Hyperbole and a Half

A few years ago I stumbled across a website. It had these rather primitive cartoon-style drawings. Meh, okay, not really that impressive.

Then I started reading the blog posts, and I laughed.

And I laughed.

And I laughed.

Until my family started to think I was a going a little bit crazy.

Next thing you know I’m reading them a post aloud.

Did I mention the posts have multiple drawings that emphasize the stories? We all gathered closer around the laptop as I continued to read.

Our living room sounded like a pack (is that what you call a group of hyenas?) of crazy hyenas. Think of the crazy one, Ed, from the Lion King and you’ll have a clear picture.

I read a short story called, “The God of Cake“. It may be the funniest thing I’ve ever read.

That’s not even a hyperbole.

hyperbole

Not familiar with the word hyperbole? A little high school English refresher…

Pronunciation: [hahy-pur-buh-lee]

It’s a noun. (Person, place or thing… this one kind of fits into the ‘thing’ category.)

It means: obvious and intentional exaggeration.

I’ve decided that Allie Brosh is my comedic superhero. Her stories usually center around herself as a young child. Apparently she had a talent for the dramatic, even back then.

Chances are, if you’ve ever been online you’ve probably seen one of Allie’s drawings. I’ve seen them millions of times, turned into internet memes. A blonde girl wearing a pink dress, holding a broom and exclaiming, “WASH ALL THE THINGS!”

(not ringing a bell? Click this Google search: meme wash all the things)

Every time I see one of these memes I’m both amused, because I can’t fail to be reminded of how hilarious Allie’s stories are, but I’m also kind of choked. She’s getting absolutely no credit for the hilarity that she has been bestowed upon the world. (Look at a few of them, do you see credit… no you do not.)

This is my look of disapproval.

As my own form of protest against the injustice I bought her book.

It’s filled with stories that make tears stream down my face.

I’m adding a handy affiliate link if you’d like to pick up a copy from Amazon. Not only would you be picking up one of the most, no, the most entertaining book I know of, it may even stop Amazon from dropping me as a lame affiliate, that always forgets to recommend things that I truly love.

Be sure to leave me a comment if you agree this is the best thing on the internet, or if you’re sitting there wondering what on Earth is wrong with me.

And probably Allie too.

LESSON TO LEARN FOR SCRAPBOOKING

If you are as scrapbooker, (if you’re not, what are you doing here?) I thought I’d tie up this post with a quick note about how this relates to scrapbooking.

Do you ever find that your journaling is kind of boring.

We went here. We did this. We had fun. You are so cute.

Blah!

(Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be a jerk. I’m completely guilty of writing stuff like that and calling it ‘journaling’.

That’s not really journaling though, right?

Don’t you want your journaling to tell more? To get to the stories? To be interesting or exciting to read?

Take a page from Allie’s book, (not actually, her book is awesome don’t rip it up!) and use hyperbole in your writing. Don’t be afraid to be dramatic.

Like magic, your writing will become instantly more interesting and exciting to read.

MORE TIPS

Need more tips for great scrapbook journaling? Try this TIP.

Don’t forget to join me in protest and pick up a copy of the Hyperbole and a Half book! 😉

Let your creativity shine!

Alice.