We welcomed the novelist Ayisha Malik last month to Words Away for a festive and fascinating salon about writing humour in fiction, a brilliant way to see out the old year. Humour is so subjective and it proved to be an intriguing if not complex topic. Dubbed the "Muslim Bridget Jones”, Ayisha writes novels about everyday life in contemporary Britain. She approaches her subjects with a light touch and looks at themes of love, friendship, family and culture. Ayisha was born and raised in South London and worked as a book publicist and an editor before becoming a full time author. She’s also known for ghost-writing the Great British Bake Off Winner Nadia Hussain’s adult books.

Who or what makes us laugh in fiction and why? Ayisha suggested it’s an amalgamation of the absurd and the truth - a juxtaposition between the familiar and the unrelatable. It needs a sense of surprise and authenticity and is “something I recognise in myself”. It might be situational or embedded in the narrative voice but primarily “funny is entertaining”. For classic examples read Nora Ephron or Helen Fielding or look at Jane Austin’s 19th century novels with themes that pick apart social mores which still ring true today.

Comedy is a great way to break down barriers and engage readers.“Your job as a writer,” said Ayisha, “is to provoke thought, make the reader question things and open up perspectives.” The skill is to write about contemporary issues in a way that’s entertaining but without the book becoming issue laden or boring. It’s a matter of balancing the dark with the light and vice versa to establish tone, especially when you’re writing about dark themes. There’s humour in everything! Finding the humour in the dark makes grim things bearable. Even death is funny - there’s a kind of comedy to it (read Nick Hornby’s, The Long Way Down).

Are there any taboo subjects when it comes to fiction? We’re living in a dangerous time for the arts where our politically correct “calling out” culture shuts down dialogue. Ayisha referenced Lionel’s Shiver’s 2016 contentious speech about identity politics and cultural appropriation (see link below) and suggested that if we peel back what Shriver was saying, albeit delivered in an awful way, she raised a valid point, namely if we can’t discuss really serious or uncomfortable issues in the arts then we are in danger of sterilising the whole culture. If we’re too scared to ask questions and start a conversation then we shut down dialogue and inflame a fear of “the other”.

The whole point of being a writer is to put yourself in another person’s shoes - some shoes may be more familiar than others! If you should get lost, start from the point of view of the character. Ultimately we’re all interested in fundamental, universal human themes. If you are writing outside of your own experience make sure you do your research, talk to enough relevant people and do a sensitivity reading. Good literature puts a mirror up to the reader, asking them questions and allowing them to see what they think. It’s up to the reader to decide the answers.

How can a writer navigate the fine line between comedy and causing offence? Ayisha recommended thinking about who you are satirising and why. Ask yourself “what authority or right do I have to write about this”? Who is going to be reading this? Will you be offending anyone and if you are, do it knowingly, and with an understanding that rings true to the character’s motivation. “If you aren’t ruffling feathers you’re probably not doing your job.” Don’t punch down or set out to cause offence but “it’s your job as a writer is to tell the truth, warts and all. You can’t reign in the truth of a situation in order to pacify people.” Ayisha’s interested in writing about her lived reality as British muslim woman rather than topical issues that don’t concern her on a daily basis (like honour killings, terrorism or radicalisation). “There are enough writers out there writing and capitalising on these issues.”

It was a fascinating conversation that took us to unexpected places. We concluded with a glance at the vagaries of genre and talked about humour within the context of high end commercial fiction, like the novels of David Nicholls and Nick Hornby or Gail Honeyman’s, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It transpired that being funny in fiction is a slippery and serious business but it also made for brilliant discussion. With thanks to Ayisha for being such an engaging and witty guest!

Words Away has been on a break over December and January but we shall be back with a bang in February! Please join Emma Darwin and me for a salon at the Tea House Theatre Cafe on February 10th to discuss The Art and Craft of Writing Sex in Fiction with Leone Ross. Then on the 9th March we’ll be meeting Amanda Craig to delve into Parallel Worlds: writing reoccurring characters in serial fiction. I’m going to be running a Life Writing and Memoir workshop led by Emma at The London Bridge Hive on April 25th - you heard it hear first! More information to follow shortly and booking to open soon.

We also have a series of dynamic workshops in store for you led by Andrew Wille and featuring guests from the creative arts, beginning on 8th February with Waterways: A Four Elements Workshop on feeling tone and perspective in writing and on March 21st, Earthworks: a Four Elements workshop on description and action in writing. Places are limited. You can book and find out more details here.

Here’s wishing you all good things for a bright and happy 2020! I’m so looking forward to seeing what the year brings. Hope to see you soon!

Kellie

References and Links:

Ayisha Malik and listen to her chat all things bookish here on the Apple podcast, You’re Booked, Nora Ephron, Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding, Jane Austin, Alan Bennett, A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, Grace Paley’s short stories, David Nicholls, Tom Sharpe, Joanna Trollope, Lionel Shriver’s speech via The Guardian, Educated by Tara Westover, The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christie Lefteri, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Nina Stibbe, and finally do check out From Me To You the brilliant letter writing charity that does so much to support folk with cancer.