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5 days ago | 
theforeverworkshop.com | Alex Baia
Hello, writers! Welcome to “Comedy for All,” in the illustrious Forever Workshop. This is an introductory humor writing workshop for writers of all varieties. Whether you write personal essays, short stories, novels, narrative nonfiction, business writing, ad copy, or comedy itself, this course is for you—assuming, of course, that you want to invest in your humor writing. If you are opposed to humor, though, this course is not for you.
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1 week ago | 
mcsweeneys.net | Alex Baia
The Desperado: They get a dreamy look in their eyes, then, before you know it, swoop in quick as a bandit and shove their tongue down your throat. The Zombie: Their lips are stiff and dead, and you want to whisper, “Pucker up, you lifeless weirdo,” but you can feel yourself become infected, the passion slowly draining. The Lollipopper: They suck on your tongue like a child sucking on a Tootsie Pop.
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1 week ago | 
comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia
Scott Dikkers and I did another iteration of our Comedy for All Workshop last weekend. It was similar to the one we did in March, albeit with a few tweaks. Anyway, the replay video plus all the bonuses—including Scott’s How to Write Funny books—are all available for you here. There’s also a new humor case study in there—with our inline notes. That brings…Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Comedy Bizarre to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
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2 weeks ago | 
comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia
Did you know that comedy writers need a writing group? It’s true! Here are eight reasons why. 1. Pure self-editing is too hard. Yes, you can edit your own comedy writing. But this is hard. Becoming a good comedy self-editor takes years of brain building. The issue is that we’re all trapped in our heads, unaware of whether our jokes are funny and clear.
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3 weeks ago | 
comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia
On Sunday, I went to a movie night with some friends, and I was tickled to see they’d chosen Office Space, the Mike Judge cult classic comedy from 1999. Office Space was probably the first comedy—that I know of, anyway—to totally nail office tech culture. I hadn’t re-watched it in over a decade though, maybe longer, and I was curious how it would hold up. Movies that dissect a bygone decade can feel old—especially when it comes to comedies. Comedy Bizarre is a reader-supported publication.
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4 weeks ago | 
comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia
There’s a naïve model of artistic inspiration for writers that goes like this:Inspiration —> WritingYou could even call this “folk wisdom.” Inspiration strikes! The mystical muse visits the writer! And then… kaboom! Work happens. The writer writes and produces a masterpiece. The problem with this idea is that it’s false, backwards, and pernicious. It reverses the causality. The truer picture is this:Writing —> InspirationIt’s action that leads to inspiration, not inspiration that leads to action.
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1 month ago | 
comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia
We all know the importance reading a lot to inspire our writing brains. I usually break this into three categories:Read the kinds of comedy you want to write,Read (or watch/listen to) everything that’s funny generally, whatever the form, andRead classic literature that’s stood the test of time. But we can learn from art that’s outside our wheelhouse and our medium, whether we’re talking movies, music, visual art, theater, or public access television shows from the 1980s.
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1 month ago | 
comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia
When I write and publish a humor piece, there are two selves involved:1.The writer: This is the guy—the part of me—who writes humor pieces. His job is to come up with an idea, write a draft, and punch it up until it’s hot to trot. This guy is an artist type. He has hopes and fears and dreams and doubts and lots of opinions about what is and isn’t funny. He’s kind of a pain in the ass, but on the bright side, when he has a good idea it can sometimes be funny. 2.
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1 month ago | 
comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia
“My dream is to be in Shouts & Murmurs, and my limiting belief is I'm not good enough. (Yet!)… If you write a post about getting published in [The New Yorker humor section] I’ll read it ten times! (At least)” - Jennifer H. I’ll give it my best shot, Jennifer. When a Comedy Bizarre reader asks a question, I am obligated by the blood oath to answer. The blood oath!? Yes, the blood oath. Shortly before launching Comedy Bizarre, I took part in a ceremony organized by some mysterious, hooded figures.
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2 months ago | 
mcsweeneys.net | Alex Baia
Dear Star Bank Customer,We’re writing to let you know that the Star Bank online portal is down today. You won’t be able to log in or access your money. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please don’t call or stop by the bank in person. It’s a mess right now. Sincerely,Star Bank“Treating your money like a star since 2005.”- - -Dear Star Bank Customer,This is Gordon Star, CEO of Star Bank. The previous email generated some confusion. I do apologize. I’ll be direct.
