Funny at 40 (or beyond) Zoom Seminar with Janine Annett, Sunday, May 19th, 2024
Sunday, May 19th, 2024
Live Seminar via Zoom from 11AM - 2PM Eastern Time
Now Enrolling!
Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.Taught by Janine Annett, author of the humor book I Am "Why Do I Need Venmo?" Years Old: Adventures in Aging and her writing has been published in the New Yorker's Daily Shouts, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, Parents, Scary Mommy, and many other places. Janine has taught humor writing for the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, Gotham Writers, Thurber House, and the Hudson Valley Writers Center.
Learn more about Janine in our Meet the Teaching Artist series.
As a late bloomer and the author of the book I Am "Why Do I Need Venmo?" Years Old: Adventures in Aging, I know a thing or two about becoming a professional humor writer... a bit on the later side (it's never too late!!!).
This class is geared toward those who want to find the funny in being middle-aged or older and is perfect for those in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, etc. Heck, even people in their 20s and 30s are welcome if they feel like old souls! Often, aging is associated with negative things, but I promise there is humor to be found - if you are flexible enough to look for it.
In this three-hour seminar, we'll discuss how and why to find the humor in aging and bring it out in your writing. We'll talk about different frameworks for writing about your own experiences in a funny way and developing funny characters/personas. We'll do some in-class writing exercises and look at other funny writers of a certain age who have managed to turn the aging human body and mind into comedy.
This class is perfect for writers of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, memoir, satire) and levels. Prerequisite: You must have at least one body part that aches constantly.
*We will look at texts from writers such as Nora Ephron, David Sedaris, Erma Bombeck, and Laura Zigman.
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
- How to brainstorm ideas for humorous writing that will resonate with an audience
- Learn about how to flesh out your ideas more by focusing on things like voice/POV, time-honored techniques for adding humor to a story, structure, and more.
- How to not just tell an anecdote but engage on a deeper level.
- How not to subscribe to society’s ideas that aging = less than.
“Janine is The Source when it comes to humor writing: what elements make for good humor writing; the entire range of using humor, from inclusion in novels to essays to short pieces; the different forms, formulae and styles of humor writing; how to analyze humor pieces and how other writers use their voice and language; where to submit pieces to get started in the genre. She obviously knows the genre A-Z, loves it, and generously shares all that she knows. Her enthusiasm for the genre is inspiring.”
“Since taking your writing seminar, I am still at it after writing about 70 essays. I am enjoying it and want to compliment you for giving me the confidence to start writing for publication. As my skills improved, I felt empowered to go public with my writing.”
“Thank you for all of these great resources, and for an amazing class. Your class was so much fun and so different from any writing I’ve ever done.”
“What a great class – it was my first ever real writing class and I got so much out of it!”
“This class was wonderful. Janine really knows the world of humor writing and publishing.”
“Your humor writing class was the best part of 2021! The class was so inspiring. I have been focusing on writing short humor pieces using everything I learned from your class, with the goal of submitting something. My first two pieces got rejected, but my next two got published after one rewrite. Thank you for your knowledge and inspiration!”
- Sunday, May 19th, 2024
- Live Seminar via Zoom from 11AM - 2PM Eastern Time
If you have questions, please use the Chat Button or contact us via email HERE.