Comedy Resources

It has been relatively difficult to find many sources (or at least scholarly ones) on comedy, and especially sketch comedy. For some reason, people don't feel the need to write about it. However, I have found some books of comedy techniques and how to write for TV and that sort of thing. The book I am looking through right now is called "The New Comedy Writing". It is written by Gene Perret who used to write jokes for Phyllis Diller and other television shows.

What he has said is that comedy, like anything else, can be improved through practice. He also gives examples of what a comedy writer should do to help their writing. For instance, he says that writers should be able to proficient with language, since most jokes come from words. The better you are with words, and their meanings, the better your jokes could be. He also says you should be able to visualize and scan your surroundings for jokes.

Some of this may sound straight forward, but he does a great job of explaining why it is useful (something i probably haven't done). These are things I normally do anyway, but it is refreshing to hear someone say this, especially who has become a big shot in the comedy writing game. It makes me feel that I'm on the right track.