Ever wanted to spice up your film with gut-busting puns or anecdotes? Is your latest comedy project not quite as funny as you’d like it to be?

Or maybe you are taking the first steps of writing down your jokes into usable scripts and dialogues. No matter who you’re trying to get a laugh out of D.B. Gilles can help you harness your humor in his book You’re Funny. Gilles covers and do’s and don’ts of comedy and how to best convey your jokes to audiences of all ages.

Interestingly, Gilles points out that it’s a lot harder to WRITE comedy than to be funny. However, he makes a lot of sense. Steve Allen is quoted as having said “ ‘It might take the average person 37 seconds to think of something funny to say, but that’s too long.’” Gilles will help you bridge the gap and get you thinking like a professional comedy writer.

The book is filled with quotes about humor and the strategy built behind being funny. Although many people may not like to hear it, Gilles explains that every script has the same basic set up. Comedy, however, allows for many incorporated differences. The key to being a successful comedy writer? Avoid clichés, stay informed, and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

With viewing and writing exercises, You’re Funny evokes structure, growth, and deep thought to help you emerge as hilarious as ever. Broken down into easy steps like your comedy genesis in a web blog to writing an outline for your first spec all the way to writing the full-length screenplay, Gilles will have you up and cracking jokes in the format that suits you most.

“Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.” – Francis Bacon

D.B. Gilles teaches comedy writing and screenwriting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is the author of The Screenwriter Within and The Portable Film School and is co-author of W. The First Hundred Days: A White House Journal. D.B. is also a script consultant and writing coach and writes the popular blog, Screenwriters Rehab.

Table of Contents:

Part I:
Two Jews Walk into a Bar: Comedy Writing Basics
Intro: Somebody Laughed
Chapter 1: Laughs, Giggles, Yucks, and Appreciative Nods
Chapter 2: If You’re out of Touch, You Won’t Get in the Door
Chapter 3: WWLD: The Genius of Larry David

Part 2:
Short Humor, Parody, and Satire
Chapter 4: Start Small with Short Humor and Blogs
Chapter 5: Getting in Touch with your Inner Oscar Wilde

Part 3:
Television: Sketch, Sitcom, and Late Night

Chapter 6: Writing Sketches
Chapter 7: Bits, Jokes, and Monologues
Chapter 8: The Sitcom Spec Script
Chapter 9: Writing Your First Spec Script
Chapter 10: Writing your First Pilot
Chapter11: Turning your Pilot Idea into a Script
 
Part 4:
Stand-up: the Unique World of Stand-up Comics
Chapter 12: Going It Alone
 
Part 5:
Screenwriting

Chapter 13: Writing Short Comedy
Chapter 14: Writing the Full-Length Comedy Screenplay
Chapter 15: Always Leave them Laughing
About the Author

ISBN-10: 1932907955 
ISBN-13: 9781932907957 
Publication date: May 1, 2011 
Language: English
Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches 

Associate Editor, Amanda Lynn Porter has been involved in many aspects of video/film production. Starting a video production class at her middle school in eighth grade, Amanda has always enjoyed every aspect of videography. After producing many in-school productions, including a daily newscast, Amanda branched out and began directing and producing commercials and short films for law firms, intermediate school districts, and various associations throughout Michigan.

Most recently, Amanda worked for Michael Moore on his latest documentary: Capitalism: A Love Story.