I love humor. I really do. A lot of my favorite books are high in humor, and some of my favorite movies are comedies.
That doesn't mean I condone foolishness, or crude jokes, but if the book is at least a little funny, I'm more likely to enjoy it.
I'm incorporating a lot of humor (at least it's funny to me, ) in my own stories, and since they are about children, that isn't too difficult. However, I think I could easily go overboard. So...
How much humor is just too much?
How do you incorporate humor in your stories? Through your style, the dialogue, your descriptions etc.?
How do you make your story amusing without depleting its emotional effect? I mean, without making the story comical. Those same favorite books I mentioned also made want to cry - or did make me cry...
Interested to see what ya'll will say!

Stories that are both funny and sad in the same story are absolute masterpieces of brilliance. They're also insanely hard to write.

I lean strongly towards the tragic, so I have a hard time writing comedy in general. I have had my sisters laugh at things I've written without any intent to be funny however... which I'm not sure is a good thing or a bad thing. My mom told me that Janin has a dry sense of humor. It was news to me.

I did write one book that was intended to be light hearted, and that's my novella Trice. I gave both the MCs the same name, which resulted in some hilarious mix ups. Like most of my stories though, there were some very serious parts too. I like to think I have a balance but I really have no clue.

Humour is something I've wanted to include in more of my novels but it just doesn't come easily to me.

Some books that have balanced both brilliantly are:
Inkheart
Pegasus (Most of Robin McKinly, actually.)
The Chronicles of Narnia

One of the most awesome movies I've seen do this is Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-long blog. It's actually categorized as a tragicomedy. I have no clue how he does what he does... but it's breathtakingly brilliant. (I highly recommend it for story, but I'm reserved in my recommendation for some content issues.) I don't know how he can have you laughing and crying in the same song even. I wish I could write that way.

If I come up with any more examples I'll try to come back and be helpful.

I've never heard of Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-long. That sounds very interesting!
Have you ever read any of Rumer Godden's books? The humor and emotional impact of some of her books make me very, very happy.

Aha. One of my favorite topics.

I'm one of those balancing guys. Now that I've figured out how to write emotion (it took me a while), both tragedy and humor come easily to me. If you ask people who have read a lot of my (recent) stuff, they'd describe me as a really funny writer, and also as a really emotional writer. I've made people laugh out loud and cry within one chapter. The thing is, humor provides a great contrast to tragedy, which adds more impact to both emotions. It's just like contrasting anything else, like love vs. hate. Balance humor and tragedy just right, like Tim Downs does, and it's quite an experience for the emotions.

Bloody Jack, by L. A. Meyer, is another brilliant example. There were parts in the first half of the book where I was just about crying and laughing at the same time. All choked up.

Do you have any examples of your newer stuff online, Luke? I love your humour, but I have a hard time taking your serious stuff seriously because I'm never sure when you're going to turn it all into one hilarious farce.

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies are a bit like that too, come to think of it. I didn't really like the second one, but there was the usual hilarious elements, while being very dramatic, and concluded with a down right tragic ending. One of the reasons I actually liked the movies as much as I did.

True. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was both funny, and strangely thought provoking.

My "Dying Words of Dick Eldin, Galactic Gumshoe" is supposed to be funny, so I'll let you know once I get everything figured out.

I love comedy, because humor is not my gift. Granted I can pull one liners (usually unintentional ones) that will crack people up, but I can't hit a punch line to save my life. That's why I have a younger brother.

In a book, I love that one jokester, funny characters be it a girl or guy. They're great comic relief and thoroughly amusing. ^^

~Calen

My newer stuff online includes StarDent: Supernova (on the sci-fi forum) and The Unseen. StarDent starts out more on the comical side but it gets pretty deep toward the end of the first episode.

(StarDent is really good, you should read it)

I suppose it also depends on what humor you're using, whether it's punny, clever witticism, slap-stick, etc. I personally am going for a subversion of conventions and odd.

What sort of humor would you say StarDent has?

Clever witticisms, I think, and character interactions.

Situational humor. Like a sitcom. That makes sense...I'm thinking 'TV Series' as I write it.

I love humor! Having it tastefully dispersed throughout a book is one thing that makes me love a book. (One thing, there are plenty of others. ) I'm afraid that I can't offer a whole lot of advice yet as I'm still working on my first book, and I'm still having to work the humor in. I'm not a pro yet . . .

~Aisha

I like to use funny situations and dialogues, such as one thing I can name at the top of my head:

Mugsy pulled out his SAW... which oddly he had hidden under his seat.

To things like

"Michael, you still didn't figure that out yet?"
"Shadow? Your hair didn't grow back yet?

Argh! This is the bane of my existence.

I can make people laugh really easily in real life. What can I say. I'm a clown.

But when I start writing...*shakes head* I can't think of anything witty, or funny, or even snarky to write about! It's all extremely dramatic and serious.

Any hints on how to write a bit of humor?

For diologe you have to make characters that would say funny things, or stuff people would laugh at!
Also making people with big differences in personalities can get a laugh, like someone who is always joking around and someone who is always very serious get stuck in a room together for three days... There is going to be humor there.
Just let your characters decide what they want to do, and you set the guidelines for what direction you want them to go!

But I don't know how to do that! LOL!

The problem is that in almost every book, almost all of my characters are engaged in life/death situations most of the time. So when they're NOT, they just want to sleep.

Hmm... sleeping is nice... speaking of sleep... *goes to take a nap*

Lol!
One way is just writing weirdly, and adding random things that the reader isn't expecting.
There was one story I wrote long while back that I thought was just hysterical. I got my sister to read it then I started quizzing her breathlessly.
"Did -did you laugh?"
"Um, not really. I don't really laugh in books."
"Did - did you... smile?"
"Not really..."
"Did you even think it was funny?"
Apparently not very. Anyway, I still think its funny, (I have a ahem strange sense of humor.)

What was it? The concept of it and stuff?

*giggles *

I don't think I write funny stuff, but I take hope in the fact that my brothers laugh on occasion. Comedy isn't my strong suit though.