HUMOR WRITING: 18 LAYERS AND 6 DIMENSIONS
“hit 2 of 6 dimensions. write 18 layers in passes. magic is in the last 3.”
The Lesson
One-third of people do not appreciate humor at all. Others only laugh at social awkwardness, or rule violations, or cleverness. You cannot please everyone, so diversify. Spray different types of humor and everyone finds something. If you are funny 1 time in 5, people remember you as always funny. The Six Dimensions of Humor: Naughty, Clever, Cute, Bizarre, Mean, Recognizable. Hit at least 2. Writing has 18 layers: (1) Logic. (2) Timing. (3) Messenger matches message. (4) Usefulness. (5) Reading level. (6) Conversational style. (7) Flow. (8) Humor. (9) Branding of the author. (10) Intelligence (write slightly smarter than the reader). (11) Interest. (12) Relevance. (13) Tense (past, current, future). (14) Whose point of view. (15) Editing (grammar, spelling, vocabulary). (16) Emotion. (17) Hypnosis layer (word choice carrying emotional weight). (18) Musicality (sentence rhythm). Write in passes, not all at once. The magic is in the last 3 layers: emotion, hypnosis, and musicality. Most writers stop before they get there.
Real-World Example
A founder writes product copy. First pass: just logic and information. Second pass: add timing (short punchy sentences after long ones). Third pass: hit 2 humor dimensions-recognizable ('you've seen this dashboard before') and clever (unexpected twist). Fourth pass: musicality-read it aloud, fix clunky rhythms. Fifth pass: hypnosis layer-swap neutral words for emotionally charged ones ('discover' vs 'find'). The copy now has 5 layers most competitors never add.
Watch Scott explain this lesson
Watch Lesson on Locals →