Think you're funny? Writing successful comedy isn't just about having a gift for gags; you need to hone your talent and polish your humour to earn a living from making people laugh. If you want to write stand-up comedy, sketches, sitcoms or even a comic novel or film, How to be a Comedy Writer tells you all you need to know and more about the business, the structure of jokes and the nuts and bolts of a craft that can be learnt. This new ebook edition has been specially formatted for today'...

Its Valentine's day and Andy Crowe has been dumped. He's also driving to Birmingham with his most hated rival, and it's raining. Could things get much worse? Oh yes. Three small-time villains are about to pull off a job, and they are heading for the same motoroway services as Andy and Rob...

Everyone loves - and hates - 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. How to be a Sitcom Writer will encourage, test and pull you through the comedy boot camp that is writing narrative-led ch...

Sarah Rutherford, using a job in Fuengirola as a cover, is investigating her sister's death. Mike, a lonely sub-editor, is drawn into her quest after witnessing the death of a hotel manager. Things hot up in the British ex-pat community, culminating in a collision of double-crossing and wild dogs.

Tales of horror have always been with us, from Biblical times to the Gothic novel to successful modern day authors and screenwriters. Though the genre is often maligned, it is huge in popularity and its resilience is undeniable. Marc Blake and Sara Bailey offer a detailed analysis of the horror genre, including its subgenres, tropes and the specific requirements of the horror screenplay.Tracing the development of the horror film from its beginnings in German Expressionism, the auth...

It is often suggested that there are 'secrets' to comedy or that it is 'lightning in a bottle', but the craft of comedy writing can be taught. While comedic tastes change, over time and from person to person, the core underpinning still depends on the comedic geniuses that have paved the way. Great comedy is built upon a strong foundation.In Writing the Comedy Movie, Marc Blake lays out – in an entertainingly readable style – the nuts and bolts of comedy screenwriting. His...

Here is a compendium of also-rans and never-made-its. We're talking Betamax, the Sinclair C5, puffball skirts, sporks, the Millennium Dome... and countless other products that never quite cut it.

From the author of 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, this 300 page, 150,000+ word reference tool can serve writers who need characters and need them now!If character development is your problem, this detailed reference tool for any writer is the solution. Imagine if every time you sat down to brainstorm for your stories, scripts and more, you had a notebook full of character ideas ready to spring to life on the page. This time-saving, idea-generating tome can ensure that from protago...

Now a Major Motion Picture starring Claire Foy and Brendan GleesonOne of the New York Times's 100 Best Books of the 21st CenturyOne of Kirkus Reviews’s Best Books of the 21st CenturyOne of the New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of the YearOne of Slate's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Last 25 YearsON MORE THAN 25 BEST B...

*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti*Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World ...

Fascinating and informative - advice to inspire budding writers as well as entertaining Maeve Binchy fans the world over.'A motivating, and pleasingly undaunting volume for the would be writer in your life' DAILY MAIL'The most important thing to realise is that everyone is capable of telling a story. It doesn't matter where we were born or how we grew up' Maeve BinchyTHE MAEVE BINCHY WRITERS' CLUB gives a unique insight into how a N...

**#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time “One of the Best Books of the Decade”)—now featuring never-before-published deleted scenesTHE NEW YORK TIMES’S BEST THRILLER OF THE CENTURY • ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ...