You had to be there, or when funny doesn't translate

This cartoon by Tom Gauld is brilliant. (If you want more his book of cartoons, You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, is out now.)

In a similar vein, I often find when writing that things that were hilarious in real life tend to die on the page. The story I've just handed in contains a few things that happened in real life and still make me and my friends laugh YEARS later. But I have a feeling they might come back with question marks or a kind 'Are you sure about this?' from my agent and editor … to which I'll say, you had to be there.