Writing effective satire is a specific craft, not just "being sarcastic about the news." This satirical writing guide walks through the process from choosing a target to final edit.
Every piece starts with something real worth criticising — a person, institution, policy, or widespread behaviour. Vague targets produce vague satire; the sharper and more specific the target, the sharper the resulting piece. This is the difference between genuine satire and a joke that just happens to reference the news.
Before writing a single line, be able to state in one sentence what the piece is actually arguing about the target. If there's no underlying point, there's no satire yet — just an absurd premise. This is the line that separates satire from parody, which doesn't require a critical point at all.
Decide which tool best serves the point: irony, exaggeration, understatement, or invented sincerity. Different targets call for different techniques — see the full breakdown at satire techniques — and most strong pieces lean primarily on one technique rather than trying to cram in all of them at once.
Once the delivery style is chosen, don't break it. A piece that winks at the reader partway through undercuts its own effect — the deadpan comedy discipline of total, sustained sincerity is what makes the technique work in the first place.
Vague satire reads as generic; specific satire reads as real. A named (invented) spokesperson, a precise (fabricated) statistic, a plausible official title — these details are what sell the format, particularly in satirical journalism, where borrowed news conventions are doing much of the work.
In revision, check that every line still serves the original critical point identified in Step Two. Funny lines that drift away from the target should usually be cut, even when they're the best jokes in the draft — satire that loses its point stops being satire.
Study outlets publishing at volume for pacing and structure — NewsBiscuit and The Daily Mash both offer a constant supply of finished, professionally edited examples to learn from.
SOURCE: The London Prat