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How to Write Funny: John Cleese

February 17, 2014 Posted by L.L. Barkat

john cleese interview how to write funny

On how to write funny, live seriously, and love life. A great interview with John Cleese at Harvard Business Review:

Life’s Work: John Cleese

In your career you’ve had periods of close collaboration with other creatives and periods of very focused individual expression. Do you work better alone or with partners?

It depends on the subject matter. I’m writing my autobiography now, and I don’t think there’s any point at all in doing that with anyone else. But traditionally, comedy writers have worked in pairs, and I like that. I do believe that when you collaborate with someone else on something creative, you get to places that you would never get to on your own. The way an idea builds as it careens back and forth between good writers is so unpredictable. Sometimes it depends on people misunderstanding each other, and that’s why I don’t think there’s any such thing as a mistake in the creative process. You never know where it might lead…

read all of Life’s Work: John Cleese

Photo by That Guy Who’s Going Places, Creative Commons, via Flickr.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Write Funny

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