Ruth Leigh (Writing comic characters)

Comedy Masterclass

Danielle Krage interviews novelist Ruth Leigh. They focus on her delightful Isabella M Smugge series, and what it takes to create a comic character that you can develop and sustain across multiple books. Ruth is also the author of the Jane Austen-inspired book A Great Deal of Ingenuity, and The Little Book of Unexpected Poetry.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

01:57 Origin Story of Isabella M. Smugge

06:48 Creating a Funny and Complex Character

09:45 Developing a Series and Balancing Character Arcs

11:34 Turning Up the Comedy in the Setting

14:06 Using Conflict to Drive the Story

17:30 The Importance of Setting in Comedy

20:23 Writing Process and Balancing Comedy and Heart

25:23 Favourite Comic Influences

29:43 Prompts and Exercises for Writing Comedy

32:19 Building a Writing Community and Getting Feedback

34:38 The Impact of Reader Feedback

35:27 Real People and Names in the Books

36:47 Overcoming Fear of Events

37:31 Starting Small and Building Confidence

38:58 Finding Comfortable Opportunities

39:06 Where to Find More about Ruth Leigh

Links

https://www.ruthleighwrites.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/ruthleighwrites

https://twitter.com/Ruthleighwrites

https://www.tiktok.com/@ruthleighwrites

You can find the transcript at:

https://comedymasterclass.com

And Danielle’s socials here:

https://twitter.com/daniellekrage

https://www.instagram.com/dekrage

https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social