Hello and welcome to Humor Science, the newsletter I started so I could have an excuse to talk to and learn from some of my favorite humor writers. Thank you for being here!
This month I got the chance to interview the one and only Patty Terhune, who is not only a humor writer but also a features contributor for The Onion and is currently working on a tabletop role playing game called Doom's Bay Preppers. We’re talking about their piece for the New Yorker, “You’ll Feel Better If You Go Outside,” which is one of my favorite humor pieces ever.
I learned a lot in this interview, but one takeaway that I want to bold, star, and print out on a poster is to “always budget plenty of time for feedback.” 100% yes. This interview is full of amazing insights, including Patty’s unique process of organizing ideas and their advice on other places to bring your joke writing skills. Let’s dive in.
Tell me about the inspiration for this piece. When did you start writing it?
This piece had an uncharacteristically fast turnaround for me! I usually sit on pieces for.... way too long. But I wrote this piece in one afternoon at the end of April or beginning of May in 2021. I had one or two friends look at it for notes and then sent it off within about 3 days of the initial draft. The weather at that time was starting to change and I was very much in a pre-vaccine, isolated funk from not seeing people socially. When I'm in a bad mood I don't want to do anything -- even things that I rationally know would help me feel a little bit better like going outside. So the process likely was quick because it stemmed from dramatized personal experience.
When you’re writing a piece like this, what’s your process? Do you have a solid plan going in, or do you write freely and then shape it from there?
While I sometimes have a clear outline and try to fill in pieces from there, this piece was pretty free-flowing. I think that's because it started as a stream-of-consciousness argument that I was having with myself about my tendency to self-isolate and dramatize that I heightened from there.
I love all the specific details and descriptions in this piece, like the cool woman with blue hair, the stinky-sweet waffle cone, and the 10/10 phrase, "bird-turd residue." What's your process for finding those specifics?
Thank you! I wanted to include a lot of specifics because, while I'm in my head and dreading going outside, I tend to think of it as just "outside." It's vague, it's green (or, this time of year, gray). But once I am forced to shake myself out of it (because my dog demands it), so many things happen outside! Some natural beauty, some wacky interactions with neighbors, some leftover chicken bones that my dog finds without fail as we pass the grocery store.
And now the question on everyone's mind: Have you in fact gone outside? And if not, what are you watching on TV instead?
HA! I go outside for my dog's walks. But, if I'm being honest with myself and you, no. Not really. Sitting on the couch is just so nice. My wife and I, very dramatically, started watching Grey's Anatomy when she got COVID in April. We're now 15 seasons in, so I would say that's the bulk of our TV time. Even if we are 19 seasons late to the party, I highly recommend and would love to talk about it with anyone also tuning in late who just really wants to talk about the musical episode 10 years after everybody else wanted to.
Is there anything else you want to share about this piece that I didn’t ask about?
This was one of the only new pieces I wrote from March 2020 to October of 2021. I think I maybe wrote three pieces during that year and a half span? I don't think this particular piece is inherently better or worse because of that. I don't think I needed to write next to nothing just so this piece could flow out of me and I don't think if I had only written more during that timespan I would have churned out more pieces like this. But I wanted to include that context for anyone reading this interview. It is what it is!
Where do you find inspiration for your humor pieces? How do you come up with ideas?
If ideas come to me throughout my day, even nuggets of nothingness that I find interesting or funny, I put them into a note on my phone. I also do dedicated brainstorm sessions 3 times a week in the morning before work. At the end of every month, I combine all the random idea notes into one running note that I keep for the year. [Editor’s note: Wow, this is so smart!]. This process helps me return to my half-ideas with a clearer mind to figure out if they have enough weight to them to carry a whole piece/project, if they would be better served as a one-off joke within a larger idea, or if there's just nothing there yet. I will sometimes just run with an idea immediately though if it's exciting to me or seasonal/topical. That was the case with this piece.
Are there specific humor writers or any particular pieces out there that you’re inspired by?
Oh man, it feels impossible to list without leaving somebody out. I know that's so vague, but I just know if I name names I WILL be emailing you frantically at 2AM every night for the next month like "WAIT, I HAVE to include so-and-so." So, I'm going to cheat a bit and say every piece we published when I was a managing editor of The Belladonna in 2020. It was a rough year (to say the least) but I was proud of everything we published and felt inspired by the writers who made me break out of my daze and laugh.
What advice do you have for someone who might just be getting started with their humor writing journey?
Write a lot of jokes. After that, I would say find some people who want to do feedback swaps with you. I found my initial group through the Second City Online Humor and Satire Writing classes. I took the classes about 5/6 years ago and they were a great resource where I met people I am still friends or collaborators with to this day. I've also found people to swap with on Twitter, Facebook groups and Discord Servers for humor writers. My most recent feedback group was formed through a writing sprint Alex Baia had arranged last year for Slackjaw contributors. Improving my ability to give and receive feedback has been the single most important part of my growth, after practicing joke writing itself. That being said, giving thoughtful feedback takes time. I've definitely given tons of bad feedback when I was first starting out (or even if I don't give myself enough time today). My genuine apologies to everyone who was the recipient of my messy feedback! I try to do better now to always budget plenty of time for feedback, and I would give the same advice to anyone just starting out.
Anything else you want to add about humor writing, comedy in general, or anything at all I didn’t ask about?
There is humor (and even more specifically joke writing) in a lot of areas. I started making my own board games and tabletop role playing games about a year ago and I've really enjoyed it. It's fun to work my brain in different ways and see how the time I've spent honing my joke writing is beneficial -- even with a totally different product. If anyone is interested in bringing in their joke writing to other areas, I say go for it. And if any humor writer reading this is also working on an indie tabletop game, or is curious about it, you can reach out to me through my website! I'm new to that format and know nothing but love chatting.
Where can people find more of your work, and are there any particular projects or news you want to plug?
My work is on my website pattyterhune.com. You can also follow me on social media if you want (@pattyterhune on pretty much everything) but I'm mostly dormant because my brain is honestly such a sucker for dopamine and I can't let myself go near those platforms unless I'm willing to sacrifice half my day to the algorithm. I'm working on a tabletop role playing game right now, called Doom's Bay Preppers, where your goal is to work together with your hot lifeguard crew to survive a b-movie style apocalypse. There's not a Kickstarter or anything for it yet but hoping to have an update by March on my website for where people can find it! [Editor’s note: This is going to be epic so go to Patty’s website now, fill out the contact form, and they will email you once the Kickstarter is up!].
That’s it! Now, should I go outside or catch up on 19 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy so I can chat with Patty about the musical episode? Decisions, decisions.
What’s new:
I have a new headline in Reductress based on my love of explainer videos
I don’t often write timely satire, but when I do it’s about people who dye birds. Excited to be back in The Belladonna Comedy with this piece.
Friend of the newsletter Kerry Elson has a new piece in the New Yorker about trains that is both hilarious and informative
And don’t sleep on these three incredible McSweeney’s pieces from this month: The Real Stages of Grief by Janine Annett, A Presentation on the Power of Vulnerability by a Manager Who is About to Fire People by Patty Terhune (hi Patty!), and You Vs. The New Hire Your Boss Tells You Not to Worry About by David Henne.
About me
I’m a comedy writer and freelance copywriter living in Brooklyn. My humor writing has been published by The New Yorker, The New York Times, McSweeney’s, Reductress, and more. I’m the co-author of Jokes to Offend Men, which was named the #2 Comedy Book of 2022 by Vulture. I’m available for new writing projects, humor coaching, and nerding out about comedy, so please reach out and say hi!