I’m more funny in person

Writing has been fun so far, because it makes it easier to say some things I maybe wouldn’t in conversation. These might be ideas that are just hard to come up with on the spot, or ways of putting things that I would find awkward to say out loud. One thing I’ve been pondering lately, though, is that my written persona has almost no sense of humor.

In my daily life, I think I have a fairly functioning sense of humor, albeit a strange one. I wouldn’t say I’m usually the funniest in the room, but when I’m in the mood to crack jokes, I can get on a roll with it. In any case, I can reliably amuse myself with my sense of humor, which is the most important part of having one.

My humor maybe doesn’t transfer well to the written word. A lot of the jokes I make are situational, in direct reaction to what’s going on around me. I like to do funny voices and characters, which are bound to my specific voice and body and therefore hard to transfer to text. In writing, I make an effort to avoid ambiguity or confusion (probably a result of writing mainly for school), which is kind of contrary to being funny.

Also, when joking in real life, I play off the energy of the people I’m talking with. For me, a good joke is usually just an opportunity that presents itself in the natural flow of conversation. When I’m sitting alone writing, humor doesn’t feel as natural, because I don’t know who I’m talking to and I’m not getting any feedback.

I’ve always been pretty reserved online. Growing up, my parents warned me that anyone can see what you post on the internet, and I always took that seriously. In fact, this writing challenge is probably the most I’ve ever shared about myself online. One of the things I’d like to learn with the challenge is how to express more of my personality when writing. Hopefully, with time, I’ll loosen up and find a way to crack a few jokes on here.

Are you more funny in person or in writing? Do you have a different sense of humor between the two? What did you really think of my attempt at humor? Let me know your thoughts at my Ctrl-C email: gome ​@ ​ctrl-c.club.