And what's the deal with, "What's the deal?"

很多會用「怎麼回事？」來開頭又是怎麼回事？

There's a lot of funny to be found by simply noticing the ordinary, everyday things you don't ordinarily notice everyday.

其實你只需注意到平常不會注意到的一般的日常瑣事 ，便可以找到許多有趣的內容。

So if you'd like to add a little humor to that story, or speech, or screenplay you're writing, here are a few tips and tricks for finding the funny.

因此，如果你想要加入一點幽默感到正在寫的故事、演講、或劇本裡， 這裡有一些能讓你找到找到有趣內容的訣竅和技巧。

All great storytelling, including comedy writing, consists of a handful of basic ingredients: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

在包含喜劇寫作的所有傑出故事作品中，都會由一些基本的要素所組成： 誰、 發生什麼、 什麼時候發生、 哪裡發生、 為什麼發生、 以及如何發生。

Writers have been asking these questions since at least the 1st century BC, yet none can be answered with a simple yes or no.

至少從西元前一世紀開始，作家們就一直不斷追尋這些問題的答案，但每個問題都不能用簡單的「是」或「否」來回答。

They demand details, and the more specific the details, the funnier the story.

他們不斷要求細節，而只要特定的細節愈多，故事就會愈有趣。

Let's start with the who, the comedic character.

讓我們先從「誰」，也就是喜劇人物角色開始說起。

Think about the books, TV shows, and movies that make you laugh.

想想那些逗你笑的書籍、電視節目和電影。

They're usually filled with funny types, or archetypes.

他們通常都充滿了有趣的人物類型或原型。

The know-it-all, the lovable loser, the bad boss, the neurotic, the airhead.

萬事通、可愛的魯蛇、壞上司、神經質、腦袋空空的傻瓜。

Incidentally, these are all stock characters found in Commedia Dell'Arte, or the artists comedy of late Renaissance Italy, and they have yet to get old.

順帶一提，這些都是 Commedia Dell'Arte (義大利藝術即興喜劇)，也就是文藝復興時期後期義大利藝術家喜劇中的典型角色，而他們至今仍未退流行。

The Commedia rule for creating comic characters is find the flaw, then play it up.

即興喜劇創造喜劇人物的規則，即是找到瑕疵後開始發揮。

Or you can try playing with opposites.

或者，你也可以嘗試相反的手法。

When the smartest guy in the room does the stupidest thing, or the doofus outwits the brainiac, we tend to laugh because we didn't see that coming.

當房間裡最聰明的傢伙做了最蠢的事時，或是蠢人以大智若愚的方式打敗智囊團時， 我們通常都因為沒有預料到會這樣發展而笑出聲來。

Ancient Greek funnyman Aristotle is said to have said, "The secret to humor is surprise."

古希臘的「搞笑咖」亞里斯多德曾經說過：「幽默的秘密在於出人意料。」

This surprise, or incongruity theory of humor, says we laugh at things that seem out of place or run up against our expectations.

這個出人意料，或是說幽默的不協調理論，指的是我們會對看似格格不入， 或是與預期有所出入的事情而發笑。

Like a frog dating a pig, or a lizard selling insurance, a baby disco dancing, a nun disco dancing, a cat disco dancing.

像是一隻青蛙跟一隻豬約會、一隻蜥蝪在賣保險、一個小嬰兒在跳迪斯可、一位修女在跳迪斯可、一隻貓在跳迪斯可。

Actually, a baby, a nun, or a cat doing pretty much anything, especially involving disco.

其實基本上只要是小嬰兒、修女或貓，不管在做什麼事情都會顯得很好笑，特別是牽涉到跳迪斯可這件事的時候。

One fun way to find incongruities is by drawing connections.

找出不協調感的一個有趣方式，便是畫出關係圖。

Actually drawing them with a mind map.

在腦袋中實際繪製出關係圖。

Start small.

先從小的開始。

Pick a word.

挑一個字。

I choose pickle.

我選擇「醃黃瓜」。

Jot it down, then quick as you can, try making connections.

記下來，然後盡可能快速地進行聯想。

What do pickles make me think of? Who eats pickles? What treasured pickle memories do I have from childhood?

