Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a comedy workshop run by Hollywood comedy guru Steve Kaplan. You’d think that nothing robs a joke of its power so much as analyzing it, but actually there were laughs aplenty as we watched clips from Seinfeld, Groundhog Day, Liar Liar and others.
It was a brilliant workshop…I learned a lot. It was especially useful to understand how to maintain a comic sense in scenes where bad stuff is happening. I’m back working on my young adult manuscript with renewed enthusiasm, determined not only to finish it, but to enjoy doing so.
Because while writing can be agony, there’s also nothing more fun. And just maybe it’s my attitude that determines where on the pleasure scale a day’s writing will fall.
In my downtime, I’m reading and watching some funny stuff, both for inspiration and relaxation. On the book front, I’m just about to start Carl Hiaasen’s Skinny Dip, but I could do with some recommendations on the movie front.
Have you seen anything funny lately? The movies that jump out at me from recent viewing are Ghost Town, Sunshine Cleaning, In Bruges (very dark but funny), Groundhog Day (watched for probably the tenth time). Haven’t seen Date Night, but I hear it’s good. My husband loved the The Hangover, but I didn’t so much. I’m going to Toy Story 3 tomorrow, and have expectations of a high laugh quotient.
Let me know if you can recommend a book or a movie that’ll keep me laughing!
Books on sale or free
Featured Books
FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE
The FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE box set includes three stories of romantic firsts.
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HAGAR’S LAST DANCE
By day, Jeanne Pelletier is a small-town girl toiling in obscurity at a stuffy Washington, D.C., law firm; by night, she’s Zahira, the city’s newest belly dancing sensation.
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My DH and I recently rented PIRATE RADIO and found it quite funny. There's lots of great music, too, esp. for the Boomer generation. I've heard good things about TOY STORY 3, too.