How to Funny in 25 words or none.
My Youngest Brother wrote Luka and I an email to thank us for his birthday present, which was cool. He's a great guy (best man at our wedding, and all that). But he kinda dropped a bomb on me in the second half of the email:
Oh well, anyway I got a question for ya. How do you write a joke? People say I'm funny (which always furrows my brow) but all I got are one-liners and witty retorts. If I'm gonna try to pursue a career in comic strips I need to know some good formulas or something.
Damn. Where the bloody blue bucket of borscht do you start with a question like that? I have at least five, perhaps more, books on comedy writing. I've got interviews on comedy from people like Woody Allen, Seinfeld and Carlin. I even took a stand-up comedy class (which proved that some people, even with four months of preparation, have no business getting on stage). You'd think that with that much compiled info on a subject, I'd be some sort of expert, right?
Yeah, well iffin' I wuz so durn smart when it comes ta funny, yuhd think I'd be makin' a livin' yockin' it up instead of deliverin' shit.
All the same, it's flattering that he'd ask me, and seeing as it's him who's asking, I don't want to let him down. I could recommend or send him one of the books I've found helpful in the past, but a lot of these books disagree on the basics (i.e. "Anybody can be funny" vs. "Comedy can't be taught"). If I were to seriously sit down and write out what it takes to crank out humor (Ha-ha! serious humor! Snort!), I doubt it would fit into your standard email, much less be understandable.
But I do so much want to support this guy in his comic strip desire. I'll have to ask him if I can post some of his drawings, because this guy has a hilarious way with a pen! He's been the family artist ever since he was an anklebiter. Every year he draws his own Christmas cards that are brilliantly bizarre, if not just plain wrong . . . the highlight of my holiday season, usually. I'd love to see him doing a comic, so I should come through for him. It's just . . . great garsh-o-mighty, where do you start?
Okay, let's start with a definition or two:
Humor - Something that causes amusement or laughter.
Comedy - Causing amusement or laughter intentionally.
I'll have to see where I can take it from there.
Oh well, anyway I got a question for ya. How do you write a joke? People say I'm funny (which always furrows my brow) but all I got are one-liners and witty retorts. If I'm gonna try to pursue a career in comic strips I need to know some good formulas or something.
Damn. Where the bloody blue bucket of borscht do you start with a question like that? I have at least five, perhaps more, books on comedy writing. I've got interviews on comedy from people like Woody Allen, Seinfeld and Carlin. I even took a stand-up comedy class (which proved that some people, even with four months of preparation, have no business getting on stage). You'd think that with that much compiled info on a subject, I'd be some sort of expert, right?
Yeah, well iffin' I wuz so durn smart when it comes ta funny, yuhd think I'd be makin' a livin' yockin' it up instead of deliverin' shit.
All the same, it's flattering that he'd ask me, and seeing as it's him who's asking, I don't want to let him down. I could recommend or send him one of the books I've found helpful in the past, but a lot of these books disagree on the basics (i.e. "Anybody can be funny" vs. "Comedy can't be taught"). If I were to seriously sit down and write out what it takes to crank out humor (Ha-ha! serious humor! Snort!), I doubt it would fit into your standard email, much less be understandable.
But I do so much want to support this guy in his comic strip desire. I'll have to ask him if I can post some of his drawings, because this guy has a hilarious way with a pen! He's been the family artist ever since he was an anklebiter. Every year he draws his own Christmas cards that are brilliantly bizarre, if not just plain wrong . . . the highlight of my holiday season, usually. I'd love to see him doing a comic, so I should come through for him. It's just . . . great garsh-o-mighty, where do you start?
Okay, let's start with a definition or two:
Humor - Something that causes amusement or laughter.
Comedy - Causing amusement or laughter intentionally.
I'll have to see where I can take it from there.