The Serious Guide to Joke Writing
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Product Description
Product Description
How To Write Jokes for Fun & Profit This comprehensive joke writing masterclass has been devised for beginners and experienced joke writers alike. The techniques you will learn can be used again and again to write funny and original material for: Stand-up comedy; Speeches; Political satire; Monologues; TV, Stage & radio; Witty articles & blogs; Comedy sketches; Sitcom scripts; Cartoons & Comic-Strips; Business Presentations. You hold in your hands the key to unlocking your inner comedy genius. When you read this book you will discover... * Simple yet powerful ways to write hilarious material on any subject * Insider tricks professionals use to get going and keep going * Where jokes really come from and why this makes writing easier * Techniques for creating simple puns and wordplay for laughs * How to tap into a continuous stream of comedy consciousness * Creative tools such as Joke-Webbing and the Hadron Joke Collider * How to mine newspapers and headlines for topical comedy gold * Ways to take jokes in weird and wonderful directions with surrealism * How to hone your jokes to maximise laughs and minimise memorisation If you want to write comedy of any kind this book is for you...
From the Author
This book (and my courses) came about because I wanted to get down to the nuts and bolts of teaching how to actually construct a joke. So I tackle it head on with exercises that produce jokes and examples of jokes written that way. The reader can actually watch jokes being born. Since I've been teaching joke writing I've had emails from all over the world asking when I will be teaching in their area. This book brings my class to you, you can follow each week, do the exercises, do the homework, see how the rest of the class have done and then look at the troubleshooting guide. The theory chapters can be read at any time to give you encouragement and make you realise that creativity is a process that we can all do, we are all the same. There is also a case study (where you follow me writing jokes on a difficult subject on a deadline) and a chapter about honing to show you what to do with all those beautiful ideas that this book will help you produce. If you are serious about writing jokes, The Serious Guide to Joke Writing is for you. Thanks for reading.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a relative newcomer to stand up comedy, I've always struggled to write material. Fellow comics have always explained that good gags are mostly the product of hard work; but when you're looking at a blank page, even if you have a few basic ideas, where do you begin?
Other books, of a similar ilk fall short because they are too focused on the way the author's mind works, which isn't necessarily the same as the reader.
Sally Holloway is different, she defines a series of joke mining processes, to find and develop your material. She has a troubleshooting section at the end of each process, that's easy to relate to.
Every other chapter, she points out typical writing challenges faced by her and other comics. So you don't give up just because your beautifully crafted gag, hasn't appeared after half an hours work.
This is someone who has not only performed stand up comedy but more importantly has literally years of experience teaching the art of writing comedy material. As you explore each technique, you can watch the thought process as she cleverly weaves in transcripts from one of her courses. This can at times be a little tedious, however if it's not relevent it's easy to skip to the next section, without feeling you've missed anything.
So, would I recommend this book? Yes, absolutely. For me it's the best joke writing book I have ever read; but be warned, once you get started, you'll find yourself waking in the night, desperate to get all the ideas popping into your head down on paper.
Other books, of a similar ilk fall short because they are too focused on the way the author's mind works, which isn't necessarily the same as the reader.
Sally Holloway is different, she defines a series of joke mining processes, to find and develop your material. She has a troubleshooting section at the end of each process, that's easy to relate to.
Every other chapter, she points out typical writing challenges faced by her and other comics. So you don't give up just because your beautifully crafted gag, hasn't appeared after half an hours work.
This is someone who has not only performed stand up comedy but more importantly has literally years of experience teaching the art of writing comedy material. As you explore each technique, you can watch the thought process as she cleverly weaves in transcripts from one of her courses. This can at times be a little tedious, however if it's not relevent it's easy to skip to the next section, without feeling you've missed anything.
So, would I recommend this book? Yes, absolutely. For me it's the best joke writing book I have ever read; but be warned, once you get started, you'll find yourself waking in the night, desperate to get all the ideas popping into your head down on paper.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read quite a few books that supposedly teach you how to write comedy but in the end they're often just a tiresome compendium of the author's anecdotes of (once) working in the industry. This book is different. It's totally focused on getting you writing from the get-go and there are lots of different exercises to try and inspire you. Some worked better than others for me but it's worth the price of the book for the Joke Webs section alone. I love this method!!
Even if you think you have no idea how to start writing gags this book seems to show you a way to get started - after that it's all up to you to keep going. Although it's main focus appears to be writing material for stand-up or topical shows there's quite a bit of good advice that'll help with writing a sitcom (which is my main area of interest). The only thing I wasn't too keen on was some of the drawings in the book - particularly the weird geriatric hands!! (when you read the book you'll see what I mean).
Alongside Evan S. Smith's Writing Television Sitcoms, an indispensable book.
Even if you think you have no idea how to start writing gags this book seems to show you a way to get started - after that it's all up to you to keep going. Although it's main focus appears to be writing material for stand-up or topical shows there's quite a bit of good advice that'll help with writing a sitcom (which is my main area of interest). The only thing I wasn't too keen on was some of the drawings in the book - particularly the weird geriatric hands!! (when you read the book you'll see what I mean).
Alongside Evan S. Smith's Writing Television Sitcoms, an indispensable book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A good read even if you are not into stand up comedy as it is entertaining and gives ideas for creative thought which is good for speech writing teaching or just trying to stay happy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Buy it!!
If you want a great book for generating ideas and galvanizing you into action buy this book. It's one of the most descriptive and inspiring books I've read on the subject to date. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Winter
You CAN teach an old dog new tricks.
Just finished reading this book and loved it.
I have been a pro comic for 37 years now and never heard of the joke web, tried it last few days and it really works to get... Read more
I have been a pro comic for 37 years now and never heard of the joke web, tried it last few days and it really works to get... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jeffrey Stevens
Advanced "Mind Maps", and then some, for inventing jokes
About 8 weeks ago I entered the humorous speech competition at the Eastbourne Speakers Club (UK). I tried to write some jokes using "Mind maps", and managed to win the 1st leg of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by keith
superb joke writing text
I highly recommend this book. It has given me a whole new set of tools for writing comedy. There iis even a case study of the authors writing week. Excellent.
Published 9 months ago by joke_writer
Best comedy book I have read
Jenny Eclair had single handidly made me question if women were designed for standup.
I take it all back
Great book for giving you a framework for writing gags. Read more
I take it all back
Great book for giving you a framework for writing gags. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Matt
Excellent Book
I have only one problem with this book. It makes joke writing a little bit to easy. Any fool could write jokes using this book. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mike Gunn
Nudges Your Joke Creativity and More Besides
I've been dipping in and out of The Serious Guide to Joke Writing for months now (it's been my kitchen reading companion). What's kept bringing me back are three things. Read more
Published 11 months ago by C Jackson
How to write gags in a few easy steps
You didn't think you could learn how to write jokes did you, but this book really makes it possible. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Brijm
some of its a bit old hat
I have only read about half of the book so far but a good chunk of it has been about writing comedy based on workd play and puns whihich is a bit old hat now I think
Published 15 months ago by E. Josiah
A classic is born
I value originality above almost any other quality so I often have mixed feelings about "how to" books, but this book is like the best walking shoes in that it helps me to get... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Prospecta
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