# Comedy Writing Secrets by Mel Helitzer with Mark Shatz Source: https://thegisthub.com/books/comedy-writing-secrets-by-mel-helitzer Last updated: 2026-10-24 Published 1987 · 352 pages · ISBN 9781582973579 · Categories: Communication and persuasion Comedy Writing Secrets by Mel Helitzer with Mark Shatz is a workbook on writing humor: the THREES formula, joke structure, plays on words and markets from stand-up to speeches. For writers, speakers and teachers who want to be funnier on purpose. ## The gist Mel Helitzer, a journalism professor who taught humor writing, argues that being funny is a craft you can learn, not a gift you are born with. His core tool is the THREES formula: good humor has a Target, Hostility, Realism, Exaggeration, Emotion and Surprise. He breaks jokes into a setup that leads the audience one way and a punch line that turns them another. He teaches techniques such as plays on words, reverses and triples, plus ways to brainstorm material. The second half shows how to use humor in stand-up, speeches, columns, greeting cards, sitcoms and the classroom. ## Key ideas ### 1. Humor is a learnable craft Helitzer rejects the idea that comedians are simply born funny. He argues that humor follows patterns, such as setups, reversals and surprises, and that these patterns can be studied and practiced. The book is built like a course, with examples and exercises in each chapter. The lesson is that anyone who writes or speaks can become funnier by learning the structures behind jokes and rewriting their own material. ### 2. The THREES formula Helitzer's core tool lists six elements of good humor: Target, Hostility, Realism, Exaggeration, Emotion and Surprise. A joke aims at a target, taps a shared frustration, rests on a recognizable truth, stretches that truth, builds tension and releases it with a surprise. When a joke fails, he says, check it against the six elements to see which one is missing or weak. ### 3. Every joke has a target Helitzer argues that humor is criticism disguised as entertainment. Every joke makes fun of someone or something: a boss, a group, an institution, a habit or yourself. The writer must choose a target that suits the audience, or the joke will offend instead of amuse. Self-deprecating humor is often the safest choice, because the only person you criticize is you. ### 4. Hostility fuels humor People laugh at what frustrates them. Helitzer lists common sources of hostility: authority, sex, money, family, anxiety, technology and differences between groups. Humor gives people a safe outlet for these feelings. A joke about airport security or a bad boss works because the audience already shares the annoyance. The writer's job is to find the frustration and say what everyone feels. ### 5. Setup leads one way, punch line turns another A joke has two parts. The setup creates an expectation and leads the audience in one direction. The punch line breaks that expectation. Helitzer advises keeping setups short and putting the key word of the punch line as near the end as possible. Any words after it weaken the laugh. Tight jokes, with every extra word cut, almost always get bigger laughs. ### 6. Triples and reverses are reliable structures Two of the most useful techniques are the triple and the reverse. In a triple, two items set a pattern and the third breaks it. In a reverse, the setup points toward a normal answer and the punch line flips it. Plays on words, such as twisted clichés and double meanings, are a third tool. These structures give beginners a dependable starting point for writing jokes. ### 7. Generate material with lists and associations When you cannot think of anything funny, Helitzer says to make a list. Pick a topic and write down every word, idea and image connected to it. Then look for associations, especially surprising links between items. Many jokes come from joining two ideas that do not belong together. He also urges writers to keep notes on everyday frustrations, which supply most good material. ## Questions this book answers ### What is Comedy Writing Secrets about? Comedy Writing Secrets by Mel Helitzer, with Mark Shatz on the second edition, is a workbook on writing humor. It argues that funny is a learnable skill. It teaches the THREES formula, the structure of setup and punch line, techniques such as plays on words, reverses and triples, and how to apply them to stand-up, speeches, columns, greeting cards, sitcoms and teaching. ### What is the THREES formula of humor? THREES is Mel Helitzer's list of six elements found in good humor: Target (who the joke is about), Hostility (a shared frustration), Realism (a recognizable truth), Exaggeration (stretching that truth), Emotion (building tension) and Surprise (an unexpected punch line). He uses it to explain why jokes work and to fix ones that do not. ### Can you learn to be funny? Helitzer argues that you can. He calls the idea that comedians are born funny a myth. Humor follows patterns, such as a setup that creates an expectation and a punch line that breaks it. By studying these patterns, generating material from lists and rewriting until every extra word is gone, most people can write jokes that work. ### What are the main joke writing techniques in Comedy Writing Secrets? The book teaches plays on words (puns, double meanings and twisted clichés), reverses (a punch line that flips the expected answer), triples (two items set a pattern and the third breaks it) and pairings of ideas that do not belong together. It also covers exaggeration, specific details and placing the punch word at the end. ### Who wrote Comedy Writing Secrets? Mel Helitzer wrote the first edition in 1987. He taught humor writing at Ohio University and had worked in advertising. The second edition, published in 2005 by Writer's Digest Books, is by Mel Helitzer with Mark Shatz, a psychologist and comedy writer. Shatz led a third edition in 2016, after Helitzer's death. ## Full summary ### Funny is a skill **Comedy Writing Secrets** by Mel Helitzer with Mark Shatz is a practical guide to writing humor. Helitzer first published it in 1987. The widely used second edition, co-written with the psychologist and comedy writer Mark Shatz, came out in 2005. A third edition followed in 2016, after Helitzer's death. Helitzer taught humor writing in the journalism school at Ohio University and had worked in advertising and public relations. The book starts with a strong claim. Many people believe comedians are born funny. Helitzer calls this a myth. He argues that humor follows patterns, that those patterns can be studied, and that anyone willing to practice can learn to write jokes that work. The book reads like a course: each chapter explains a concept, gives examples from well-known comedians and writers, and ends with exercises. Helitzer also argues that humor is useful far beyond comedy clubs. Speakers, teachers, managers, advertisers and columnists all use it to hold attention, make a point stick and build a bond with an audience. ### Why we laugh Before teaching technique, the book reviews the main theories of why people laugh. One theory says we laugh from a sense of **superiority**, when we see someone else fail. Another says we laugh at **incongruity**, when two ideas that do not belong together collide. A third says laughter brings **relief**, releasing tension or fear. Helitzer also stresses **surprise**. He does not pick one theory. He uses them to show what a joke must do: create an expectation, then break it in a way that feels both unexpected and right. ### The THREES formula The center of the book is Helitzer's **THREES** formula. He argues that good humor, from a one-liner to a full routine, contains six elements. - **Target.