Author Archives: Matt Willard

A while ago, I listed my favorite books about comedy writing, but usually it’s a good idea to read as many books on a subject as you can. As such, here’s a couple more I’d like to recommend. They aren’t …

A long time ago when this column first began, I showed how you can use relationships to create comparisons with another idea. This is an easy way to get a laugh if you compare ideas that people are familiar with. …

Now, I’ll be honest with you, folks. I hate terrible writing. (You should see me debate the logistics of awful characterization in Japanese giant robot cartoons.) Naturally, I hate what I perceive as terrible comedy writing, and so I’ve always …

As I’ve mentioned before, you can’t milk a joke for too long, or it gets stale pretty quickly. The rule of three is a good…well, rule of thumb for keeping that in mind. It hits a sweet spot that Goldilocks …

One of my favorite ways to stay sharp is to keep a notebook of various topics. Once you’ve developed the habit of keeping a notebook, you’ll have an easier time coming up with topics to write about, and you’ll even …