To Think like a Writer-Part One

An important thing about being a writer is thinking like a writer. In fantasy, for instance, impact with the audience by creating vivid and powerful images/characters is vital. A good fantasy story should capture the imagination of the reader to the fullest. For instance, here is two possible ways to describe the same thing(the second one is a direct quotation of a book I'm writing).

1)The house was quiet and calm.
2)In the house, all was calm, but a deadly calm, like the few seconds of peace before a storm.

Of course, that doesn't mean that a writer has to use complicated phrases or words, only that he must use them to the maximum effect. For instance, the clinché dark lord is always referred as "The Dark Lord, The Dark One, Mordred, Satan, Loki, etcetera." This is the principle of understated power, the idea that two or three syllables could deliver more power than hundreds.

Like this.

Now, to the main point of this blog:humor. In most(some say all) cases of humor, something unexpected must occur. To think like a writer, one must have a instinctual sense for the unexpected. Also, ironically, clinchés are used the most often in humor, because humor uses cliches to the maximum effect, by replacing a common idiom with an unexpected one.

Now, to think like a writer, give the most unexpected answers to the following Q's(I'll give examples at the end)

1)You are in a dark alley where you see a couple of guys robbing another one. You have only a toy gun. What do you do?

2)If life gives you lemons, _________

3)Life is a bowl of cherries_________


Sample answers
1)Is Karen there?(It's good because of being totally unexpected as well as being completely open-ended. It really allows the readers to use their imagination. Nerds see a nerdy meaning. people with morals see a moral ending, sadists see a sadistic one, horny people see a obscene ending, etc)

2. choke on them and die..... you stupid lemon eater!(Perfected by Scot Adams)

3)My stupid little cousin ate them all or the bad one in the center spoils the whole thing or it's tastiest when mashed together and beat into pudding.