The Serious Guide to Joke Writing: How To Say Something Funny About Anything pdfdrive com

Chapter Three (PRACTICAL):
Single Joke-Webs
It’s Week Two. I’m loaded up with flip chart paper and lots of lovely highlighter
pens, which as anyone will tell you are my favourite joke writing tool!
‘It’s  single  joke-web  week,’  I  tell  the  class.  ‘These  joke-webs  are  single  not
because  they  are  unloved  and  can’t  find  a  partner  but  because  they’re  a  richly
rewarding kingdom in themselves - I was single myself for a long time.’ A girl at
the back cheers! Thanks, love.
‘So  far  we’ve  looked  at  puns  and  redefinitions  basically  looking  outside
ourselves  for  jokes.  This  is  where  we  open  up  our  minds  and  learn  to  free-
associate, see where our own thought processes can take a subject. To do this we
mustn’t be afraid of what we say. We mustn’t be afraid of being judged and we
mustn’t judge others.’
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‘Ready?’ I ask, getting out my flip chart paper. They all nod solemnly and I ask
them for a subject.
The  class  choose  STRIKES  (as  in  industrial  disputes).  I  write  it  down  in  the
middle  of  a  piece  of  paper  and  draw  a  circle  round  it,  and  lines  coming  out  of
that. I spread the lines wide so I have room to expand. Then I ask the class for
associations  to  do  with  Strikes.  ‘Think  of  big  things,  small  things  and  obscure
things,’ I say. They come up with the following.

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‘If  this  were  a  mind-map
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 we  would  keep  free  associating  outwards,  but  we
want to write jokes so we are going to deliberately forget the original subject of
strikes,’  I  say,  clamping  my  hand  firmly  down  over  the  word,  ‘and  think  about
the  next  level  headings  in  their  own  right.’  I  get  out  my  Ways  To  Think  About
Words List (see next page) to help us along...

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