Writing Comedy

by Johnny Byrne

Comedy has always been one of the most high-profile, glamorous and potentially lucrative markets for scriptwriters, but it is also perceived as one of the hardest. In the fourth edition of this highly regarded handbook, John Byrne breaks down the basics of writing comedy into simple steps and shows you how to make the most of your own comedy writing talent and - just as importantly - your ability to market that talent.Here is a wealth of practical advice both on how to get your career off the ground and how to keep developing it. Whether you are writing comedy routines, sketches or sitcoms, and aiming your work at the page, the stage or the ever-expanding world of broadcasting, you will find something in this book to encourage, inform and inspire you.As with any art form, the basics of good comedy never go out of fashion. While the easy steps in this book are illustrated with examples of work by classic comedians old and new, you will also find useful advice on developing and adapting your work for the twenty-first century market, whether your aim is to promote your work online or simply to keep your gags fresh and topical in a world where the news changes by the minute and gets flashed around the world in seconds.

Genres: Writing

209 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super helpful!!

[Pippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a useful book, for anyone writing comedy. Having said that, it is more about the process of writing gags than anything else - so it doesn't really have the right title. If you want to do jokes for a radio station, or to do stand-up routines, this could be the right book for you. Like all writing skills, it is useful to add to your toolbox, whatever sort of comedy you are writing. I only gave it three stars because I felt a lot of it was quite waffly - but what there is is well explained.