Our culturally revered Curly, Larry, and Moe made us laugh with their visual funny business in the movies. Along with them, hundreds of other entertainers over the years have created funny situations and dialogues that have had us rolling in the aisles in doubled-over mirth. Successful comedians seem to have a natural knack for making most of us burst forth with one of life's pleasures - laughter.

A comedy writer, however, must create an image in the reader's mind that makes him chuckle, giggle, and smile. He can't shove a pie in the reader's face, trip over his own feet and go sprawling, or make goofy gestures but he can use words to conjure up situations and dialogue that bring rib-splitting, bone-tickling, knee-slapping guffaws, or at least a snicker, from the reader.

Whether or not a writer is personally funny is not important. What is important is that the writer can make the reader think that the characters and situations he creates are real and funny. One of the greatest humor writers of all time was William Shakespeare, 1564-1616. Those who have read and studied "The Bard" appreciate him for the great comedy writer that he was. He developed characters that played off one another, and he created situations in which his characters could manipulate and interact with each other, resulting in a humorous effect.

As we can't all be Shakespeares, we can come close by striving to be well-developed writers. Offered this month and into the coming months are guidelines to help you, the writer, find your own funny bone.

1. Don't tell the reader that something is funny but rather show him that it is. Let the reader discover this for himself. Do this by painting a picture with words that the reader can relate to with all five of his senses. Describe the smells, textures, tastes, sights, and sounds. As the writer, you must ask yourself how, why, who, when, and where, as you describe a character or situation. Tell the reader how something smells, tastes, feels, looks, and sounds. Describe why something smells, tastes, feels, looks, and sounds the way it does. And so on. Certainly you, the writer, don't have to address all of these questions, but by doing so, you will cover all the potential bases toward painting the best picture possible.

For example, Shakespeare, in Hamlet, Hamlet tells Horatio of his dead friend, Yorick. As he describes his friend to Horatio, Hamlet holds the skull of Yorick in his hand. "Here hung those lips that I have kiss'd I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now?, yourgambols?, your songs?, your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?"

In this example, Shakespeare uses Hamlet to bring Yorick alive for the reader. The reader can almost see Hamlet holding the skull in his hand and, additionally, the reader can hear the "roar" of laughter from the guests at the table as Hamlet describes Yorick singing or telling a funny story. Shakespeare creates images using words that stir the reader's senses, evoking emotions in the reader as well. But, alas, we aren't any of us Shakespeare, nor do many of us want to be. It may or may not be funny if your character gets hit in the face with a pie but if your character gets hit in the face with a lemon pie, with yellow, gooey blobs of meringue dripping from his chin and snowy drifts of whipped cream sticking from his ears, this paints a picture for the reader that is more likely to be perceived as whimsical. And adding to the hoot of it all is seeing spring from the pages the pie, wafting of tangy-sweet lemon scent and "splatting" across his face sending along a bit of graham cracker crust up his nose as he sticks out his eager tongue to bring home the cheek-puckering flavor -- Now the reader can smell, feel, taste, see, and hear that pie.