Book Details

	How to Be a Sitcom Writer: Secrets from the Inside By: Blake, Marc Published By: Summersdale Publishers Ltd. ePub for Digital Editions Price: $9.99 PDF for Digital Editions Price: $9.99 Mobipocket Reader Price: $9.99 Microsoft Reader Price: $9.99 Available to read online in eb20 (what's this?) PDF for Digital EditionsePub for Digital EditionsMobipocket ReaderMicrosoft Reader	EBOOK OPTIONS ADD TO CART ADD TO WISHLIST TELL A FRIEND RECEIVE ALERTS
	Everyone loves sitcom. On TV it’s the goldmine genre, the one watched by millions. There’s a special place in our hearts for Fawlty, Frasier, Blackadder and Brent. An absurd predicament, witty banter, a group of hilariously dysfunctional people: it all seems so easy. But is it? If you’ve ever said ‘I can do better than that’, then this is the book for you. Filled with advice to inspire the would-be sitcom writer, it analyses what makes a great sitcom and guides you through the workings of the business. It will help you fulfil your potential by encouraging, testing and pulling you through the sitcom-writing boot camp. Marc Blake is the author of a clutch of sitcoms, countless comedy books and three hit comic novels (‘frantically funny’ – Daily Telegraph). A working comedian and sitcom script consultant, he has taught comedy across the UK for ten years.

Excerpt

Situation comedy, or ‘sitcom’, captures the public imagination. Catchphrases ring out in every workplace, characters are emblazoned on T-shirts, mugs and screensavers, and TV polls place The Office, Only Fools and Horses or Absolutely Fabulous at the top of our favourite viewing. There is a particular fondness for this form of scripted comedy. We love to watch comedy actors ridiculing our pretensions or chronicling our woes whilst making us laugh hysterically. None of this can happen without the writer. Sitcom is deceptive. You think you are watching naturally funny people snipe, bicker and be witty, but the writer and later the script editor, producer, cast and crew have all done an immense amount of work in creating a unique world. In this book I aim to break down exactly how this is done and to provide a number of suggestions and exercises to prompt you into doing it yourself. I will look at sitcom characters and how to create them, what kinds of relationships work best, plotting and sub-plotting, and how to make it as potentially funny as possible. Included also are script templates and information on how to sell your work and to whom. Sitcom writing is a commercial business, so I will also offer hints and tips on how to go about getting an agent and how to deal with broadcasters or independent production companies when they show interest in your writing. Sitcom is not easy – some would say that it’s the hardest kind of comedy writing – but it is extremely rewarding. Your name on the credits is a huge validation of the months of hard work you have put into a project. Sitcom is much loved by the general public and it is endlessly repeatable, which means that the writer will always have their work being broadcast somewhere in the world, and be getting paid for it.

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Related Subjects

• Performing Arts > Television
• Performing Arts > Comedy
• Language Arts & Disciplines
• Drama
• Performing Arts

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