Tag: jokes
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How to Write a Joke
There are formulas for writing jokes. Experienced joke writers go through a systematic process to turn something like a news item into a sentence or two that will make people laugh. You may have heard that “Writing is rewriting.” That describes only part of the process. Writing a joke is first thinking of what to…
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Seth Meyers Did Not Steal My Joke
Ideas get stolen in show business all the time but less often than you might think. I teach a class in comedy writing for late-night TV. A couple of nights ago I was giving my students some practice in turning newspaper articles into monologue jokes. Toward the end of the session I mentioned an article…
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How to Create Funny Products
Short-form comedy, the kind on comedy/talk shows, often turns up in consumer products. That’s why the same writing techniques used on late-night shows can also be used to create funny products like tee-shirts, bumper stickers, and novelty gifts. For example, here’s how I used late-night comedy writing techniques to create two greeting cards that the…