And Here's The Kicker: Conversations With 21 Top Humor Writers On Their Craft And The Industry (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
The most surprising thing about this book is how many amazing writers this guy got to talk to him... it's like a who's who of humor writers. The interviews themselves were fairly interesting, but they weren't particularly useful as a humor writer in the internet age... as someone who doesn't spend any time in the show business world, I'm not likely to ever get into humor writing via stand-up or television. These are later steps: there wasn't much in here for the internet-inclined.Which is fine. It's a relatively new medium and there aren't any online legends yet. Give it ten years. But like a lot of writing, media, and communications career, what was most clear - and what was the main takeaway from this book - was that there's no "right" way to get into humor writing. It'll probably happen if you're extremely talented, but it might now. So while I enjoyed reading this (particularly the between-chapter tips, which were incredibly useful), Neil Gaiman's "dandelions" speech about modern writing still remains more useful as a humor writer in the modern age than most of the stuff I read in this book. You know what? Not everybody is funny. Talking about humor isn’t usually very funny. The introduction of this book features a quote from E.B. White that says “analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.” While this book features much sage advice for people in the comedy writing business, it is also a collection of stories from some of the greats in the business. If you enjoy things like Marc Maron’s WTF podcasts, where he sits down with comedians and chats for an hour or so twice a week, then pick this book up. Very light reading and you will laugh.
What do You think about And Here's The Kicker: Conversations With 21 Top Humor Writers On Their Craft And The Industry (2009)?
Kindle version formatting was a bit odd in places, but overall an interesting read.
—van
One of the least entertaining books about comedy I've ever attempted to read.
—shammma
Some great war stories from past and present masters of the craft.
—cameront2
An insightful look at the art of comedy from the pros.
—Nora
I thought that this book would be... funnier.
—Wardy
