Providing both theory and praxis, this creative textbook explains how to write humour, comedy, satire, parody, nonsense, and both the literary and the joke monologue. Through its close analyses of short stories, sketches, essays and scripts, it should be useful to serious and not-so-serious writers of every genre. Guiding aspiring writers through the many techniques for creating humour, it illustrates and analyzes what works and what doesn't, suggests ways to energize passages that fall flat, and offers insights into brainstorming, team writing, and revision. The volume includes the history and cultural background of each major genre, followed by an array of writing exercises. There is a wide selection of examples to learn from, including a script from M*A*S*H and pieces by such humorists as Woody Allen, Ogden Nash and Art Buchwald - and by students as well.