5 books you need for Comedy Writing
“You’re either born with it or you’re not” a phrase often used when discussing comedy. Well, let me start by saying that is pure unadulterated bollocks.
Yeah, some people can make their friends and others laugh from a young age but actually writing comedy is a whole different ball game. Oh and if you're thinking that some professionally funny people don't write their stuff you're wrong. You may come across comedians that say they don't write their material and that it all comes from the top of their head (a dubious claim to begin with) take it with a pinch of salt. Even when editing ideas in your head and not on paper, to some degree that is writing.
Skills can be taught, developed and nurtured and writing is a skill. I truly believe that anyone can write comedy if they work on it and luckily for the budding sketch writer, stand up or filmmaker there are some great resources to help.
The first book that helped me was Logan Murray’s Get Started In Stand Up Comedy.
Logan packs this little gem of a book with creative exercises you can either play on your own or with others. The emphasis throughout the book is that creativity comes from play, sometimes as adults, we lose the ability to play but not to worry Logan has got your back.
Personally, when I first picked the book up I took myself and the actual act of writing as some sort of serious business. Go easy on yourself, be silly and I guarantee you will get the best out of the exercises.
Quick note, the title of the book has been updated in the link below but it is still the same quality and worthwhile investment.
The second book in this list is a stalwart of comedy writing stateside, Judy Carter’s Comedy Bible.
The Comedy Bible taught me the importance of attitude within a joke. The attitudes the author focuses on are Scary, Weird, Hard or Stupid, it is a great way of getting new comedians to approach joke writing.
Something another the Comedy Bible helped with is word economy. Judy is very good at teaching joke structure and the reader soon learns the importance of finishing on the punch line and what to say afterwards (such as tag ons, that is comedy speak you see)
The third book on this list is Stephen Rosenfield’s Mastering Stand Up Comedy.
Stephen runs the American Comedy Institue in New York, a Place I was planning on visiting before Covid. The book is that good I was willing to get on a plane all the way from London, England to New York just for Rosenfield’s intensive stand up course. 256 pages and the journey is 3451 miles that equals out at 13 miles of travel for every page, not bad.
Mastering Stand Up covers every aspect a stand up will encounter from beginning at open mics to finding an agent, to finally getting paid gigs. Stephen goes over the importance of authenticity in a comedians act as well as joke structure. It is a great read but also a quality audiobook too. The author does one of those rare things by recording it himself so you know his exact tone which I found quite helpful.
Number 4 in the list is How to KILL in Comedy by Steve North. The book literally contains the secret formulas for over 20 types of joke. What I found really helpful are the little exercises the author gets you to do before going into the structure of a joke. I haven't read another comedy book that breaks it down as straightforward as Steve North does.
Ok, Number 5 on the list and I’m hesitating to type the name of the book. Not because I think the book isn't good enough but because it is that good I don't want to share its knowledge with others. Playfully Inappropriate by Jared Volle is blooming marvellous as my cockney forefathers would say.
There is an old saying that goes “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.” Jared Volle manages to dissect humour and offer a theory as to why we laugh and then explains how to apply it to your own stories, it's the bloody holy grail! Stop reading this now and just buy it seriously I can't say anymore, why are you still here?
For those of you that made it to the bottom of the article, I have a bonus book to recommend. Brian Luff’s Writing Performing and Selling Comedy. The reason this book isn't in the list above is that I have only just got it but I’m already 3 quarters of the way through and I’m seriously impressed. For those thinking of writing an Edinburgh Fringe type show, this is perfect! A must-have for budding sketch writers.