Back in my theatre days there was a thing called “triple threat:” Actor, Singer and Dancer. It was unusual for a performer to be truly talented at all three. I’m discovering something similar in the writing world. Meg Oolders is a “quadruple threat:” Humor, Poetry, Short Stories, YA Fiction… And, she has a podcast. “Quintuple threat?” I’m so glad I found Meg here on Substack. I’m a fan. Without further ado, Meg Oolders…
1. What were your life events that lead you to realize, “Hey, I’m pretty funny.”
I remember being really shy and quiet as a preschooler. But once I hit public school kindergarten and discovered I had a daily audience of my peers and the inherent skill to entertain them, the wacky came out full force.
2. Did your parents encourage your funny side?
They certainly encouraged my creativity! I was heavily influenced by television as a child, and they didn’t protest when the family camcorder became permanently affixed to my shoulder. I hosted talk shows, filmed B movies, VJ’d music videos (that I also starred in.) I was ON AIR (or on stage) for a good portion of my childhood.
3. How did you nurture your funny side?
I’m not sure it was something I ever had to nurture. Though, like any personality superpower, it was something I had to learn to control.
4. Do you think you may have inherited your funny bone? A funny uncle? Who? Were you close with that person or heard stories about them?
I grew up with funny people. Both my parents are funny. My brother and sister are, too. But I’m certain we’d all agree … I’m the funniest.
5. Did being funny ever get in the way of a close relationship?
Probably. It’s more likely my being funny got in the way of having a close relationship to begin with. I’ve known for a long time that I use humor as a defense mechanism. Because I’m funny, people generally see me as confident, which I’m usually not. I’ve struggled with anxiety and self-consciousness for as long as I can remember, and when I’m at my most vulnerable, my humor becomes the most repellent. “I tease because I love,” would be a good slogan for me. If the people I put off with my weaponized jokes stuck around long enough to hear it.
6. If you’re in a partnership, is he or she funny? Was/Is humor a requirement?
I’ve been happily married for almost twenty years and it’s because my husband is fucking hilarious. When I met him in college, my first thought was, “HOT.” Had “HOT” been followed by “cocky” or “boring” or “meathead” I would have walked away. But “HOT” was very closely followed by “FUNNY,” “SWEET,” and mercifully “SINGLE.” I locked that down PDQ.
7. If you have a funny partner is there ever a joke competition or do you play well off each other?
Our jokes are more cooperative than competitive. There’s generally a friendly battle of escalation, but we’re not trying to top each other as much as meet at the precipice of hilarity where neither of us can breathe or stand up straight because we’re laughing so damn hard.
8. Did being a jokester ever get in the way of school or work?
My best friend and I once got kicked out of Sunday school for goofing off. That probably counts. Despite being voted “teacher’s pet” my senior year of high school, I was a clown – for better or worse -- to my classmates. As an adolescent my insecurities provided fuel for the dormant antagonist within me. I wasn’t a bully, but my jokes could be sharp sometimes.
9. Was anyone ever threatened by your humor?
A guy in high school once said to me, “Meg, you could talk a guy under a table.”
A guy I met a year ago once said to me, “Meg, you’re like that magic trick where the guy pulls the tablecloth out and the plates stay behind, but the glasses and silverware go crashing into the wall.” These comments made a lovely set of bookends for my unintended quest to intimidate men with my sense of humor for the last three decades. I’ve openly admitted to being the grownup version of the girl who knocks boys on their asses on the playground to show how much she likes them.
10. Can you tell me about a time when you turned something painful into something humorous?
I said a few words at a friend’s funeral and was struggling to keep my emotions in check. I made a self-deprecating remark to clear a path forward and it made the whole room laugh with me. I know my friend would have appreciated it. She was one of the funniest women I’ve ever met.
11. Can you tell me about a time when you couldn’t muster anything funny and how it affected you? How long did it last? A day? Month? A year? How did you rebound from the unfunny funk?
