Books on Humor Writing

[T.Allen.Smith]

I'm looking for recommendations on resources that teach humor writing.

To be specific, I don't want to write comedies. I just want to interject humor into my storytelling.

The post title says books because I learn well from reading & rereading. However, any resources you'd recommend would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Heliotrope]

Hey T.Allan, I found this book fantasic. Tons of food for thought. It is geared towards screen writers (particularily sit coms or scetch writers), but the tactics for developing comedic characters were excellent.

How to write Comedy Characters - Kindle edition by Paul Milham. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Okay, so this isn't a book on comedy, and it's not very instructive, but it's quite funny, and it can serve as an example of how to inject some humor in your writing: 21 actual analogies used by high school students in essays - Album on Imgur

It's a bunch of really bad analogies, but they can serve as a good example on how to achieve a comical effect by contrasting things that are normally not related to each other.

 

[Bekka King]

Two additional resources might be helpful. Neither specifically "teach" humor writing, but very creatively demonstrate the use of humor in the course of presenting material:

1) Stephen King's book "On Writing." Probably available at your local library.

2) Billy Crystal's 2014 "movie" entitled "700 Sundays." It's a two-hour self-reflective stand-up comedy routine. He's so popular that my local library has it. Maybe your library carries it, too?

Bekka

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

1) Stephen King's book "On Writing." Probably available at your local library.

I've read this book several times, but I don't remember any reference to humor.

I'll have to take another look.

 

[Bekka King]

To clarify, it's not that the book is written with references to humor. Rather, it is humorously written. I find the anecdotes he tells and the way he tells them to be hilariously funny, thereby a demonstration of funny writing.