According to a winner, found in Slate.
From the story:
Most people who look at the winners of the caption contest say, "I could've done better than that." You're right. You could have. But that doesn't mean you could've won the caption contest—it just means you could've done better. And if your goal is not to win the caption contest, why bother entering? There is one mantra to take from this article, worth its own line break:
You are not trying to submit the funniest caption; you are trying to win The New Yorker's caption contest.
Humor and victory are different matters entirely. To understand what makes the perfect caption, you must start with the readership. Paging through The New Yorker is a lonesome withdrawal, not a group activity. The reader is isolated and introspective, probably on the train commuting to work. He suffers from urban ennui. He does not make eye contact. Laughing out loud is, in this context, an unseemly act sure to draw unwanted attention. To avoid this, your caption should elicit, at best, a mild chuckle.
As for me - I've entered pretty much every week it's been running and sadly, I have yet to even make it to the finals. Of note, however, captions VERY similar to mine HAVE been in the finals. Small victories, I guess, until I get that golden laurel of winning the contest outright. And, yes, I will win...if I elicit mild chuckles from readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment