This course is designed to help you write cogent humor pieces, whoever you are. Too often, there’s a bias that writing comedy is for white cis men, and this course aims to create a space for everyone to feel like they have a seat at the table. We’ll go over everything from strong premises and joke-writing, to finding the best grain of an idea and maximizing it for comedic and narrative effect. There will be homework, critiques, guest-speakers, and the like as the course moves from introducing you to the skillset needed to write premise-based humor, to creating a respectful and safe space to workshop and develop your own writing.

There are so many funny writers out there who happen to not be straight white guys that are famous (or wish to be well into their 30s). This class will look at pieces from these writers as examples of different approaches to the craft. Critiques offered will have strict guidelines on the criticism that will be productive, and the criticism that won’t.

The way everything works in this class will be designed to give everyone agency to feel heard, understood, and supported to the best of everyone’s abilities. The ultimate outcome of the course is to make you feel like you belong, and to not create barriers for entry that can feel like they exist when they shouldn’t.

The course is broken into six (6) weeks, and functions more or less as you’d expect. Our first class will be introductions, discussion of comedic voice, discussions of humor types, bad ideas vs “sticky” ideas, structure, joke-writing, and generating ideas. Our final class will be a workshop, where we’ll go over the latest humor pieces you’ve written. Ultimately, you’ll have a portfolio of about 3-4 pieces you can punch-up and develop before sending them out to editors.

• Understand the structure and design of a successful humor piece
• Develop the skills necessary to succeed in comedy writing
• Feel confident that they belong in the community, and should not hesitate to take up space with their writing

Week 1: Overview

Introductions and discussion around where ideas come from, as well as “sticky” ideas and how to generate them. We'll discuss the design of a humor piece, and how it translates across formats.

Week 2: Premise

We'll discuss how premise works in humor writing, from originating to heightening

Week 3: Workshop 1 and Joke Writing

We'll workshop your premise ideas using a list of specific and special rules to guide us. We'll discuss joke-writing, as well as the wide spectrum of lines that constitute jokes.

Week 4: Workshop 2 and Balance & Logic

We'll workshop your premise ideas and first humor piece using a list of specific and special rules to guide us. We’ll discuss finding the right balance between premise and humor.

Week 5: Workshop 3 and Speaker Voice, Perspective, & Detail

We’ll workshop your premise ideas and humor piece using a list of specific and special rules to guide us. We’ll discuss speaker voice and perspective in detail and the use of detail in humor writing.

Week 6: Wrap

We’ll workshop your humor pieces using a list of specific and special rules to guide us. We’ll be joined by special guests to give advice and help you begin submitting

Eric Farwell has written for The New York Times, The Paris Review, GQ, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Slate, The LARB, Oxford American, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Believer, The Guardian, Vulture , and The Atlantic. He has written humor for The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, The Onion, Slackjaw, Points in Case , and Little Old Lady.

Index scholarships are designed to benefit underrepresented groups, BIPOC members of our community, and those for whom the class price is not accessible. These need-based scholarships will go to the candidates who best demonstrate why they should be chosen for the free spot to our class based on the following criteria:

• Belong to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the graphic design and creative industries
• Do not have jobs that would pay for these courses as professional development
• Cannot independently afford the class at list price
• Share our value of intentional community

We get that things come up, but we rely on headcounts in our programs to survive as a business. If you request a refund...

More than 4 weeks before class begins → 100% refund
More than 2 weeks before class begins → 50% refund
Fewer than 2 weeks before class begins → No refund

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