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Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense

By (author) Elliott Kalan

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normal price: R 719.95

Price: R 647.95

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| book description |

The winner of four Emmys, a Peabody, and two Writers Guild Awards (all of which badly need dusting) explains his process for writing comedy without going insane. Â Philosophers may debate the meaning of comedy (thankfully keeping them too busy to fall into a life of crime), but the rest of us are more likely to wonder how we can make an audience laughâ€”or at least, how to entertain our friends and followers. According to award-winning comedy writer Elliott Kalan, we need to stop staring out the window, waiting for hilarious bits to stroll into view, fully formed. What we need is a process to plant their premises, tend to their structure and wording, and ultimately harvest them as funny material. In short, a farm. But for jokes. Â In Joke Farming, Kalan explains that itâ€™s easier to write jokes when you have a dependable method for doing so. All jokes, he argues, are built from the same elements: structure, premise, voice, tone, wording, and audienceâ€”and these elements can be applied to any comedic genre, from stand-up to sitcoms to satire. Kalan analyzes examples from his own careerâ€”including jokes that he wrote (and rewrote and rewrote and rewrote . . . ) as head writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewartâ€”as well as material from a diverse array of comedians, writers, and filmmakers, highlighting the phrasing, rhythm, and precise details that make their work so dang funny. Â Drawing on his experiences in professional writersâ€™ rooms as well as episodes from everyday life, Kalanâ€™s guide to jokes will appeal to aspiring writers, their mentors, comedy fans, and anyone who has to speak at a wedding. Joke Farming points the way toward a writing process that lessens stress and agony and yields more reliable rewards: a surprising tagline, a hilarious word choice, andâ€”most importantlyâ€”a bigger laugh from the audience, whoever they may be.