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My funny headline # 1, My new succubus is a mediocre lover.

My funny headline # 2. After eight years, the dreaded convoy finally arrived at the Mexican border.

My funny headline # 3. Trump convicted after stiffing his witchdoctor.

My funny headline # 4. Nixon's spirit of no use. "Sorry Don, I'm not a crook".

My funny headline # 5. Thomas realizes too late that gay and interracial marriage are on the same docket.

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author

#1 is funny!

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Apologies for being late to this!

My funny headline #1

Congratulations! Your Resume Impressed Our AI. Now, Please Train Your Replacement Robot Before We Let You Go

My funny headline #2

Francis Fukuyama in Tears as History Keeps Going

My funny headline #3

Excerpts from Bridgerton: Part III Where Gossip Girl fills in during Lady Whistledown's Honeymoon

My funny headline #4

Green Flag! Woman's Date Turns into Bear After Curse is Lifted

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author

#1 is a very funny idea

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Thanks, Alex!

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My favorite is 1. Also intrigued by 4.

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Thank you!

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Hello classmates.

Apologies for the late response.

My funny headline #1

Our family tree is upside down and I’m tasked with reestablishing our ancestral strata

#2

Ayyo is the word for shock, surprise and a lot of emotions in between

#3

Ranima is on FB and her meat balls reels (unabridged) clocked 1M views

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author

#3 was the funniest to me. See if you can make it more concise. I don't think you need the "(unabridged)" part

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Thank you, Alex.

Will rethink it.

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I'm intrigued by 2

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Thank you

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I'm admittedly a little late to this party, but here goes nothing:

1. Why don’t we ever see you around the office, Mr. Bond?

2. R.O.I.♥️U - Don't settle for less than 7%!

3. Gregor Samsa gets an upgrade to first class

4. Surprise, I reorganized all our stuff!

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Curious about #3.

1 and 4 are also interesting.

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#4 has a lot of potential. Relatable.

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author

This is a great list. I really like 1, 3, and 4

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Thanks. 3 is clearly inspired by the Jude Flannelly piece you shared, even though I doubt I'll be able to pull it off as well as he did!

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1. Ernest Shackleton's Leadership Tips for Modern Surburbia

2. Signs your pound dog might actually be a cat.

3. First full-time job in 22 years! Here's what could go wrong.

4. ISO love, but my personal hero was marooned on a desert island for 18 years.

5. My Dog's Tell-All: What I Ate, and Why.

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2 and 5 for me.

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I like 2 & 5. I'm also intrigued by 1 but I'm not sure I understand the intended approach just from reading the title.

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I desperately want to know what my dog is thinking, so #5 for sure. Also curious about #2. I think #1 might take too much thinking/researching for some of us (okay, me.)

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#2 is funny and reminded me of the "Cat Found" poster with photos of a pissed off possum. Love #5 very much.

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author

Nice list. I think 1, 2, and 5 all have promise.

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Alex, does this mean you think I should abandon the others? Love, Neurotic OverReader

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author

As you'll see in Lesson 2 (which just went up), the best way to find a strong premise and use your time well is to write way more headlines than you need and only use the strongest ones. 1, 2, and 5 stood out to me.

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#1 Will I Burn In Hell: A Vegan's Notes From Brasilia Steakhouse

#2 I’m Childless, But I Know More Than You About Parenting

#3 Only Dummies Stand In A Single Line When Two Costco Employees Are Highlighting Receipts

#4 Why Doesn’t My Doctor Have The Stones To Call Me Obese To My Fat Face? OR,

#5 I'm Well Nourished, Not Obese

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I love 1 and I am interested in 2 depending on the tone...

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author

#1 and #2 both feel strong!

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That vegan headline did my head in in the best of ways.

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1. Husband Unloads Dishwasher But Does Not Win Award

2. Scientist Who Discovered Secret to Living Longer Died Earlier Today

3. Publication of Study on Why Children Ask "Are We There Yet?" Is Held Up Indefinitely

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I love the idea behind one! Some rephrasing could make it even funnier! 2 is really funny too.

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1 made me smile - very relatable.

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Loved number 3!

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author

I liked 3.

These headlines do feel like they're written more in a fake-news style a la The Onion. That's fine, but we're not focusing on fake-news style humor pieces in these lessons, and many humor publications don't publish them (although a few do).

However, you could rewrite the headline to keep the same idea but make them sound less like a fake news headline.

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1. Annual ear cleaning for robots

2. Local giants summon rain shafts to shower

3. The telephone game is a rapidly expanding virus

4. The stomach's guide to digesting magic potions

5. A thieving goblin's guide to the modern world

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Love four and five.

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I'm intrigued by 3

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author

I really like 4 and 5

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3-5 all tickled me pink.

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1. Single, 35 year old Disney Princess tries speed dating.

2. AI just wants to be a real boy.

3. Classic literary heroines by Starbucks order.

4. Televangelist embraces nihilism after discovering God is dead.

5. Rating elder millennials' fitness for parenthood by how they treated Tamagotchis in 1997.

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I like 1 but I think it could be really heightened by using a specific Disney Princess

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I like 1. I also think I could like 4 depending on the approach.

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I like the premise the first one sets up. It could be a generic princess or it could be an actual one. It's also funny to think of one of them going through divorce.

I also like how in 2 you set up a Pinocchio style story. Makes it more modern in that regard

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I adore 1 and 5! I can imagine 5 with a lot of fun details.

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author

Looks like we also ran a kind of similar story to 5 on Slackjaw a while back -

https://medium.com/slackjaw/what-your-90s-tamagotchi-parenting-style-says-about-who-you-are-now-8015dd95be5?sk=7dbce3c3083b3108fa404a160a2de510

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We millennials love our tamagotchis…as an alternative: “Quiz: what will your mid life crisis look like based on your favorite 90s boy band”

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author

I like 1! I'd tweak it to, "A 35 Year Old Disney Princess Tries Speed Dating."

3 also has good potential.

The concept in 5 is great too, but the headline is a tad clunky. Maybe it could be shortened somehow

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I love 1 and 5!

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1 and 2 would get me to read.

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1. If you mail your friends toilet paper

2. Is this normal: brought to you by Zoloft

3. I learned what 911 was today and decided to show the neighborhood

4. Friends with benefits, but without benefits because I thought Horse was just a nickname

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author
Jun 4·edited Jun 4Author

There's something about the core idea of 4 that's very funny. However, the "Horse" part feels like a second added joke that's making the headline clunky.

I'd suggest this: "Friends With Benefits, But Without Benefits"

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Ah! That's what I had originally and thought there wasn't enough context. Thank you!

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author
Jun 5·edited Jun 6Author

Your original intuition was right, I think. When you have a good joke, simplicity is key. Trust yourself. No need to gild the lily

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1 sounds very fun!

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My humour headlines

1) the story about three poodles in a one bedroom basement apartment

2) there’s a naked person wearing raybans knocking at the door

3) the cat who drank my beer and loved to hunt

4) a short history of the 24 first dates I went on after breaking up with him

5) instead of visiting my dad in the psych ward, I hung out with the mayor of Sunburst, Montana

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author

I like 3 and 4! Try to go more concise. I would shorten like so:

"My Cat Loves Beer And Hunting"

or maybe,

"My Cat Is A Redneck"

for 4, I'd shorten to, "My First 24 Dates After The Breakup"

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I really want to know more about the Sunburst mayor. #5!

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#4 feels like it has the most potential.

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#1: Toddler Lessons 101: Cheese is for Eating (Mud is Not)

#2: [My Name Here]: Will the Barista Ever Remember You?

#3: No, Apple, I Don't Want iCloud: When Marketing Becomes Nagging

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I like 1 too!

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#1 is funny because so true!

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author

#1 is funny!

I also like #3 though I think it's even better as just "No, Apple, I Don't Want iCloud"

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Thanks for the feedback! I picture #1 being written in the second person, as if addressing the toddler directly. I think I could find some unique twists on the humor inherent in parenting. It's a common theme, I know, but I think there are still some areas to explore

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#1 Aunt Hazel’s Magic Hairspray

#2 A Most Honorable Black Belt in Defensive Lunacy

#3 The Fungal Jungle

#4 A Phd In Me I Will Never Put To Use

#5 A Medical Mix-up Involving The Mayan Calendar

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#2. Defensive lunacy - love it.

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Yeah, I've started writing this one. It's surprising even to me!

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5 is awesome! So curious to learn what went down in 2012!

