Excllent compact guide.
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This book was recommended to me by a BBC producer when I started trying to write comedy. Yes it's simplistic, but it works. JV gives you a brilliant method for developing characters and plots. I still dip into it now and again when I'm struggling with something. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It's a nice slim volume rather than a big fat tome, too. Which is nice.
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Great ideas on structure for *all* writers.
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This and Vorhaus's other book on writing, "Creativity Rules" have been invaluable in helping me write more shapely fiction and I immediately recommend them to anyone who tells me they want to write, too.
His ideas on story structure are presented in a fun and funny way, but whenever I approach other books on writing I feel like Vorhaus got there first with this light little book, before all the guys with their deeply important mythic cycle breezeblock-workbooks hung around their necks -- and he got there with a smile on his face.
His principles on comedy in this book have given me what feels like X-ray vision when it comes to watching popular culture of any kind. This is someone who's been paying close attention to how story, humour, and thinking work, and he's given us all his crib notes.
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A big help but use it wisely
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Doreen has never been a confident public speaker but last summer she was faced with the daunting challenge of delivering a speech in a local debate. 'This house believes that prostitution should be legalised' was never going to be an easy motion to put to a Christian faith-group. Apparently she surmised that the only chance to get the audience on her side would be through the use of humour. Not a bad idea, I'll warrant, but Doreen (physical characteristics aside) has never been a particularly funny woman. I bought this excellent guidebook in order to help but I fear that she failed to exploit its full potential. If she had even glanced over the explanations of word-play, misdirection and irony then it certainly didn't come across. Rather, I believe that she followed in the footsteps of Roy 'Chubby' Brown and confined her research to one particular facet of comedy.
Well, I don't think even Doreen had intended to turn the air quite so blue, but the warm-up gin and tonics went far beyond having a 'calming' influence. I fear that she was egged-on even further by vocal support from the elderly Mrs. Dewhurst. The isolated cries of approval were probably not the best way to gauge the sentiment of the room, if one considers that Mrs Dewhurst tends to punctuate even the most leisurely of Sunday sermons with bouts of raucous cheering. Needless to say, the speech was not met with the universal acclaim that Doreen had anticipated. Still, technically the debate can't be chalked up as a loss. The melee that broke out (after a particularly crass 'joke' that would have made Ron Jeremy blush) ended any chances of a civil vote being held.
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Excellent start to wannabe writers
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I have read and re-read this book in its entirety, and in my view is invaluable if you want to become a more confident writer/performer or just want to have a deeper understanding of what humour actually is. The author offers many exercises for the reader to complete. This built up my confidence and made me realise that you can make a whole bunch of boring and mundane parts of life into supremely comedy sequences.
First the basics of what makes us laugh are explained. The book then moves into defining how to make your comic characters and to forget about why you think a certain aspect is unfunny.
After this the book is split up into seperate sections depending on which field of comedy you wish to pursue, be it sitcom, sketch, stand-up, and, ahem, practical jokes (it is hard to show sarcasm through text).
The end of the book applies to every comedian, helping you to perfect your work, and ultimately selling your material.
Unfortunately the book is not prfect throughout. Most explainations of certain comic situations involve the use of a 1980's film or tv series, so if you are under the age of, say 25 like me (or, if you didn't watch American shows of the 80's) I would strongly suggest buying Mel Helitzer's Comedy Writing Secrets, 2005. Apart from this I strongly recommend this book, trust me you can't go wrong.
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WOW!
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This is a thoroughly recommended book. I used to struggle at parties for things to talk about, which used to make me feel awkward, this book has opened my eyes and now I can make humorous conversation.........a definite winner with the ladies.
As for the sitcom material, I've been giving it a go.
I feel funnier than I ever have....get this book
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