The Comedy Writer’s Companion

Description

THE COMPANION EVERY COMEDY WRITER NEEDS

Here it is, everything you’ve ever wanted to know about writing comedy for page, stage or screen, all bundled up in one tasty, tidy (and extremely attractively priced) omnibus edition. As a worthy companion to the author’s COMIC TOOLBOX, this book promises to take a prominent place on your bookshelf or e-reading queue, and to become heartily dog-eared (or digitally dog-eared) through repeated use and reference. It’s the last word on comedy writing from the guy who wrote the first word. You’ll find out – you’ll know soon enough: it reads easy, lands laughs and oozes generosity of spirit.  Read the book, do the fun exercises and watch your comic creativity explode.

This book is an amazing omnibus edition, containing the complete-and-updated texts of COMEDY WRITING FOR LIFE plus THE LITTLE BOOK OF SITCOM plus THE LITTLE BOOK OF STANDUP plus A BUNCH OF NEW CONTENT. Cripes, that’s like four books in one, and at just $15, that’s like… let’s do the math… $3.75 per book. Such a bargain! Such a deal! Such a life-changing book for the thriving comedy writer in you.

Want a taste? Here’s a taste.

 

THE HIGH AND THE BUZZ

What do you reckon is the difference between an artist and a celebrity? Obviously an artist can be a celebrity and a celebrity can be an artist, but when they are not the same, how are they not the same? I have a theory (it’s about ten minutes old) that an artist derives pleasure from the creator’s high and a celebrity derives pleasure from the performer’s buzz.

Is this true of everyone? I don’t know. I only know that it’s true for me. When I am alone with my work and sunk deep in my words, I feel sanguine and relaxed; my controlling hormone is dopamine. When I am taking bows, I feel jacked and stimulated; my controlling hormone is adrenaline. These are both pleasing sensations to me, but they are not the same.

It’s fair to say that I’ve always been wary of the performer’s buzz. It’s so intense but so unreliable. When they like you and love you, you feel great, but when they don’t, you crash. It’s hard to take pride in a job well done (the creator’s high) when outer reality (the audience) doesn’t seem to be on board.

What we’re really looking at is the difference between validation and approval. Many of us do not have the power to validate from within, especially when we’re just starting out The only way we can feel good about ourselves is by collecting approval from others.

This can be a problem.

When you validate from within, you have responsibility for, and full ownership of, your self-image and emotional well-being. You feel great because you see yourself doing what you want to be doing, doing it well, and reaping the rewards of accomplishment and growth.

But if you rely on the approval of others, you are outsourcing ownership of your ego to people who are not you. You can only feel great when they tell you that you are great – and of course, this is something that they will not do all the time.

In fact, you can’t really count on them doing it much at all, because most of the time they’re just not paying that much attention. That’s why it’s a trap to get hooked on the approval of others. You just can’t trust your supply.

But what if you’re a famous celebrity getting all the approval you need? Can’t you feed off that and satisfy yourself? Maybe… until the thought creeps in that if people look up to you it’s because they’re so far below you. Approval is not worth anything if you don’t respect the source. So you end up saying, like Groucho Marx, “I don’t care to belong to any club that would have me for a member.”

Once again we see that seeking approval leaves us sort of stuck. But we can get unstuck just by reminding ourselves that we have a choice. We can keep trying to collect approval like frequent flyer miles, or we can do some introspection, come to terms with ourselves, and develop a sustainable self-supply of validation.

To start this introspection, note the difference between thinking you’re not worthy and knowing you’re not worthy. When we think we’re not worthy, we feel like a fraud, and fear to be found out. But when we know we’re not worthy – that we’re just the recipient of marvelous gifts like talent, drive, smarts and life itself – then we can sit much more comfortably in our own skin.

This might look like a philosophical matter to you, or perhaps a psychological or spiritual one. To me it’s just practical: If I want to operate well in all circumstances, then I need to know myself and accept myself completely. I can’t do that if I’m hooked on your approval or anyone’s approval. So I make the choice to set myself free from all that. It’s not a big deal. It’s just a matter of saying, “I get to decide how I feel about me.”

So that’s a question: How do you feel about you and what steps can you take to take control of all that? I can think of two: think more deeply and have more outcomes. These steps will certainly make your life rise, and the higher your life rises, the easier it becomes to do the necessary work of validating from within.