醃黃瓜會讓我聯想到什麼？誰會吃醃黃瓜？ 我小時候有沒有什麼關於醃黃瓜的特別回憶？

Another great way to generate comedic material is to shift from observation to imagination.

另一個產生喜劇題材的好方法，則是以想像取代觀察。

Try going from "what is" to "what if?"

試著從「就是這樣」的思維轉變為「要是這樣的話如何？」。

Like, what if instead of a horse, for example, you just had a pair of coconuts?

比方說，要是你不是騎馬，而是手上只有一對椰子的話如何？

Okay, let's think of some other memorable moments in history, literature, or film.

好，讓我們來想想歷史、文學或影片上一些其他難忘的時刻。

Now, what if they featured coconuts?

現在，要是有椰子亂入進去呢？

Get wild, let it go.

大膽、瘋狂地放手去創造。

Even if an idea seems overdone, or too obvious, or just plain dumb, try jotting it down, anyway.

即使一個想法看似有些過頭、太明顯或是很蠢， 不管如何，總之先試著記下來。

What's obvious to you may not be to the next person.

那些對你來說再明顯不過的事，不見得對別人來說也是如此。

And the opposite of the dumbest idea might just turn out to be the smartest.

而且最愚蠢想法的反面，往往可能反而是最聰明的。

What about all that dumb stuff that happens in real life?

想想現實生活中發生的那些蠢事如何？

Have you ever noticed how much comedy revolves around things that irritate, frustrate, and humiliate us?

你有注意到過有多少喜劇圍繞著那些日常中惱人、泄氣和羞恥的事情嗎？

Will Rogers said, "Everything's funny as long as it happens to somebody else."

威爾·羅傑斯曾說過：「生活中什麼事情都可以很好笑，只要不是我自己碰到的話。」

So if you're having a crummy morning, imagine it happening to a character you're writing about, and by afternoon, you may at least get a funny story out of it.

因此假如你經歷了一個很糟糕的早晨，把它想成是發生在你正在寫的一個人物角色身上。這樣到了中午的時候，你也許至少能藉此寫出一篇有趣的故事。

Once you've got your characters and story, here are a few quick and easy comedy writing tricks to make them zing.

在有了人物和故事之後，這裡有一些快速簡單的喜劇寫作竅門，把故事變得輕快有活力。

The rule of three, or zig zig zag.

這叫做「三 Z」規則，或叫做曲折規則。

Try setting up an expected pattern, zig zig, then flip it, zag.

試著安排一個預料中的模式，然後將它轉彎、轉彎，再來一個急轉彎。

A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut walk into a bar.

一位拉比 (猶太教牧師)、一位神父和一顆椰子走進了一間酒吧。

The punchline rule says put your punch at the end of the line.

笑話的規則是把笑點放在最後一句話。

A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut walk into a disco.

一位拉比、一位神父和一顆椰子走進了一間迪斯可舞廳。

That brings up the rule of K.

這便牽扯到了 K 規則。

For some reason, words with a k-sound catch our ears and are considered comical.

不知什麼原因，「Ｋ」音對人們來說聽起來順耳，而且還帶有搞笑的感受。

Coconut, disco, pickles, crickets?

椰子、迪斯可、 醃黃瓜、 蟋蟀？

Okay, so we don't always get the laugh.

嗯，不是每一次都能成功讓人發笑。

Humor is subjective.

幽默是很主觀的。

Comedy is trial and error.

喜劇就是試誤的過程。

Writing is rewriting.

而寫作就是反覆重寫。

Just keep trying.

但請繼續努力嘗試下去。

Find the flaws, discover the details, insert incongruities, incorporate k-words, and remember the most important rule of writing funny: have fun.

找到瑕疵、發現細節、 插入不協調、 混入「Ｋ」字， 並記得寫喜劇最重要的一項規則：要玩得開心。

As Charles Dickins said, "There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor."

如同查爾斯·狄更斯說過的：「世界上沒有什麼比幽默和笑聲還更具有感染力。」

And disco.

還有迪斯可。