Mark Shatz

Many writers believe they have an idea problem when they really have a micromanagement problem. When writers sit down to brainstorm, their minds should be…

One of the first confusing things newbie humor writers discover is that people often laugh at situations that, objectively speaking, suck. Someone slips on ice.…

If you ask people why something is funny, the answers usually aren’t very helpful. “It was just funny.” “That joke cracked me up.” “I laughed…

One of the most painful moments for a humorist happens after telling a joke. Someone looks confused. There’s a pause. Then the words are uttered…

Aristotle studied humor. Charles Darwin wrote about it. Sigmund Freud developed theories about jokes and laughter. Psychologists analyze humor and laughter in laboratories. Despite all…

Many writers believe they have an idea problem. They don’t. They sit down to write something funny, and nothing happens. The brain freezes. The page…

Every family has one. The relative who tells the world’s longest joke. It’s usually an uncle or grandfather who begins a “funny story” sometime before…