Alex Baia

Austin

Writer at Comedy Bizarre

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Articles

How to Publish in The New Yorker Humor Section

1 week 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.
Hi, It’s Your Bank. There’s a Problem with Your Money

2 weeks 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.
You’re Damn Right I Burned Down Your House

2 weeks ago | comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia

Before we dive in, a quick request: Did you sign up for the Comedy for All Workshop in March? Whether you attended or not, Scott and I want to pick your brain with a few questions... To help us make future workshops more awesome, just click the link above. If you answer, you'll get a bonus: A link to Scott's "Comedy Genius" workshop. Now, onto our regular programming…Imagine two actors improvising on stage.
Is This Funny to Anyone Else?

3 weeks ago | comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia

Quick reminder: the replay video of my humor writing workshop with Scott Dikkers is now available here: Comedy for All. Plus there are a bunch of bonuses at that link, including links to the humor writing case studies with readers Jessica and David. The links to free digital copies of Scott’s How to Write Funny books will only be up until this Sunday. So grab those now, now, now.
Comedy for All Workshop

3 weeks ago | comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia

Subscribe to Comedy Bizarre to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
Be a High Agency Writer

1 month ago | comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia

Before we dive into today’s writing tip and Q&A… Thanks to all 400+ of you who attended The Comedy for All workshop on Saturday that I co-taught with Scott Dikkers. Scott and I had fun going through the ideas, deconstructing some comedy pieces, and riffing with each other. I’ve been learning from Scott for the better part of a decade, and to be able to co-teach a workshop with him was a real trip for me.
People Will Yell at You

1 month ago | comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia

Before we dive in… I’m co-teaching a humor writing Zoom workshop with The Onion’s founding editor, Scott Dikkers: “Comedy for All: 6 Ways to Make Your Writing Funnier.”Free to sign up. Sign up here!When your writing or comedy attracts an audience of any significant size, you will start getting some haters. This is unavoidable. It’s sheer mathematics. Haters are guaranteed for more obvious reasons and less obvious reasons.
How to Build Your Comedy Writing Network

1 month ago | comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia

Before we dive in… I’m co-teaching a humor writing Zoom workshop with The Onion’s founding editor, Scott Dikkers: “Comedy for All: 6 Ways to Make Your Writing Funnier.”Free to sign up. Sign up here!Building relationships with other writers makes it easier to get more feedback and find more writing opportunities. It also makes your journey more enjoyable.
Experiment More

1 month ago | comedybizarre.substack.com | Alex Baia

Most humor writers don’t experiment enough. We are too liable to stick to what’s familiar and comfortable, continually greasing the groove. You should get out of that groove from time to time. How? Publish in a humor format you’ve never tried before. Write in a voice that feels weird or experimental. Take a point-of-view, or argue for a subtext, that feels strange. Write about a subject that you’ve never written about before, maybe one that you know very little about. Just do something new, dammit.