Delivering sarcasmHow can I stop overusing “I” in my writing?
250 Floor Tower
What if a revenant (monster) gains fire resistance?
Is it improper etiquette to ask your opponent what his/her rating is before the game?
Electoral considerations aside, what are potential benefits, for the US, of policy changes proposed by the tweet recognizing Golan annexation?
What was this official D&D 3.5e Lovecraft-flavored rulebook?
How could a planet have erratic days?
What does chmod -u do?
Reverse int within the 32-bit signed integer range: [−2^31, 2^31 − 1]
Is the U.S. Code copyrighted by the Government?
The IT department bottlenecks progress. How should I handle this?
On a tidally locked planet, would time be quantized?
Creepy dinosaur pc game identification
Did arcade monitors have same pixel aspect ratio as TV sets?
copy and scale one figure (wheel)
How to indicate a cut out for a product window
Why electric field inside a cavity of a non-conducting sphere not zero?
Are the IPv6 address space and IPv4 address space completely disjoint?
How should I respond when I lied about my education and the company finds out through background check?
What percentage of fillings performed today are done with mercury amalgam?
If magnesium reacts with oxygen to produce magnesium oxide only on the application of heat, then why isn't it categorised as an endothermic reaction?
Terse Method to Swap Lowest for Highest?
Which one is correct as adjective “protruding” or “protruded”?
Can I sign legal documents with a smiley face?
How to explain what's wrong with this application of the chain rule?
Delivering sarcasm
How can I stop overusing “I” in my writing?
Most of us who have spent more than a few days reading things and interacting with people on the internet know how difficult it is to convey sarcasm. There is no tone there is only the words on our screens. Surely there is a way to express oneself in text in such a way that sarcasm is understood.
Here on Stack Exchange we have the use of markdown. We could put chunks of text in italics to distinguish it, but that seems less than ideal and markdown isn't available everywhere.
I've also used the <sarcasm></sarcasm> codeblock reference. But that is clunky and explicit. If you are going to be that up front you can also just say "This is sarcasm."
Then there is the simple fact that I have read plenty of sarcasm. Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams works are dripping with it. But I've never really determined why when they do it it is clear, but most others, myself included, seem to struggle with it. Is there a difference between sarcastic literature and people communicating on the internet?
What I am looking for are specific techniques for delivering sarcasm, in print, that are reasonably detectable by the average reader, as such.
style technique process showing-telling
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
add a comment |
Most of us who have spent more than a few days reading things and interacting with people on the internet know how difficult it is to convey sarcasm. There is no tone there is only the words on our screens. Surely there is a way to express oneself in text in such a way that sarcasm is understood.
Here on Stack Exchange we have the use of markdown. We could put chunks of text in italics to distinguish it, but that seems less than ideal and markdown isn't available everywhere.
I've also used the <sarcasm></sarcasm> codeblock reference. But that is clunky and explicit. If you are going to be that up front you can also just say "This is sarcasm."
Then there is the simple fact that I have read plenty of sarcasm. Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams works are dripping with it. But I've never really determined why when they do it it is clear, but most others, myself included, seem to struggle with it. Is there a difference between sarcastic literature and people communicating on the internet?
What I am looking for are specific techniques for delivering sarcasm, in print, that are reasonably detectable by the average reader, as such.
style technique process showing-telling
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
1
+1, but I wonder if the question might not be too broad - if there's a significant difference between delivering sarcasm in literature, and delivering sarcasm in a short internet comment. Let's see, maybe that's something answers will address. (Worst case scenario - you might have to split this into two good questions.)
– Galastel
2 hours ago
add a comment |
Most of us who have spent more than a few days reading things and interacting with people on the internet know how difficult it is to convey sarcasm. There is no tone there is only the words on our screens. Surely there is a way to express oneself in text in such a way that sarcasm is understood.
Here on Stack Exchange we have the use of markdown. We could put chunks of text in italics to distinguish it, but that seems less than ideal and markdown isn't available everywhere.
I've also used the <sarcasm></sarcasm> codeblock reference. But that is clunky and explicit. If you are going to be that up front you can also just say "This is sarcasm."
Then there is the simple fact that I have read plenty of sarcasm. Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams works are dripping with it. But I've never really determined why when they do it it is clear, but most others, myself included, seem to struggle with it. Is there a difference between sarcastic literature and people communicating on the internet?
What I am looking for are specific techniques for delivering sarcasm, in print, that are reasonably detectable by the average reader, as such.
style technique process showing-telling
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
Most of us who have spent more than a few days reading things and interacting with people on the internet know how difficult it is to convey sarcasm. There is no tone there is only the words on our screens. Surely there is a way to express oneself in text in such a way that sarcasm is understood.
Here on Stack Exchange we have the use of markdown. We could put chunks of text in italics to distinguish it, but that seems less than ideal and markdown isn't available everywhere.
I've also used the <sarcasm></sarcasm> codeblock reference. But that is clunky and explicit. If you are going to be that up front you can also just say "This is sarcasm."
Then there is the simple fact that I have read plenty of sarcasm. Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams works are dripping with it. But I've never really determined why when they do it it is clear, but most others, myself included, seem to struggle with it. Is there a difference between sarcastic literature and people communicating on the internet?