** Humor is criticism dressed up as entertainment, so every joke has a target: a person, a group, an institution or an idea. The writer must choose a target that suits the audience. Self-deprecating humor, where you are the target, is often the safest choice. - **Hostility.** Humor gives people a safe way to express the hostility they feel in daily life. Helitzer lists common sources: authority, sex, money, family, anxiety, technology and differences between groups. A joke works when it taps a frustration the audience already shares. - **Realism.** Most good jokes rest on a truth the audience recognizes. Without that base of reality, there is nothing to relate to. - **Exaggeration.** The writer has a **humor license**, like a poet's license, to stretch reality. Exaggeration takes a true observation and pushes it far enough to become absurd. - **Emotion.** A joke builds tension and anticipation. Helitzer compares it to a balloon that fills with air until it bursts. The release of that tension is the laugh. - **Surprise.** The punch line must catch the audience off guard. If they see it coming, the joke fails. He argues that when a joke falls flat, a writer can check it against these six elements to find what is missing. A joke with no clear target feels vague. A joke with no realism feels silly rather than sharp. A joke with no surprise feels flat, because the audience got there first. The formula is a diagnostic tool as much as a recipe. ### The structure of a joke Helitzer breaks a joke into two parts. The **setup** creates an expectation. It leads the audience down a path and makes them assume they know where it goes. The **punch line** turns them in a new direction. He advises keeping setups short and placing the key word of the punch line as close to the end as possible, so the surprise lands at the last moment. Extra words after the punch weaken the laugh. He also stresses rewriting. A first draft is rarely funny. The writer cuts words, sharpens the target, tests different punch words and tries alternate versions. He uses examples from comedians to show that less is often better: the tightest version of a joke usually gets the biggest laugh. ### Techniques: plays on words, reverses and triples The book teaches a set of traditional techniques for building jokes. - **Plays on words.** Puns, double meanings, misused words and twisted clichés. Helitzer shows how to take a familiar phrase and change one word, or read it literally, to create a surprise. - **Reverses.** The setup points one way and the punch line flips it. The audience expects a normal answer and gets the opposite. - **Triples.** A list of three where the first two items set a pattern and the third breaks it. This **rule of three** is one of the most common structures in comedy. - **Pairings.** Joining two ideas that do not belong together to create incongruity. He also covers exaggeration and understatement, funny names and sounds, and the use of specific details, which are funnier than general ones. ### Finding material Many beginners say they cannot think of anything funny. Helitzer gives methods for generating material. One is **listing**: choose a topic and write down every word, idea and image connected to it. Another is **association**: look for links between items on the list, especially unexpected ones, and build jokes from them. He urges writers to keep notes on daily frustrations and observations, because these are the raw material of most humor. A writer who carries a notebook, he suggests, will never run out of topics. The habit also trains you to notice the small absurdities most people pass by. He treats the **audience** as the final judge. A joke is funny only if this audience, in this room, laughs. Writers should know who will hear the joke, what they share and what will offend them. They should test new material in front of real listeners, keep what works and cut what does not, without arguing with the silence. ### Markets for humor The second half of the book applies these tools to specific kinds of writing. - **Stand-up comedy.** How to build a routine from jokes, find a persona, and test material in front of audiences. - **Speeches and presentations.** How to open with humor, use it to make points, and avoid jokes that offend the room. - **Roasts.** How to tease the guest of honor with affection. - **Columns and essays.** How to sustain humor over a longer piece. - **Sitcoms.** How comedy grows from character and situation. - **Greeting cards, advertising and T-shirts.** How short, commercial humor works and how writers sell it. - **Teaching.** How teachers can use humor to hold attention and help students remember. The book also discusses the risks of humor that targets ethnic groups, sex or disability, and how a writer can tell when a joke crosses a line for a given audience. ### What the critics say The book is widely used in humor writing courses. Critics note that some of its examples and views are dated. The writer Saul Austerlitz called some of its statistics dubious and some of its views on comedy old-fashioned, while granting that much of its advice is sound for new comics. Some readers also find that analyzing jokes this closely takes the fun out of them, and that a formula cannot replace a writer's own voice. ### Who should read it Read it if you want to write jokes, add humor to speeches or presentations, or teach with more energy. It suits beginners who want a clear method and exercises more than writers who already perform regularly. ## Do this week - Pick one daily frustration and write a list of 20 words and images connected to it, then circle two that clash. - Write three jokes using a triple, where the third item breaks the pattern set by the first two. - Take one joke you like and check it against the six THREES elements to see how it works. - Rewrite one joke or funny line so the key word of the punch line is the very last word. - Add one short, self-deprecating line to the opening of your next presentation or meeting. Summary by The Gist Hub (https://thegisthub.com). In our own words, not the book's text.