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Craig rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Serious Guide to Joke Writing by Sally Holloway

Serious Guide to Joke Writing: How to Say Something Funny about Anything
by Sally Holloway

read in April, 2013

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I'm not sure anyone serious about entering the world of stand-up (or other comedy writing) would necessarily be reading this book. But then that isn't the only audience that may find it interesting. Even as an 'fascinated audience member' it can be f...more I'm not sure anyone serious about entering the world of stand-up (or other comedy writing) would necessarily be reading this book. But then that isn't the only audience that may find it interesting. Even as an 'fascinated audience member' it can be fun to think a bit further about what kind of processes a comic *may* have used to get to the joke you've just seen on stage.

Holloway presents a series of practical methods and exercises that may assist you in the writing process. Starting with Puns and wordplay (including exercises going through newspaper stories selecting interesting words and working with them) through allowing your brain some time-off for 'background processing' and then creating 'joke webs' (mind maps and word association based on a topic). The 'colliding' of these webs is probably the final practical exercise that doesn't necessarily rely on a particular 'talent' - whereby the creator of joke maps attempts to join two ostensibly unrelated maps to find common ground to riff on.

It is after these chapters that it really becomes clear that even with a series of step by step actions to take there still needs to be an element of experience, talent, magic (whatever you'd like to call it) in the mix. Surrealist inquisition (looking at the problem from a diverse variety of positions) and 'Honing' (to a much stronger extent) rely upon the joke author creating a rhythm, timing, framing and elaboration/extension of the joke to make it something that would stand up for use with a general audience.

Of course the performer would also require a charm and stage presence. Tim Vine, for example, relies heavily on puns.. but the reason they work is his delivery and mixing them up with surrealist songs and skits not what could be described as rather basic puns.

Holloway ends with a case study of her own whereby she, in diary style, describes her involvement in writing a routine for a corporate gig.

Interesting and worth a read perhaps more so as a means of directing creativity in any form not just joke writing. Will you be the next Jimmy Carr or Sarah Millican? probably not but you'll be armed with a few techniques to get you on your way.(less)

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A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

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Craig rated a book 4 of 5 stars Serious Guide to Joke Writing: How to Say Something Funny about Anything by Sally Holloway read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I'm not sure anyone serious about entering the world of stand-up (or other comedy writing) would necessarily be reading this book. But then that isn't the only audience that may find it interesting. Even as an 'fascinated audience member' it can be f...more
07 avr. 11:55 · see review
Craig is currently reading: Back Story by David Mitchell	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21 oct. 15:13
Craig rated a book 3 of 5 stars Bossypants by Tina Fey read in August, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21 oct. 15:11
Craig rated a book 4 of 5 stars How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran read in July, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14 juil. 05:07
Craig added: A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5) by George R.R. Martin read in May, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11 mai 12:41
Craig added: A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4) by George R.R. Martin	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11 mai 12:38
Craig added: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3) by George R.R. Martin read in April, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30 avr. 01:12
Craig added: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) by George R.R. Martin read in April, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10 avr. 05:36
Craig added: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin read in April, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10 avr. 05:35
Craig liked Zlatan Halilovic's review of HTML5 For Web Designers: " I really don't want to be a party pooper, but I must say that I learned more about HTML5 by reading a couple of blog articles on the subject here and there. The only new things I actually learned is that the anchor element can now act as a block-l... " Read more of this review »
29 mar. 15:11 · see review

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