I’ve overdosed on humor columns.
I’m afraid that I’ve dissected the frog of humor to the point that everything that once was funny is now as lifeless as another article on characterization or copyrights. But in consolation, several typical patterns have emerged, and I offer them to you the next time you need to cough up 600-800 hilarious words.
The basic typology of the humor column mimics most other literary formats.  Here are seven basic forms of the humor column along with some examples from my own writing. […]

Despite the ever-progressive state of the technological age, it seems if we want to achieve real success as writers, we actually must regress back to behaviors we learned in, like, high school.
In the olden days, writers wrote. They moved to the forest to cabins with no electricity and hunted or trapped their own dinner or better yet never ate at all because they were too busy chain-smoking and ignoring everyone they’ve ever met and WRITING. […]

(This humorous essay appeared in the Salem News on June 1, 2012. Reposted by permission.)
Last month, I attended the Erma Bombeck Humor Writers’ Conference in Dayton, Ohio.
People came from Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana and even California. As far as I could tell, I was the only one from Massachusetts. That is because it’s easier to fly to Juneau, Alaska, than to Dayton, Ohio, from here.
I realized this while scrolling through the airlines’ schedules. […]

The vast majority of writers who attended the 2012 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop told us they loved it.
The spring workshop garnered higher survey scores than either of the previous two — thanks primarily to a slate of “funny, smart, entertaining” keynote speakers, the Bombeck family involvement through readings of their favorite Erma columns and the quality and variety of workshop sessions.
More than 60 percent (212) of the 350 participants completed an online survey that rated the workshop’s sessions. […]

(This piece originally ran in The Orange County Register May 23, 2012. Reposted by permission.)
Kids aren’t the only ones who need the wisdom of others. Grown-ups continue to change, grow and pass through different life stages. We benefit from people who are further down the path of experience.
Last month, I attended the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in Dayton, Ohio, where along with fellow Newport Beach columnist Shelly Volner, I spent the entire weekend laughing, […]