Comments on: Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 27: Mixing Humor with Drama and Horror

By: james

james — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:43:46 +0000

Season 3, Episode 27 mentioned that an upcoming episode would focus on The Hero’s Journey. Which episode covered that topic?

By: Combining the dramatic and the erotic | The Spanking Writers

Combining the dramatic and the erotic | The Spanking Writers — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:03:01 +0000

[...] was reminded of this issue when I listened to one of my favourite podcasts, “Writing Excuses”. Episode 3:27 focussed on “mixing humour with drama and horror” – the problem of [...]

By: Jasyn Jones

Jasyn Jones — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:39:07 +0000

@ Olin: “I would suggest that you take a look at some of David Brin’s articles on Campbell, Star Wars, and the difference between science fiction and fantasy.”

Are these available online? If not, where could I find them?

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:29:47 +0000

is there anyway i could read the vampire bunny book?

By: Olin

Olin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:06:38 +0000

If you guys are going to do a podcast on Joseph Campbell, I would suggest that you take a look at some of David Brin’s articles on Campbell, Star Wars, and the difference between science fiction and fantasy. Just for an opposing view. Brin is not at all flattering on Campbell.

By: Eliyanna

Eliyanna — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:19:12 +0000

Good homework assignment, Howard. I am loving this book!

By: bdagger

bdagger — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:22:47 +0000

A note on the homework: Having read the reviews on Audible it sounds like the audio version isn’t that great. Apparently the narration is rushed and, more importantly, the book is abridged. I’m going with the library option on this one and I thought I’d warn those of you who were thinking of using your free trial for this book.

By: John Brown

John Brown — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:21:25 +0000

FYI, I finished this a few weeks ago. I thought it was helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Eight-Characters-Comedy-Sitcom-Writing/dp/0977064107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259864406&sr=8-1

By: Jonathan Liron

Jonathan Liron — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:14:12 +0000

Hey guys, good timing. This is also my first comment ( I think ).
I’m currently working on a horror short story and ran into this problem. I had the characters joke around in a ‘real’ conversation and found all the tension gone.

Have you guys ever written scripts ? Maybe you could do a podcast about adaptations ? What works in books but doesn’t work in movies or the other way around.

By: Mike Barker

Mike Barker — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:26:03 +0000

I thought it was interesting that when Brandon wanted to know how you got the right balance, Howard mentioned going too far, Dan also recounted a story about overdoing the humor and then excising it, and even Brandon mentioned having a big discussion with his editor about humor that pushes the fourth wall. It seems as if there is a common thread of adding a bit too much humor and having to pull back a little bit, sometimes after the editor or the writing group points out that you’ve gone over the edge. So it’s a bit like adding salt to the soup, you add a little and taste it, then add a little more and taste again. At some point, you realize it’s too salty. With soup, you can’t do very much about it, but as long as you have the luxury, you can revise your writing to get it sweet again.

Incidentally, I know I’m not an artist, but Brandon’s picture just needed something — so I tried a mustache. I don’t think I could draw a handlebar, but after three attempts, this one looked pretty good. And it makes me laugh. I’m not sure if it makes Brandon scowl, though.