Javi Aznarez Illustrates ‘How to Write a Comic Novel’ for The Guardian
Illustrator Javi Aznarez has created the Books cover for an edition of The Guardian Saturday. The commission accompanies “Funny Business,” an essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Andrew Sean Greer about the practical craft of writing comic fiction.
Andrew’s central point is easy to understand. Comic novels can address grief, ageing, marriage, loneliness and death. The subject matter need not be light. Comedy comes from the way the writer presents events.
Andrew describes a two-stage process. First, the writer must take the characters and their problems seriously. Each person needs a clear desire, a believable fear and something meaningful to lose. The characters never know that they are appearing in a comedy.
The writer then looks again at the same material. An awkward remark, an unfortunate coincidence or a failed attempt to preserve dignity can alter the tone. The facts stay in place. The emphasis changes.
Andrew used this method in Less Is Lost and his new novel, Villa Coco. The latter draws on diaries from his time in Tuscany. Friendship, loss and ageing appear beside troublesome animals, eccentric visitors and an overflowing septic tank. The comedy works because the emotional problems remain credible.
How to write a comic novel
Begin with a serious problem.
Decide what the main character wants and why it matters. A woman may need to impress her future in-laws because she fears losing the relationship. The emotional stakes come first.Write the situation honestly.
Show her anxiety before the comic events begin. She buys an expensive bottle of wine, rehearses safe conversation topics and worries about saying the wrong thing.Find comedy in human behaviour.
Avoid adding a prepared joke. Let the character create the comedy through pride, fear or misunderstanding. She pretends to recognise a painting and invents an artist called Bernard Spoon.Use precise details.
Specific objects make a scene easier to picture. The wine bottle still has its supermarket security tag. A small dog eats the notes hidden beneath her chair.Control the order of information.
Let the reader notice the problem before the characters do. The reader sees the security tag. The host then asks about the wine. The woman invents a long story about a French vineyard before anyone points out the tag.Use short sentences for the final beat.
Comedy often depends on timing. A short line can close the scene cleanly: “The dog had reached Antwerp.”Read the passage aloud.
Listen for sentences that run too long or explain too much. The rhythm should allow the mistake to grow before the truth arrives.Keep the emotional truth.
The woman still wants to be accepted. Her embarrassment matters because the relationship matters. The reader laughs while understanding why she keeps making the situation worse.Javi’s Guardian cover introduces Andrew’s argument and gives the feature its visual identity. It places the illustrator at the entrance to a useful lesson in how fiction turns trouble into comedy.
