Writing good comedy isn't necessarily about being able to write 'something funny', as Steve Kaplan explains in this book.
As regular readers will know, I've taken up listening to audiobooks on my intercity drives. Rather than my usual fare of self improvement or business books, 'The Hidden Tools of Comedy' is an exploration of something completely different - writing comedy.
The book is based Kaplan's experience teaching comedy workshops to writers, directors and actors. It includes a discussion of the history and theory of comedy, as well as practical tools for helping comedy writers to improve their scripts and books.
The book uses case studies to demonstrate what does and doesn't work in comedy writing. Scenes from 'Big' and 'Groundhog Day' are frequently held up as examples of good writing, while the bad writing examples were typically from movies I'd never heard of.
One of the key concepts that underpins the book is what Kaplan refers to as '"the comedy equation".
The Comedy Equation: An ordinary guy or gal struggling against insurmountable odds without many of the required skills and tools with which to win yet never giving up hope.
Writing a comedy has never been on my to-do list. However the comedy equation, and the other tools Kaplan explores, have given me a new perspective on the comedy. It still may not be something I write myself, but it's given me a way to better understand why some scenes work, and some scenes (or whole movies) are a bad cringe from beginning to end.
I'd recommend this book for writers, or anyone interested in the how and why of what makes comedy work.
