How to Write a Comedic Memoir Zoom Seminar with Elissa Bassist, Sunday, March 30th, 2025
Sunday, March 30th, 2025
Live Seminar via Zoom from 2:00PM - 5:00PM EST
Now Enrolling!
Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.
Elissa Bassist is the editor of the “Funny Women” column on The Rumpus and the author of Hysterical, a semi-finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. As a founding contributor to The Rumpus, Elissa has written cultural and personal criticism since the website launched in 2009. INSIDE JOKES, a humor writing craft book, co-written with Caitlin Kunkel, is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing in 2026. . Elissa teaches humor writing at The New School and elsewhere, and she is probably her therapist’s favorite.
Is it your dream to write a full-length about yourself/your exes/parents and be funny about it?
You don’t have to be a celebrity comedian to write a funny memoir. You don’t have to be born with a sense of humor or have had anything funny happen to you. A memoirist must make a meal out of her experience, however minor, however unfunny–that’s the job, and that’s the job we’ll learn to do in this very good seminar.
There are many types of comedy (physical, emotional, situational, observational, dark, surreal), and many comedic tools–we’ll cover them all and how to use them with confidence to write 200+ pages.
Specifically, we’ll gossip about how to:
- Draft memoir
- Begin and end it
- Structure it
- Figure out what it’s about and what sets it apart
- Make people care about it
- Balance the personal and the universal
- Write comedically about the characters in your life, including you, without going too far
We’ll refer to a few perfect comedic memoirs as examples.
Students will brainstorm in class and receive informative handouts and inspirational assignments. Pep-talks will be available upon request.
Come with memoirs in mind or in-progress, or come to be inspired.
Preparation and workload: Read (and love) Hysterical (if you want). There are also handouts (to be referenced during classes) and brainstorming and writing exercises (to be done in class). Elissa will provide PDFs of essays.
TAKE THIS CLASS IF:
- You want to learn how to write a comedic memoir.
- You're an aspiring memoirist or comedy writer.
- You want to expand your tools as an artist.
Can't Make It Live?
No problem! The session will be recorded and available to watch after the seminar concludes.
TESTIMONIALS:
"I loved this class. Elissa was an extremely generous teacher/storyteller. I think listening to her talk about her experience/struggles to get words on the page was the most valuable part. I was amazed with Elissa’s ability to focus and maintain passion and energy for 3 straight hours. I was completely engaged in her personal writing journey and was satisfied with spending 3 hours listening to her speak." -former student
"What did I find most valuable about Elissa Bassist's Tragedy Plus Time seminar? All of it. The instructor was extremely funny and had many excellent resources to share." -former student
"This was a fun class! I found Elissa's personal takes and experiences in both the process and in finding a home for her writing most valuable. The process seems much more manageable to me now, and I would take another class with Elissa." -former student
"I heard about WritingWorkshop.com via Hippocampus Magazine. I'm so happy I found Elissa's class, which was filled with many small insights that added up to a lot. I left the class feeling inspired. Thank you." -former student
"Elissa's seminar exceeded my expectations! She provided real-world solutions for rejection and included so many thought-provoking prompts. This class was so rich with information it could have easily been a 6-week course."-former student
"This class was SO, SO GOOD!!!! By far, my favorite ever of the many many I have taken with Catapult, Grubstreet, Porch, CFF, and WritingWorkshops.com. Big compliments! Thank you!!! Learned a lot and was furiously taking down notes; what marvelous advice and stories you have. Can't wait to read HYSTERICAL and the books that will come after that." -former student
"I signed up for Elissa Bassist's Tragedy Plus Time seminar, and the readings/examples, resources, and lecture combined created a ton of value!" -former student
"You should take Elissa Bassist's Tragedy + Time seminar. Her humor, her fresh perspective, the specific writing prompts, it's all great. Elissa was thorough and delightful, and I learned a lot." -former student
"Elissa Bassist was so generous with her time and her expertise, not only during the seminar (Tragedy Plus Time), but with the handouts before the class. It really energized my current project. I could have spent another hour listening to her. As an organization, you're doing great! Everything worked great... easy to sign up, easy to access. Thanks so much!" -former student
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Class is on Sunday, March 30th, 2025, via Zoom from 2:00PM EST - 5:00PM EST
- Tuition is $75.
If you have questions, please use the Chat Button or contact us via email HERE.