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November 21, 2009

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All Articles » Books » Comedy Writing Secrets, 2nd Edition

Comedy Writing Secrets, 2nd Edition

July 18, 2008
by Mel Helitzer with Mark Shatz

Examples from venerable comedy greats as well as cutting-edge contemporary comedians, including Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, and Tina Fey
A complete spectrum of techniques, from writing one-liners and stand-up routines, to finding a market for one's work
Step-by-step writing exercises accompanied with sample answers, so readers can practice and hone their skills

Buy book | Amazon | BN.com

Comedy Writing Secrets, 2nd Edition
How to Think Funny, Write Funny, Act Funny and Get Paid for It
by Mel Helitzer with Mark Shatz
Writer's Digest Books, 2005
ISBN 1-58297-357-1
$17.99 paperback, 352 pages

Read an Excerpt
From chapter 1, "The Importance of Humor Writing," learn the benefits of humor writing, find the path to humor writing success, and see what a life of comedy looks like.

About the Book
What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.
—Steve Martin

Become the funniest person in the room! With Comedy Writing Secrets, 2nd edition, you can master the fundamentals of humor writing and turn your comedic talent into a well-paying pursuit.

For more than a decade, Comedy Writing Secrets has been giving aspiring comedians a leg up on the competition. In this expanded new edition, Mel Helitzer, named the “funniest professor in the country” by Rolling Stone magazine, and funnyman Mark Shatz pack in even more insight and instruction, including:

Humor writing exercises to punch up your jokes
Methods for using humor in classroom settings
Extra information on writing for sitcoms and stand-up
Comedic brainstorming techniques using associations and listings
Exclusive tips for writing humor for specific markets like editorials, columns, speeches, advertising, greeting cards, t-shirts, and more

Plus, learn from hundreds of one-liners, humorous anecdotes, and bits from top comedians that expertly demonstrate traditional comedy writing techniques including plays on words, reverses, pairings, and triples. Look for jokes from the likes of Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Jerry Seinfeld, Lewis Black, Dennis Miller, Wanda Sykes, David Letterman, Dave Chappelle, Margaret Cho, Garry Shandling, Bill Maher, Erma Bombeck, Al Franken, Jay Leno, Lenny Bruce, Garrison Keillor, Dave Barry, Lily Tomlin, Jeff Foxworthy, Johnny Carson, Paul Rodriguez, Steve Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, George Carlin, Sarah Silverman, Art Gliner, Dave Attell, Denis Leary, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Lewis, Roseanne Barr, Billy Crystal, Gilda Radner, Woody Allen, Emo Phillips, Steven Wright, Groucho Marx, and others.

Tap into your comedic genius with Comedy Writing Secrets, 2nd edition, and you’ll always leave ’em laughing!

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