What I am looking for are specific techniques for delivering sarcasm, in print, that are reasonably detectable by the average reader, as such.
style technique process showing-telling
style technique process showing-telling
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
edited 2 hours ago
bruglesco
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
asked 2 hours ago
bruglescobruglesco
2,130639
2,130639
1
+1, but I wonder if the question might not be too broad - if there's a significant difference between delivering sarcasm in literature, and delivering sarcasm in a short internet comment. Let's see, maybe that's something answers will address. (Worst case scenario - you might have to split this into two good questions.)
– Galastel
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1
+1, but I wonder if the question might not be too broad - if there's a significant difference between delivering sarcasm in literature, and delivering sarcasm in a short internet comment. Let's see, maybe that's something answers will address. (Worst case scenario - you might have to split this into two good questions.)
– Galastel
2 hours ago
1
1
+1, but I wonder if the question might not be too broad - if there's a significant difference between delivering sarcasm in literature, and delivering sarcasm in a short internet comment. Let's see, maybe that's something answers will address. (Worst case scenario - you might have to split this into two good questions.)
– Galastel
2 hours ago
+1, but I wonder if the question might not be too broad - if there's a significant difference between delivering sarcasm in literature, and delivering sarcasm in a short internet comment. Let's see, maybe that's something answers will address. (Worst case scenario - you might have to split this into two good questions.)
– Galastel
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
In novels you can parse sarcasm because you know the characters, specifically you know what they know and how they think, so you know the difference between a serious suggestion and a flip suggestion.
I've written a sarcastic retort by a character in one of my stories, and my first reader got it immediately; because the character was making a suggestion completely out of her personality. So it had to be sarcasm, and that's how it was read and it was found funny to get a laugh (even though the character was frustrated with the stubbornness of another character).
You cannot duplicate that in an internet post except with friends that get your personality. Absent that relationship, then in that venue, you need to make your sarcastic responses a bit over the top, so they seem outlandish enough to make the reader think twice about how serious you are being.
Either that, or include a rolling-eyes emoji, if possible.
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "166"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f43972%2fdelivering-sarcasm%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
In novels you can parse sarcasm because you know the characters, specifically you know what they know and how they think, so you know the difference between a serious suggestion and a flip suggestion.
I've written a sarcastic retort by a character in one of my stories, and my first reader got it immediately; because the character was making a suggestion completely out of her personality. So it had to be sarcasm, and that's how it was read and it was found funny to get a laugh (even though the character was frustrated with the stubbornness of another character).
You cannot duplicate that in an internet post except with friends that get your personality. Absent that relationship, then in that venue, you need to make your sarcastic responses a bit over the top, so they seem outlandish enough to make the reader think twice about how serious you are being.
Either that, or include a rolling-eyes emoji, if possible.
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
add a comment |
In novels you can parse sarcasm because you know the characters, specifically you know what they know and how they think, so you know the difference between a serious suggestion and a flip suggestion.
I've written a sarcastic retort by a character in one of my stories, and my first reader got it immediately; because the character was making a suggestion completely out of her personality. So it had to be sarcasm, and that's how it was read and it was found funny to get a laugh (even though the character was frustrated with the stubbornness of another character).
You cannot duplicate that in an internet post except with friends that get your personality. Absent that relationship, then in that venue, you need to make your sarcastic responses a bit over the top, so they seem outlandish enough to make the reader think twice about how serious you are being.
Either that, or include a rolling-eyes emoji, if possible.
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
add a comment |
In novels you can parse sarcasm because you know the characters, specifically you know what they know and how they think, so you know the difference between a serious suggestion and a flip suggestion.
I've written a sarcastic retort by a character in one of my stories, and my first reader got it immediately; because the character was making a suggestion completely out of her personality. So it had to be sarcasm, and that's how it was read and it was found funny to get a laugh (even though the character was frustrated with the stubbornness of another character).
You cannot duplicate that in an internet post except with friends that get your personality. Absent that relationship, then in that venue, you need to make your sarcastic responses a bit over the top, so they seem outlandish enough to make the reader think twice about how serious you are being.
Either that, or include a rolling-eyes emoji, if possible.
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
In novels you can parse sarcasm because you know the characters, specifically you know what they know and how they think, so you know the difference between a serious suggestion and a flip suggestion.
I've written a sarcastic retort by a character in one of my stories, and my first reader got it immediately; because the character was making a suggestion completely out of her personality. So it had to be sarcasm, and that's how it was read and it was found funny to get a laugh (even though the character was frustrated with the stubbornness of another character).
You cannot duplicate that in an internet post except with friends that get your personality. Absent that relationship, then in that venue, you need to make your sarcastic responses a bit over the top, so they seem outlandish enough to make the reader think twice about how serious you are being.
Either that, or include a rolling-eyes emoji, if possible.
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
answered 1 hour ago
AmadeusAmadeus
56k471183
56k471183
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Writing Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f43972%2fdelivering-sarcasm%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
+1, but I wonder if the question might not be too broad - if there's a significant difference between delivering sarcasm in literature, and delivering sarcasm in a short internet comment. Let's see, maybe that's something answers will address. (Worst case scenario - you might have to split this into two good questions.)
– Galastel
2 hours ago