FOLLOWING CHARACTERS

Characters drive stories, not the reverse. While apparently random and unexpected things occur in stories, most ‘inciting incidents’ (the event that gets the story moving) are not unique: the arrival of an unpopular relative, a tidal wave or a bag of money have all been done before. It’s how characters respond to these events that…

Mastering the Principles of Comedy

The principles of comedy are ancient. Like the problem-complication-resolution pattern of classic stories, funny stories, characters and dialogue generally adhere to simple principles. These are not formulae – they cannot tell us exactly what to do next – but they can define the spectrum of options available. Comedy’s principles relate to all types of humour,…