The Handed Down Humor of Erma Bombeck

Dispatches from my first writing conference

If a writer attends a writing conference and doesn’t write about it, did it even happen? I’ve recently returned from the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop, held every other year over a 3-day weekend in Dayton, Ohio. Do we all remember Erma Bombeck? That mild-mannered, middle aged, midwestern mom with a rapier wit? She quipped about all things domestic and suburban. In addition to penning a newspaper column titled “At Wit’s End”, she also authored humorous bestsellers such as When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It’s Time To Go Home and The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. Erma always found a way to make the mundane tasks of housewifery hilarious and relatable.

Flying into the Dayton “Riviera” as it was billed. Those funny humorists!

I had never been to a writing conference before and learned about this one (as luck would have it) just AFTER it happened two years ago. It was then and there that I set reminders everywhere to insure I’d get to the next one! You see, I fancy myself a humor writer. Whether I am one or not (yet) is not relevant. My favorite part of The Arts is comedy — in nearly any form. Who doesn’t love a well-written sitcom, a hilarious stand-up routine, a punchy one-liner, or a silly movie that’s so dumb it’s funny?

Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time. -Erma Bombeck

The most cherished part of my personal book collection is the comedian biographies: Carol Burnett, Martin Short, Molly Shannon, Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Ellen - and too many others to mention. These bastions of comedy have such wonderful stories to tell, offering a glimpse into their world for envious outsiders like myself. While I will never be an Amy Poehler, I can appreciate hearing how she got where she is and following all the interweaving and overlapping threads that led her and others to comedic stardom. In that sense, my own humor writing is my way to dive into that wished-for world. Writing humorous pieces for myself, my family, or for publication is a little sliver of that life and a way to gain a small sense of belonging amongst those I truly admire.

And what better place to find belonging that the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop? An assemblage of mostly women and, amongst them, mostly 50+. Kind of the way we picture the late Erma herself, frozen in time. The demographic was exactly what I was expecting, but it was still somewhat shocking to sit in a room of “mature” women and wonder if we really had much in common. At the ripe age of 55, I just can’t quite come to consider myself “old”. But I am here to say that, for better or worse, I fit right in! We all came from different backgrounds, vocations, and geographic locations, but comedy is a universal tie that binds. I didn’t meet a single person who was unfriendly, indifferent, or arrogant. Everyone had their own stories to tell and were in various stages of their writing or publishing careers. Yet the vibe was so fully warm and welcoming that any initial anxiety about walking into a room of 400 strangers melted away immediately. Also, I had fun admiring the fun and eccentric eyeglasses many of the women wore. Plus, there was cake! (The cake at Erma is renowned and part of the lore.) Put all together, I left the workshop feeling like a little bit of magic happened. Not to mention, I met a woman who looked so much like my own mother that after multiple double-takes I had to approach her to make sure we weren’t related. (We’re not. Probably. Aunt Barbara??)

Just a couple examples of the ample daily cake offerings.

While the conference is largely based on humor writing, there are other genres explored as well: publishing, memoir writing, marketing, etc. Because I went with the sole intent to become a stronger humor writer, I chose only humor sessions for the duration. I wanted to be fully steeped in the art form and not miss a moment of the unique guidance. To that end, I attended workshops with names such as “Taking Your Piece from Haha to Hilarious”, “How to Write A Humor Essay That’s Actually Funny”, and “The Writer’s Room in Your Brain”. I also attended a stand up comedy workshop (and evening performance) just for fun. I did *NOT* perform any stand up comedy, but marveled at the extreme bravery of other attendees who did. Maybe next time.

One of my sessions was run by a headline writer for The Onion. TOO FUNNY!!!

The workshop also had illustrious and engaging keynote speakers at every meal. They were all inspirational, doling out their collected wisdoms and fascinating paths to writing success. A highlight for me was Sona Movsesian, cohost of the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend”. I ended up buying two copies of her book The World’s Worst Assistant - one to add to my humor collection and one for my son who also enjoys the podcast. Of course, having her sign them was a memorable moment for me - she was so gracious and hilarious in person. I can see how she’s gotten as far as she has!

Hanging with Sona (or should I say, Fangirling!)

It’s too soon to tell if my writing will be better (or funnier) based on the wisdom that was imparted in my direction, but I came away with some renewed excitement about the possibilities. I met some truly remarkable people and just seeing other attendees who were making this work for themselves out of sheer determination and creativity was motivating and encouraging. One of my main intentions was to figure out where to publish future pieces. My ears perked up at every suggestion and I came away able to make a nice Google Doc of recommendations. It’s linked here in case any of my new workshop friends are reading. Or any dear readers have a hankering for humor writing!

Yes, this is mainly a bike riding (read: writing) blog, but it’s time for me to show you another side of myself. No one is that one-dimensional! And it’s writing-adjacent, so it’s relevant. As Erma famously said, “It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.” So here I am, putting my dreams out there for the world to see. Erma also said, “Never have more children than you have car windows.” That woman knew her stuff.

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Several other conference attendees have also written about the workshop, natch. In the first one here for the Dayton Daily News, I can be seen yukking it up in the background!

My weekend at Erma: Finding the funny when the world feels heavy by Pamela Chandler

Erma Bombeck’s Legacy Isn’t Just Humor, It’s Belonging by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

The Sounds of Silence by Carol White Llewellyn

Erma Bombeck Recap by Bob Eckstein

Musings from Erma Bombeck workshop: ‘If they didn’t want you to write about them, they should have been nicer’ by Mary McCarty

The Ingredients for A Successful Writing Career by Tiffany Yates Martin

If I see more of these published, I will keep adding them. Turns out what I’m really good at is collating and organizing things!