Books I've Found Helpful

Over the years I've read a lot of books about writing comedy and joke construction and, specifically, about cartoon drawing and gag writing. Some I've bought. Some I've taken out of the library and renewed over and over again.

I submit this list of books that have been helpful to me over the years:

* "The Cartoonist's Muse: A Guide to Generating and Developing Creative Ideas" by Mischa Richter and Harald Bakken.

* "The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker" (2004) edited by Bob Mankoff.

* The New Yorker 75th Anniversary Cartoon Collection" edited by Bob Mankoff.

* "Cartooning: The Art and the Business" by Mort Gerberg.

* "The Cartoonist's Workbook. Drawing, Writing Gags, Selling" by Robin Hall.

* "The Essential George Booth" compiled and edited by Lee Lorenz.

* "The Wall Street Journal Portfolio of Business Cartoons" edited by Charles Preston.

* "The New Yorker Book of Business Cartoons" edited by Robert Mankoff.

* "Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today's Top Comedy Writers" by Mike Sacks.

* "And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Humor Writers About Their Craft" by Mike Sacks.

* "Funny On Purpose: The Definitive Guide to An Unpredictable Career in Comedy" by Joe Randazzo.

* "The Naked Cartoonist" by Robert Mankoff.

* "Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain" by Christopher Hart.

* "Comedy Writing Workbook" by Gene Perret.

This list is just scratching the surface. There are many more books that will help you to write and draw funny.

Happy Reading!
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Any comments or questions? Email me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com

The Best Humor is the Truth

Where do I get my gag writing ideas? I read...a lot. Mostly I read newspapers, both daily and weekly. I like to think of it as getting paid to read the papers. I also read business and general-interest magazines, new books, old books, coupons that come in the mail, advertising inserts, all kinds of things. To be a writer I believe you have to love to read.

I also watch TV news about four times a day and listen to news radio when I'm in the car. I'm just trying to keep up with what's going on in the world...and there's a lot.

Over the past 25 years or so that I've been writing gags I've read many books about cartoon gagwriting and comedy, but, most importantly, I taught myself how to write single-panel gag cartoons by studying cartoon collections. This has given me priceless information about what subjects to write about and how to write a concise caption. Of course I have some favorite subjects. Besides husband/wife and business gags, I really like to write gags and help create cartoons about heaven and hell, the Grim Reaper, desert islands and prisoners.

Where else do I get my ideas?  I write about people I know and their quirks, but mostly I write about myself. I write a lot of self-deprecating humor and then have the words come out of the mouth of one of the cartoon characters I write for. The best humor is the truth. You just have to be able to see it, realize it, and then get it down on paper.

Any questions or comments? Write to me at: gagsbyhelene@gmail.com.