I very recently broke out of a humor writing funk that lasted several months. I think a combination of factors were at play, but stress and grief are the prime suspects. As much as I wanted to write comically during that time, I just couldn’t get the wheels to turn. Every time I started to write something funny, I would get sad. Eventually I came across a topic that infuriated me enough I couldn’t resist roasting it, and after shrugging off the pressure I felt to make a memorable comeback from my hiatus, I just hunkered down and put my shoulder into it. The stuff clogging my comedy pipes hasn’t gone away, but the comeback reminded me to trust that, as a humorist, my voice will always find a way to be lighter than my heart is heavy.
12. Can you describe the type of humor you possess? Clever Wit, quick-with-a-joke, physical, goofball, aggressive, self-enhancing, self-deprecating, dark, observational, or one I didn’t think of? What’s an example of how you might respond using that humor in a given situation?
I’m eternally in search of the perfect adjective combo to describe my humor. Here are a few I’ve toyed with: Snark-hearted, spiky-sweet, acerbic-congenial. My sense of humor is equal parts astringent and adorable is what I’m getting at. Sardonic, yes. Self-deprecating, definitely. My Substack, Stock Fiction, is first and foremost a fiction anthology, but A LOT of my fiction is thinly veiled satire. Meanwhile, my in-the-moment humor can dip deeply into lowbrow territory. For example, I’m the person in the room who responds to an invitation to play poker with the classic, “Poke her? I just met her.”
13. Did your kid inherit your comedy skill?
I have two kids and they are skilled comedians. My son (11) is slapstick funny and my daughter (8) is clever AF.
14. Did your sense of humor change in the last 5 years? If so, how?
When my kids were very little, I had a better handle on my language and managed to filter my angry sarcasm somewhat. But the more time I spend writing for and engaging with adults, the more derisive and profane I become. I love swearing. The word fuck does wonderful things for me chemically so I deploy it often. I also like the word dick for its myriad applications.
15. Was your humor ever mean? What happened? Any regrets?
When I feel threatened emotionally or socially, I lash out with jokes. And those jokes are sometimes unkind. The alternative is to admit I’m insecure or have hurt feelings, and for some reason that’s harder to do. I always regret it when my reactivity injures people. I’ve gotten considerably better with age when it comes to apologizing because I hate it when bad feelings fester and I can lose a lot of sleep over real or imagined grudges. The reality is, I’m a thin-skinned person who wants to appear impervious. Caustic humor is my front when I’m feeling particularly pervious.
16. What would be the title of your life right now?
The Old Girl’s Guide to Mid-Life Gridlock
17. Who is your role model? If you could say anything to this person, what would it be?
I know I should pick someone famous that I admire, but I’m going to say my husband because that’s who popped into my head first. He’s one of the best and most admirable people I know. To him, I would say, “Thank you for dating me. For marrying me. For loving me. And for liking me just the way I am.” The rest I’ll deliver off the air.
Meg Oolders is the author of the Watty Award winning novel, See Dot Smile, and creator of the dynamic Substack publication, Stock Fiction. Once described as “a tenacious survivor of a ferocious fight of feral identities,” Meg has an impressive resume of jobs worked, passions explored, and dreams deferred, including decades of work in the theater, music, and culinary arts. Her current occupation is writing, motherhood, matrimony, and middle-age. Her compelling young adult novels are ripe with humor, hope, and emotional heroism, and feature remarkable characters on illuminating journeys through the trials of adolescence. They’re also big on romance. Her short-form style is equal parts empathic, evocative, edgy, and experimental, and her “true” voice is sharp-witted and sweetly sardonic. When she’s not actively writing or parenting, Meg enjoys yoga, long walks, cake, flowers, cooking, music, dance, and banter.
Read Meg’s most recent humor rant: https://stockfiction.substack.com/p/viva-virality
Subscribe to Stock Fiction:
Read See Dot Smile (For FREE!): https://www.wattpad.com/story/340543646-see-dot-smile
Follow Meg on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ritermelon/
Check out her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@megoolders
Or visit her website: megoolders.com
Let’s get the party started with questions/answers…
I love the title of your life, “The Old Girl’s Guide to Mid-Life Gridlock.” Any chance you would turn that into a book?
You just launched your first podcast. Any ideas/thoughts on the next one?
Are you working on another YA novel? Do tell.
You’re funny and adorbs! 🥰
The best kind of rapport "we’re not trying to top each other as much as meet at the precipice of hilarity where neither of us can breathe..."