CREATE A SURPRISE The primary reason for keeping jokes as brief as possible is to maintain surprise. While an audience listens to a joke, unconsciously their minds dart ahead to anticipate the punchline. With enough time, unless it’s a gob-smacking surprise, they may work out where the joke is going. Brevity keeps the teller one…
Tag: Tim Ferguson
COMIC STORYTELLING
(Excerpt from, The Cheeky Monkey – Writing Narrative Comedy (Currency Press) “It’s hard enough to write a good drama; it’s much harder to write a good comedy; and it’s hardest of all to write a drama with comedy, which is what life is.” – Jack Lemmon COMIC STORYTELLING The demands of a classic comedy story…