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

Troubleshooting
Problem: I did a joke-web and got no jokes.
Solution: Joke-webs with no jokes on them tend to be sad neglected specimens
with only a few associations and nothing followed through. I know some people
find  it  hard  to  think  of  things  to  put  on  their  joke-webs,  which  is  why  I  have
included the Ways To Think about Words List. Some people do great joke-webs
just  by  free-associating,  but  the  list  makes  sure  you  are  covering  every  angle.
Take a look at these two subsections of real joke-webs, both done on the same
subject.
This joke-web just lists makes of cars. They are meaningless words, so the only
way they could yield ideas is if you could pun on them. Also, listing them rather
than spreading them doesn’t give any space for more associations.
Now  look  at  the  word  CAR,  temporarily  forgetting  the  original  subject  (which
was transport). This joke-web has cable car and toy car, school run - something
you  need  a  car  for,  Jimmy  Carr  -  a  pun  on  car,  car-toon  -  a  half  pun,  and
horseless carriage - thinking about car in its historical context.

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Now  we  have  done  this,  we  can  remember  our  original  subject  and  apply  our
new car meanings back to transport problems. I don’t think getting rid of Jimmy
Carr will solve our transport problems.
Then try applying ‘toy car’ back to the original concept of traffic problems. Do
kids with toy cars get traffic jams in their rooms? That’s a nice idea.
Then go down another level and start thinking of other things to do with traffic
jams and see if they apply to kids playing with toy cars.
My kid has got so many cars that his bedroom looks like the M25 during
rush hour.
He’s six. He’s already got road rage.
Mind you I did dock his pocket money to pay the congestion charge.
As you can see, this is a much more fruitful way of using joke-webs.