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It's TUESDAY! Which means it's time for another hot episode of Tuesday Tips! This week we're talking bad narrators in satire pieces.
How do you write a satirical narrator that has abhorrent views without punching down?
Satire uses humor, irony and exaggeration to poke holes in contemporary issues. But the key here is exaggeration. This can be tricky nowadays because current events are extra wacky.
How do you write satire when the president is telling us to drink bleach and the news is straight nightmares 24/7? We’ll tell you how. You have to HEIGHTEN. TO. THE. POINT. OF. ABSURDITY!!!!
We say 'heightening' a lot. Think of heightening like stairs. Each joke is a 'step' that brings you closer to the end of your piece. If you start out with a waiter holding one tray, by the end you want them holding four trays, two spinning plates, and a single mackerel. On Mars.
Look at your piece objectively. If it sounds remotely like something a real person, politician, or company has said recently you probably have to heighten a little more. (Even in 2020 when reality keeps ‘heightening’ every day.)
ALSO just because you’re writing in the voice of a bad narrator doesn’t mean you are a bad narrator. Satire is never an excuse to punch down. Remember your target is the bad take or person in power, not the marginalized person or group getting terrorized by your target.
Here are some examples of satire pieces that use the bad narrator trope well. Managing editor @harmonopoly 's recent piece on @mcsweeneys https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-deserves-a-skinnier-president-to-mishandle-this-pandemic
Founding editor @carriesnotscary 's piece about Louis CK https://thebelladonnacomedy.com/my-penis-is-white-and-great-an-apology-from-louis-ck-e0d13e8697b8
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