An Excerpt from ‘The Cheek Monkey – Writing Narrative Comedy‘ [Currency Press] Comedy demands simplicity. If it takes ten seconds to work out the meaning of a punchline, you won’t get a laugh; the audience has already moved on. Clarity is key. But don’t be fooled—simplicity ain’t easy. Many a comedy writer has come unstuck…
Category: Blog
Humour and Story
[Excerpt from ‘The Cheeky Monkey – Writing Narrative Comedy’ by Tim Ferguson] “Gags die. Humour doesn’t.” —Jack Benny The driving force behind narrative comedy is character. Comedy deriving from character underpins many gag principles. American playwright Neil Simon boasted that he wrote his comedies without ever writing one joke. Without starting a debate about his…