What Are You Laughing At?: A Comprehensive Guide to the Comedic Event
If you’re interested in creating written humor, check out The Joy of Work, Dilbert 2.0, and Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain! In those books I talk about the tricks and mechanics of writing humor.
Scott Adams • How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life
one overriding convention unites this mega-genre and distinguishes it from drama: Nobody gets hurt. In Comedy
Robert McKee • Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting
Most forms of humor attempt to raise or lower status of individuals via game-like structures, with defined roles and a structurally predictable script (the surprise comes from the content). There is always a jokester, a victim (which can be the same person by design or accident) and crucially, an audience. The victim may or may not be present. So t
... See moreVenkatesh Rao • The Gervais Principle: The Complete Series, with a Bonus Essay on Office Space (Ribbonfarm Roughs Book 2)
