Do not err in the opposite direction either: a parody about your grandma would be very funny for you, but what about your readers? Unless you are a genius (but we’ll dismiss this prospect), there is no fun in describing the dear old lady who looks like an owl when she wears her reading glasses. Who cares? You? Well, but are you the center of the universe? Probably not.
Star Warped is the parody novel retelling all six of the Star Wars films features chapters such as “Episode I: The Fans-of-Tron Menace”. It also has a Yoda in lederhosen, yodeling tidbits of wisdom. A sappy novel parody is an excellent way to get you started. Try to read some very watery stuff from the Harlequin collection, take some notes of the typical characters, those incredibly beautiful girls supported by unlikely manly heroes. Imagine the golden boy madly in love with the mean girl of the story and the nice one making the silliest things on earth to attract his attention. You didn’t do it right if you do not laugh out loud when you reread it!
Try to be more aware of your surrounding. Writers are experts when it comes to tiny details that nobody else has ever noticed. It makes the salt of the story. A parody is like a magnifying glass: your character has suddenly very strange quirks, but they are as funny as hell because they stay very close to the hero. For example, Frankenstein is a model for the Detroit Auto Show, Sherlock Holmes is a happy fool high on old smelly socks, Hercule Poirot is struggling with an eating disorder and James Bond has no sense of humor at all.
