What Are You Laughing At?: How to Write Humor for Screenplays, Stories, and More

Description

"People have forgotten how to be funny," says Chris Vogler in his foreword to What Are You Laughing at? Luckily, experienced and award-winning humor writer Brad Schreiber is here to remind us all how it's done. If laughter is the best medicine, be prepared to feel fit as a fiddle after perusing these pages. Brad's clever wit and well-timed punch lines are sure to leave you grasping your sides, while his wise advice will ensure that you're able to follow in his comedic footsteps. With more than seventy excerpts from such expert prose and screenwriters as Woody Allen, Steve Martin, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., as well as unique writing exercises for all situations, this comprehensive tutorial will teach you how to write humor prose for any literary form, including screenwriting, story writing, theater, television, and audio adio. Additionally, readers are given sage advice on different tactics for writing comedic fiction versus comedic nonfiction. Some of the topics discussed include: Life experience versus imagination How to use humor to develop theme/setting, character, and dialogue Rhythm and sound of words Vulgarity and bad taste How to market your humor prose in the digital market Thoroughly revised and updated, and with new information on writing short, humorous films, What Are You Laughing at? is your endless source to learning the art of comedy.

Brad Schreiber has worked as a writer in all forms of media. He has sold and optioned screenplays, was nominated for the Kingman Films KASA Award for his script The Couch, and has won awards from the Edward Albee Foundation, the California Writers Club, STAGES Theater Festival, and the National Audio Theater Festival. He teaches humor writing for the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and screenwriting for Columbia College of Chicago at CBS Studio Center. He is also the author of Weird Wonders and Blunders.