A guy walks into a bar...With this guide, aspiring comics will learn to navigate the complex world of comedy writing. Discover how to tap into your natural sense of humor through real-life examples and hands-on skill-building exercises. Learn the best ways to come up with ideas and write comedy that gets laughs--every time! Mike Bent, an accomplished stand-up comedian and teacher, provides the inside scoop on techniques to jump-start your comedy wr...

A chance encounter while shopping in a northern Spanish fishing port draws delectable, half-French, half-Polish Tamara von Rosenberg into friendship with Martin Haynes, a freelance writer and translator living in a nearby village. Their relationship, kindled through mutual intellectual interests, soon blossoms into caring, passionate affection. Tamara's idyllic holiday in Cantabria is brought to a premature and unhappy end when news reaches her that her widower father is dying following an...

Judy Carter, guru to aspiring comedy writers and stand-up comics, tells all about the biz of being funny and writing funny in this bright, entertaining, and totally practical guide on how to draw humor from your life and turn it into a career.Do you think you’re funny? Do you want to turn your sense of humor into a career? If the answer is yes, then Judy Carter’s The Comedy Bible is for you. The guru to aspiring stand-up comics provides the complete scoop ...

If you think you’re funny, buy this book!Whether you dream of becoming a star . . .A better public speaker . . .A more effective communicator . . .A funnier, happier human being . . .You can learn to leave ‘em laughing!David Letterman learned to do it. Jay Leno learned to do it. Roseanne Barr learned to do it. So can you!Now successful sta...

should prove invaluable to beginners, journeymen/women and seasoned pros. Ren Auberjonois Boston Legal, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Have you ever watched a show like Whose Line Is It Anyway, and wondered if you could do that? Trust me: You can. Everyone improvises. Yes, even you. Or did you wake up this morning, get a cup of coffee, open up your script, and read the scene where you sit at your computer, reading this description of the book? You make it up as you go along, from what you do d...

Logan Murray has successfully taught the techniques of stand-up comedy to thousands, and in this book he distills his years of experience into the essential skills for a great and enjoyable performance. He will help you find your own creative streak and your funny side, build the confidence to deliver, and explain the finer details of stagecraft, from dealing with hecklers to coping with props. There is a full guide to the practicalities, from finding gigs to securing an agent, with plenty...

It’s a writer’s job to create compelling characters who can withstand life’s fallout without giving up. But building authentic, memorable heroes is no easy task. To forge realistic characters, we must hobble them with flaws that set them back while giving them positive attributes to help them achieve their goals. So how do writers choose the right blend of strengths for their characters—attributes that will render them admirable and worth rooting for—without making it too easy for them to ...

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF WRITING with fresh testimonials from fellow writers about why they love Stephen King and On Writing—and a few new words on the joy of writing from King himself.*ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME*Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and conv...

Mornings are a madcap time for many of us. We wake up in a haze—often after hitting snooze a few times. Then we rush around to get ready and out the door so we can officially start the day. Before we know it, hours have slipped by without us accomplishing anything beyond downing a cup of coffee, dashing off a few emails, and dishing with our coworkers around the water cooler. By the time the workday wraps up, we’re so exhausted and defeated that any motivation to accomplish something in th...

**#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Experience the book that started the Quiet Movement and revolutionized how the world sees introverts—and how introverts see themselves—by offering validation, inclusion, and inspiration“Superbly researched, deeply insightful, and a fascinating read, Quiet is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to understand the gifts of the introverted half of the population.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project**

From the author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers The Happiness Project and Happier at Home comes a book that tackles the question: How do we make good habits that are easy, effortless, and automatic?Habits are the invisible architecture of our lives. Rubin provides an analytical and scientific framework from which to understand these habits--as well as change them for good. Infused with her compelling voice and funny stories, ...

The third mini-ebook by the acclaimed author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast reveals how a few simple changes can make you more productive and fulfilled in your career.In her bestselling mini-ebook What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, Laura Vanderkam showed us how to take advantage of our often ignored morning hours to achieve our dreams.Then in the sequel, What the Most Successful People Do on th...