Writing Comedy

by Johnny Byrne

This updated edition looks at all the latest markets for comedy writers, with new material on writing 'The Office' style docu-comedies, writing for children's TV, and even how to try out your own jokes in stand-up comedy routines. Comedy has blossomed into one of the most high profile and glamorous areas of the entertainment industry but it is often perceived as one of the hardest writing jobs. In the third edition of this highly regarded handbook, John Byrne breaks down the basics of writing comedy into simple steps and shows how to make the most of your writing talent and your ability to market that talent.

Genres: Writing

168 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lexi]

Super helpful!!

[Pippa]

This was quite a useful book, for anyone writing comedy. Having said that, it is more about the process of writing gags than anything else - so it doesn't really have the right title. If you want to do jokes for a radio station, or to do stand-up routines, this could be the right book for you. Like all writing skills, it is useful to add to your toolbox, whatever sort of comedy you are writing. I only gave it three stars because I felt a lot of it was quite waffly - but what there is is well explained.