarcasm does not translate well into text but I don't think that's true. I believe there are people who overcomplicate writing sarcasm and then there are those people who are unable to identify it while reading. Don't concern yourself with those unable to comprehend sarcasm through text; you'll never reach them anyways. Just try not to overcomplicate it. If you have to ask yourself whether or not something is funny or can be construed as sarcasm, it probably won't work. And try not to force it to work. Even when you do come up with something that does work, repeating it too many times to yourself may cause you to think that it doesn't work sort of like hearing the same joke so many times that it loses its humor. I'm not a funny guy so that's the best I've got.
Sartigar would be that cruel (he's the villain's companion after all,) but the insult wouldn't fit his personality. He prides himself on cleverness. He knows they can't understand him anyway, so it's mainly for Zarakharn's amusement.
Talk to sarcastic and witty people. I have a friend like this, and every time I come away from talking to her (online or in real life) sarcastic dialog seems to come more freely. Both my MC and his love interest are scathingly sarcastic to each other - to a degree I've used the chemistry I have with my friend as a kinda formula for all of their interactions. Seems to work well.
I'm not a witty person IRL. I'm more of l'esprit de l'escalier type, and the great thing about writing is that you can take your time to come up with witty dialogue and just make it look like the characters are quick-witted. Make your characters playfully insult or flirt with each other. Maybe they come up with puns, or comment on something that happens and the other person takes the joke to the next level, and so on. Others have also mentioned sarcasm and exaggeration. Then there's absurdist wit; your character could make some really out-there observation or analogy (this type of wit/humor was common in Black Adder, especially in Black Adder Goes Forth). So yeah, watch something like Black Adder or Buffy the Vampire Slayer for ideas, especially any episode with Spike.
I don't have a witty comeback in store for you right now, but I'll make sure to post it here tomorrow when I've finally come up with it!
This thread is proof that writers can inspire each other. I'm not naturally sarcastic but I do enjoy creating characters who are, and one of the books that helps me do that is James Napoli's "The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm." Another source of wit is listening to people tease each other in a friendly way because it's an expression of their sense of comradery. Or in a competitive way like a fencing match. One says, "You're as sharp as a marble." and the other says "Touche." because s/he can't think of a good comeback.
I think it helps to be those things yourself. I'm not sarcastic but I am quick-witted so I can write that easily. Find someone who is and try to pick up their lines and thought patterns. But it's very hard to be something you're not especially when you're meant to be providing those characters with hilarious lines but they just aren't funny.
Don't have them be sarky ALL THE TIME. I can't emphasise this enough. Quipping and dropping one-liners in the middle of a tense or frightening scene is a great way to kill the tension. Making a character who was meant to be impressive look like a chump ensures the audience won't take them seriously. Having the character undermine other characters when they're trying to have a serious moment is a great way to make the sarcastic character look like an insensitive douchebag. Generally, the audience will not be more invested in a scene than the characters are--if they're too jaded, bored and 2kool4skool to engage with the drama of the story, your readers may follow their lead.
I'm still waiting. Liar! OP: Have you watched the Guardians of the Galaxy movies? I love their witty banter. There's now a Guardians of the Galaxy game too and the dialogue is just pure gold.
