Inside Jokes: A Comedy and Creativity Guide for All Writers -- Elissa Bassist, Paperback
A step-by-step practical guide to all types of comedy writing, filled with invaluable advice, exercises, interviews, tools, and jokes that will turn anyone into a funnier writer and person, from authors/editors/teachers/perfect 10s Elissa Bassist and Caitlin Kunkel. Comedy writing is hard. Or is it? Not with Inside Jokes. Inside Jokes is a masterclass in a book that teaches you how to write anything funnier, from short humor to essays to psychiatric in-take forms. Each chapter has technical and practical advice to turn comedy outsiders into insiders, comedy readers into writers, and nonfunny nonwriters into funny writers. Included at no extra cost: interviews with professional comedy writers, brainstorming and writing exercises, prompts, and assignments that will take your writing from nonexistent to shitty first draft to award-deserving. Inside Jokes is a blend of writing guide, creativity bible, and therapy session with secrets that most writers learn through trial and error and professional humiliation. It's for:
- People who are funny already
- People who worry they can never be funny
- People who've been asked to give a wedding toast (hot hip: mention ex-partners in a list of 3, 5, or 17)
- Writers who work across genres or want to learn
- Employees who just want to get one solid laugh in their department meeting
Author: Elissa Bassist
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 10/20/2026
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.74 lbs
Size: 8.27" H x 5.54" L x 1.02" W
ISBN: 9781538770771
