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Process

Jonathan Ames Shares the Ins and Outs of Writing

by | January 23rd, 2013

"I think with every project we expect something more than what happens. We all love to be disappointed… The biggest crusher for me was that my second novel, The Extra Man, was rejected by about twenty publishers. I had been certain it was a good book and had devoted nearly five years of desperate living to writing it. They were my brokest, leanest years, which included moving back in with my parents at age 30 after a crack-binge, and so I was devastated when no one wanted the book. Then, months after all the rejections had rolled in, breaking my heart and my fragile ego, one publisher did want the book."

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Process

David Rees on the Similar Constraints of Cartooning and Pencil Sharpening

by | September 11th, 2012

David Rees is an unusual sort of humorist, as he is best known for Get Your War On (check out some below), a satirical cartoon about the War on Terror, and sharpening pencils. (Seriously, watch a short documentary about it below.) The Rumpus has a very long interview with him. The most compelling moment came when the interview saw a parallel between the "very specific parameters" Rees has created for himself with the comic and with his pencil sharpening pursuits. Rees's response:

"In my mind, one of the appeals of [Artisanal Pencil Sharpening] was that there’s no political subtext, it’s not satirical, it’s nothing like Get Your [...]

Process

The Daily Show Writers Write Their Daily Show Jokes Very Quickly

by | April 18th, 2012

Recently, the Paley Center did their Paley Center thang with the Daily Show writers. In this clip they explain how they crank out a show's worth of material in only the time between 10:00 and 11:30AM. (For comparison, in that same time period today, all I did was write those first two sentences. I wrote this parenthetical at 11:34.) All the clips are really great, especially the one where Wyatt Cynac and John Oliver explain how they got their jobs. In total, the videos run about 20 minutes or the time it takes these guys to write the show's second act. [Via]

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