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on December 10, 2013
I don't believe that anyone can teach a person how to be funny.
I believe funny is a combination of natural talent and experience.
However, I do believe that people who have studied an art form and people who have lived that art form can teach those new to the craft some important lessons. I've found the lessons in this book to be worth the investment. I'll grant I'm not a huge fan of the format (workbook) - and being a little skeptical of the exercises - I initially ignored them.
That changed upon reading a scathing review of a comic's show at a unrelated website. The review covered some of the comic's fundamental mistakes and these happened to be the very mistakes Judy's lessons were trying to teach me how to avoid. I went back and started doing some of the exercises (premise writing) that I was initially convinced were a waste of time and I began to see why they were valuable.
Now I find myself re-reading portions of the premise writing lessons.
Very nice introductory text.
I believe funny is a combination of natural talent and experience.
However, I do believe that people who have studied an art form and people who have lived that art form can teach those new to the craft some important lessons. I've found the lessons in this book to be worth the investment. I'll grant I'm not a huge fan of the format (workbook) - and being a little skeptical of the exercises - I initially ignored them.
That changed upon reading a scathing review of a comic's show at a unrelated website. The review covered some of the comic's fundamental mistakes and these happened to be the very mistakes Judy's lessons were trying to teach me how to avoid. I went back and started doing some of the exercises (premise writing) that I was initially convinced were a waste of time and I began to see why they were valuable.
Now I find myself re-reading portions of the premise writing lessons.
Very nice introductory text.
on February 10, 2017
This is one of the most helpful and actionable books I have read so far about joke writing. It really helps you get into a good space to brainstorm and then bring all the pieces together. Since reading this description of joke structure -- I've been able to outline it in a ton of comedians acts. I also highly recommend Steve Kaplan's "Hidden Tools of Comedy" - for writing scenes.
on July 28, 2015
great book! yes, it does sound like someone is trying to impose cliche methods of thinking on an aspiring comic, but hey, as judy wisely points out, it's necessary to learn the structure of the craft. so i would say, once you do learn the craft, you can move away from judy's cliches and find your voice. i mean, i see no serious harm in agreeing to think about comedy in judy's break-it-down terms for a while... the book definitely helped me!
on March 2, 2017
Great book. Helped me to be more structured and analytical in my comedy writing in a way that helped me be more creative.
on September 2, 2016
If you are toying with the idea of learning standup as a hobby or possibly a career, this is a great book to give you things to learn and ways to prepare for testing yourself and your material to see if anyone laughs. You learn from this book both a theory of what comedy is and how to get started. Comedy is a very creative process and it can be fun and rewarding. For most comedians the rewards are not becoming the next Seinfeld but spending some time thinking about what bugs you or is important to you and developing a performance that kills. Some of the examples in the book may be dated, but so am I.
on September 25, 2014
The best book I've read that gives clear guidelines on how to put together a stand-up set. I honestly never thought I would be able to do it, but I followed all the instructions and came up with decent stuff, performed it and had loads of fun. Highly recommended!
on August 29, 2015
Good graduation gift for fun-loving high school grad who is still undecided on career.
on January 14, 2017
Fairly helpful and insightful. Encouraging.
on July 14, 2015
I wholly regret buying this book. First, it's a self-help book. I started getting doubts on how Judy Carter's grasp of comedy after reading through the first chapter and suffering through some of the hackiest jokes I've read. I highly recommend watching her stand up, just to inform you of the type of material you'll be taught. The author includes a section on hack, and clearly has no idea what it means (Advice to the author: If you're writing a joke to a pre-conceived formula, it's probably hack). One item mentioned here is to not tell stories, as you shouldn't talk about things unique to yourself. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard and discounts so many amazing comics- Louis C.K., Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney, etc. (The trick is making stories about things like having rare sleeping disorders relatable to the common man in a roundabout way). The problem is that this book offers an oversimplified view of comedy. Alternative comedy is completely disregarded. This book is for you if you want to write very basic humor that appeals to people in a lowest common denominator way.
I gave the book two stars because it does contain some mildly valuable industry advice if you want to go that route, such as issues with agents and writing sitcoms, but one has to wonder how successful this can make you, considering her career in comedy.
I gave the book two stars because it does contain some mildly valuable industry advice if you want to go that route, such as issues with agents and writing sitcoms, but one has to wonder how successful this can make you, considering her career in comedy.
