The Comic Hero's Journey: Serious Story Structure for Fabulously Funny Films Paperback – December 1, 2018

This book changed my writing life. Seriously. I've been attending writing conferences and studying the craft for about 14 years and couldn't figure out why my writing didn't work. I was using the traditional Hero's Journey for my comedy screenplay. No wonder a producer said to me, "I was excited when I read the word Christmas in your title, but I wasn't excited when I read your script." I read this book and am taking his intensive class via zoom and my brain has exploded. I know exactly what I am doing wrong. I am rewriting my screenplay using the COMIC Hero's Journey.I loved the easy style of writing. I buy a lot of writing books and while the concepts are good, they are BORING. This is an easy read and the concepts are easy to grasp. I feel like Steve Kaplan is the hero that saved my writing life. #fangirl

Reading 'The Comic Hero's Journey' is perfect for someone like me who wants to write a full-length comedy but has little-to-no idea on how to do so. When I first set out to learn comedy I started with joke-writing books. Books on punchlines. But the nature of a comedic screenplay demands more attention to be paid to character, and that's where Steve Kaplan is an expert.Many of the ideas that I have about screenwriting come from the standard texts and they all say pretty much the same thing. But I found some of the material in this book to be really surprising like this gem from page 79: "And while there's always a place for villains in our comedies (i.e., Biff in Back to the Future or Ben Stiller in Dodgeball), here's what you need to understand about antagonists in comedies: You don't need them."I found that piece of advice to be worth the price of admission alone.This book is an adaptation of Joseph Campbell's 'Hero's Journey'. It pays particular attention to several blockbuster comedies (Bridesmaids, This Is The End, Tropic Thunder, and Spy) and breaks them down step-by-step so that you can see how the journey unfolds throughout several movies. Beginning in 'Normal World' and progressing through seven key areas: 'WTF?' 'Reactions' 'Connections' 'New Directions' 'Disconnection' and 'Race To The Finish'.With 'The Comic Hero's Journey' what you get is a blueprint for comedy screenplays that doesn't feel like a formula. Steve even says so himself on page 141: "Structure is a form, but it needn't be a box. All of the stages in the Comic Hero's Journey happen in most movies, but not at set page numbers of percentage points."Like Steve's first book, this book is a set of tools that will guide you as a writer. If you've read 'The Hidden Tools of Comedy' then you'll notice some overlap between the two which is nice because it helps springboard into new material. If you haven't read it, no worries, because this book definitely stands on its own merits.This book revisits the idea of comedic archetypes and describes many of the characters we see in today's movies. The Fool, The Voice of Reason, and The Animal to name a few. In the 'Hero's Journey,' the character of the Mentor is somebody like Ob-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars) while in the 'Comic Hero's Journey,' the Mentor is Patches O'Houlihan (Dodgeball).As a writer, I find this book to be a fresh view on how to write comedy. I think you'll agree.

I'm an enthusiast of the hero's journey paradigm when writing my own stories. I've read Campbell and Vogler, and I've worked with the paradigm enough that it's now part of my story subconscious. I've seen it in enough different contexts such as Snyder's 'Save the Cat' and Harmon's 'Story Circle' that I recognize it immediately. I'm planning on posting some animations to TikTok that use scenes from my books, and I wanted to punch up the humor so that people would have fun doing a duet as half of the scene conversation. I have Vorhaus's 'The Comic Toolbox' and had previously read Kaplan's 'Hidden Tools of Comedy' so I was pleased to see the 'Comic Hero's Journey' when I went looking for more resources.Steve Kaplan does a wonderful job of re-mapping the hero's journey with a comic perspective overlay. He walks you through the framework with solid examples from real films and stories. If you are already familiar with the afore-mentioned references, this book is a solid next step into comedy. Which, as we know, is harder than dying!Thank you, Steve!

I have a sizable collection of screenwriting books. It is rare when I discover a new one that interests me and informs me. THE COMIC HERO'S JOURNEY is that book. Kaplan turns the Hero's Journey upside down (but right size up for a comedy hero). It a fun read for a fun subject. My fav: when he writes about the hero's new "discovered" goal. A huge dramatic moment in any genre --- I found myself immediately using in class and in my creative work.

If you’ve read about classic story structure (especially from Save the Cat) this book does a great job of highlighting key differences from the hero and the comedic hero.For me, the hero's journey has been hard to translate to a comedy, but I was never really sure why. This book helped to shed light on how to twist that structure to build a funnier script.It's really simple shifts in perspective that make a big difference. The book is very clear that the structure IS NOT A FORMULA and GIVES EXAMPLES of movies that don’t follow the classic structure perfectly and yet still work.The real area this book shines is in the little observations and the Q&A at the end of the book. The author's opinions are very insightful.Lots to chew on here, but it would help to have a good understanding of the hero’s journey before reading this. Not because you’ll be lost or anything, but to appreciate the shift in perspective.

Steve Kaplan knows everything about comedy and any comedy writers from newbies to seasoned pros will benefit from this info-packed book. Even if you’re not writing a screenplay or anything, the book is fun, funny, and fascinating.

Worth it, and will buy his other book. Four Best screenwriting books are “story”,”The story solution””Writing for emotional impact”, and this one. And I’ve read a couple of dozen by now.

Su lectura es esencial si eres guionista principiante o novel.

Yeah, loved this one too. I've read Steve's first book: The Hidden Tools of Comedy, and I learnt heaps from that - changed my view and approach to longer narrative/film based comedy. This book is a natural extension to that. Lots of good stuff in this too. His workshops are also great and a natural complement. If you ever get a chance to attend one, grab it! Thanks Steve!

Steve Kaplan knows what he's talking about. I enjoyed this book as much as The Hidden Tools of Comedy. I cannot recommend them enough. Steve uses many classic comedies as examples of how to write great characters and excellent stories. A wonderful and highly informative read.

This book was an effective, easy-to-follow explanation of comedy writing structure. The author lists descriptions of classic character types that can be identified in comedies across the board, and he explains how to use them in a story to get a comedic affect. His use of familiar movies to illustrate theory was very helpful.