It’s so easy to rely on Buzzfeed for everything. Where else could people with really short attention spans get their news without nodding off? The Funny Women team spotted a Q&A with Mindy Kaling, in which she gives sage advice to women everywhere. Buzzfeed, for all your faults, today you came through for us. Thanks.
Mindy’s top tips include these gems of knowledge:
• Holidays with your parents when you’re in your 20s make you see them in a whole new light
• Your parents may have terrible advice, but they ultimately want you to be happy
• Dress in a way that makes you feel good, not to please other people
• If you think someone is really cool, they’re probably just faking it (even Mindy)
• Enjoy being single rather than being in a naff relationship for the sake of it
• Have your assistant get that cute guy’s phone number (okay, ignore this one)
What really caught our eye was question five from ‘mariahannel’: “As a young writer I often find myself bowing to other people’s idea of funny. How do you ensure that your writing remains true to yourself?”
Hands up anyone who has ever begrudgingly deferred to what someone else finds funny.
Mindy handles this question exactly how I hoped she would, by putting ‘being true to yourself’ above ‘writing to get laughs’. “What a good question. I feel like a lot of writers have that problem. And I know that I have. I was on The Office but that sort of happened to perfectly match my tone and my sensibility. And I hear all the time of truly funny people who are just matched on a show that they are not good at… Like anything else, comedy is such a broad thing.”
Comedy really is a very broad subject, so when it comes to ‘funny’ YMMV. Your own funny mileage may vary, and you should stick to that come thick or thin.
