How to write jokes when nothing is funny

An essay about craft and survival

In March, I went to Lakeland University in Wisconsin to be a guest lecturer for a few days. I taught a class on humor writing. It was a wonderful experience, but of course in hindsight I wish I had done it a little differently, said things a little more clearly. So this is my do-over — my attempt to write about how to be funny in your writing and in you…