Comedy Writing Self-Taught Workbook. Gene Perret

Exercise 63: Talk Spot

       Exercise 64: Become Your Mentor

       Exercise 65: Make It Tighter

       Exercise 66: Make It Tighter Still

       Part Four: Sketch Writing

       Exercise 67: Where Did It Come From?

       Exercise 68: That’s Where It Came From

       Exercise 69: My Life Is Made Up of Sketches

       Exercise 70: At the Movies

       Exercise 71: And the Story Goes

       Exercise 72: Classic Jokes

       Exercise 73: Words of Wisdom

       Exercise 74: That Really Bugs Me

       Exercise 75: Develop One

       Exercise 76: Hog-Tied Guests

       Exercise 77: Book Your Guests

       Exercise 78: Bigger Than Life

       Exercise 79: Boob Tube

       Exercise 80: Commercial Writing

       Exercise 81: There’s More to It Than That

       Exercise 82: Oh That’s Good

       Exercise 83: The Road Runner Sketch

       Exercise 84: The Silent Sketch

       Exercise 85: Words, Words, Words

       Exercise 86: All Good Things Must Come to an End

       Exercise 87: Curtain and Applause

       Part Five: Sitcom Writing

       Exercise 88: Pop Quiz

       Exercise 89: Open-Book Test

       Exercise 90: Who Says What?

       Exercise 91: What Could Possibly Happen?

       Exercise 92: Same with Sitcoms

       Exercise 93: Get Your Story Straight

       Exercise 94: Get Your Story Changed

       Exercise 95: Get Your Story Straight—Again

       Exercise 96: Another Questionnaire

       Exercise 97: Add Some Funny

       Exercise 98: Keep That Story Moving

       Exercise 99: Put Another Bump in the Road

       Exercise 100: On the Set

       Exercise 101: Make It Shorter

       Exercise 102: Write the “Bible”

       Exercise 103: Write Your Own “Bible”

       Exercise 104: Turn the Tables on Your Characters

       Exercise 105: It Can’t Get Any Worse

       Exercise 106: What’d You Say?

       Exercise 107: Switch

       Exercise 108: A Good Old Story

       Exercise 109: A Good Joke

       Exercise 110: A Good Old Cliché

       Exercise 111: That Really Irks Me

       Exercise 112: Finished Project

       Exercise 113: “A Martian Wouldn’t Say That”

       Exercise 114: “A Different Martian Wouldn’t Say That, Either”

       Exercise 115: Just Do It

       Foreword

      There are no shortcuts to success. After I won America’s Got Talent in 2007, people kept describing me as an overnight success while conveniently forgetting to mention I had spent over twenty years on the road working on my ventriloquism, singing and comedy.

      But trust me, I wasn’t born throwing my voice. It’s an ability I developed, but it took a long time. Luckily I had a master to learn from and a book he had written—it was Paul Winchell’s Ventriloquism for Fun and Profit. When I was ten years old I checked it out of the library and started learning about ventriloquism. So thanks to Paul I became a ventriloquist. But that’s only half the story. As I worked on my act I noticed that having the skill to throw your voice is one thing; having something funny to say is another. Luckily I found another book. I know what you’re thinking—someone in show business actually read two books! But it’s true. It was by Gene Perret and it was called Comedy Writing Step By Step. I started doing the exercises, learning from the master, and added comedy to my act.

      Bottom line—I’m a headliner at the Mirage because I could rely on the two best teachers in the world in Paul and Gene. And Gene is still teaching. He and his daughter Linda, who is one of my writers, have come up with the one definitive guide comedy writers need, the book you’re holding in your hands or reading on your Kindle, Comedy Writing Self-Taught Workbook: More than 100 Practical Writing Exercises to Develop Your Comedy Writing Skills.

      This is the book you need if you are a good comedy writer who wants to get better, a novice who wants to begin, or even an established performer who wants to learn from the best. Trust me, even though I’ve got a show at the Mirage, I’ll be using this as a guide to improve my act and make it better and funnier.

      So I hope you enjoy the book and the Perrets’ brilliance as much as I do. Now start reading and keep writing!

      —Terry Fator

       Introduction

      Writers write. That’s what we do. As comedy writers, we generate funny material and receive a paycheck in return. It’s a great system. And it’s what makes us professionals. But like the skills of any pro, those needed to earn that paycheck have to be honed, sharpened, and perfected. Even then, once you develop those skills, you must keep them in shape. All that comes about by writing.

      That’s the purpose of this book—to present exercises that you can use to keep your comedy muscles toned and, who knows, maybe even develop a few that you didn’t know you had.

      Good comedy should appear spontaneous and natural—but don’t be deceived. Comedy writing is hard work. It would be terrific if you could spend an afternoon reading this book and then magically become a great professional writer. It just doesn’t happen that way, darn it. You have to devote time and effort to it. You have to work at it.

      The exercises in this book are challenging. They’re designed to be. As they say in the world of physical exercise, “No pain; no gain.” We want you to huff and puff a little bit. We want to get you out of your comfort zone. Because “out of your comfort zone” is where you develop new skills. And the more you work at these unfamiliar techniques, the easier they become to you.

      Comedy writing is fun, but it has its headaches at times. As a professional writer, you will be asked to supply material quickly, on topics you may not be familiar with and sometimes under less than desirable circumstances. Now is the time to prepare for that sort of pressure. After completing the exercises in this book, you’ll be ready to face these situations. You’ve already conquered the tough challenges here, so you know you can do it.

      A pro golfer