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A great cycle of the Maya Long Count was to end on 21 December 2012, but the next day the Maya believed that a new cycle would begin. There was to be no end of the world. In fact, in the temple of inscriptions at Palenque, where we find the tomb of King Pakal, was written that in AD 4772 the people would be celebrating the anniversary of the coronation of their King Pakal.

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I’m interested in 3 and 5!

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#5! I chuckled out load reading that title!

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I agree with the others, #5 is the one that made me laugh on first read.

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I just finished writing #1. Hehe...a little under 1k.

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5 has the most potential

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Given what I have zooming around in my head, that might not be true. I'm going to fang all 5.

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author

My fave is #5. That one is intriguing

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Will be a wild ride to write...

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For 5, maybe I'm not telling the exact truth.*

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#1: So you opened a portal to the bowels of hell. What to do next?

#2: I am Snow White's Therapist AMA

#3: Free consultation for all horror movie survivors

#4: It's the end of the world as we know it, do you really feel fine?

#5: Is that doll really trying to kill you? A how to guide

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4 really got me haha

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I'm very intrigued by 1 and would read more to know about the catalyst.

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Really like #2, but also agree that #1 has a lot of potential too!

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My fav is #1

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#4 made me chuckle but maybe that's because I like the REM song.

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author

My faves are #2 and #1.

#5 is potentially funny too but there's a bit of a mismatch between the question and the phrase "how to."

Here are some ways I'd rewrite that headline:

"QUIZ: Is That Creepy Doll Really Trying To Kill You?"

"A How To Guide To Killing Your Owner When You're A Creepy Doll"

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I have no idea where I'm going with these, but here are some tries.

#1: The devil came to town but there was only room for one of us.

#2: You are never making that casserole and who wants your bullshit anyway?

#3: When your grandson asks if you’re the reason vaccines were invented.

#4: Mr. D, do you like pajamas or squirrels better?

#5: Apps on my hit list (too generic?)

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I like 1 and 2!

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I feel like 3 has a lot of potential. It was my favorite because of that potential.

I also think there's something brewing with 1. It makes the narrator sound nefarious. I get old western vibes.

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Ya, #3 made me laugh but it's not clear where it could go...

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author

My faves were #1 and #2.

However, I think you could make #2 more concise, i.e. "You Are Never Making That Casserole"

You could also play with wording variations on #2 that imply different comedic narrators, e.g.

"You Are Never Making That Casserole, Carol"

or

"You Are Never Making My Secret Casserole"

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1. I am so looking forward to the AI revolution.

2. I think my new neighbor is that creepy serial killer guy from “You” and he has invited me over for a BBQ.

3. I just realized there is more than one Tesla model.

4. A Pauper Can Live Like a Prince in a Sky Oak Harbor Designer Doublewide

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N°4 is my favorite.

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1 and 4 can be fun.

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I like the setup from 2. I do have to say that I never seen You. But I feel like there's a funny premise here. Like, it's a question as to what do you bring to a serial killer's BBQ.

Number 1 is interesting to me because I'm curious about the title. It makes me think AI will revolt against humanity and destroy us all, or it could be the next wave of innovatio.

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#2 is an attempt at a fresh take on an old joke about "my crazy next door neighbor." I do worry that so few people have seen "You" that it may not resonate.

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author

My fave is 1.

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Thanks. I'll give that a try.

Any suggestions on what I could do to make premise #4 more appealing? I actually have a story that goes with it but I realize the premise as I have written it doesn't work...

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author

Improving #4 - I think it's an issue of clarity and simplicity. I wasn't sure what a "Sky Oak Harbor Designer Doublewide" is, though I thought maybe a doublewide trailer.

So, I'd say "Sky Oak Harbor Designer Doublewide" is a fun detail for the piece, but I probably wouldn't include it in the headline because it's a reference that many may miss.

You could try shortening it:

"Live Like A Prince In A Doublewide Trailer"

or give it a little first-person zing:

"I Live Like A Prince In A Doublewide Trailer"

or even

"How To Live Like A Prince In A Doublewide Trailer"

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Thanks for the feedback, very helpful!

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Re: #4, the "Sky Oak Harbor" part tripped me up. I like Designer Doublewide. I lived in one back in the day and would read this! You could always bring in the actual name later. And if you want to change POV and shorten the title, you could try "You Too Can Live Like a Prince in a Designer Doublewide." Or even play with a different word for prince.

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Thanks for pointing out the weak spot in this title.

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