Jokes about Writing

A visitor to a certain college paused to admire the new Hemingway Hall that had been built on campus.

"It's a pleasure to see a building named for Ernest Hemingway," he said.

"Actually," said his guide, "it's named for Joshua Hemingway. No relation."

The visitor was astonished. "Was Joshua Hemingway a writer, also?"

"Yes, indeed," said his guide. "He wrote a check."

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A linguistics professor was lecturing to his English class one day. "In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.

She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.

"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."

A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.

"Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"

"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."

There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer.

When asked to define great, he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!"

He now works for Microsoft writing error messages.

A screenwriter comes home to a burned down house. His sobbing and slightly-singed wife is standing outside. �What happened, honey?� the man asks.



�Oh, John, it was terrible,� she weeps. �I was cooking, the phone rang. It was your agent. Because I was on the phone, I didn�t notice the stove was on fire. It went up in second. Everything is gone. I nearly didn�t make it out of the house. Poor Fluffy is--�



�Wait, wait. Back up a minute,� The man says. �My agent called?�

How many science fiction writers does it take to change a light bulb?

Two, but it's actually the same person doing it. He went back in time and met himself in the doorway and then the first one sat on the other one's shoulder so that they were able to reach it. Then a major time paradox occurred and the entire room, light bulb, changer and all was blown out of existence. They co-existed in a parallel universe, though.

How many publishers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Three. One to screw it in. Two to hold down the author.

How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Two. One to screw it almost all the way in, and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end.

How many screenwriters does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Why does it *have* to be changed?

How many cover blurb writers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A VAST AND TEEMING HORDE STRETCHING FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA!!!!

How many screenwriters does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: Ten.

1st draft. Hero changes light bulb.

2nd draft. Villain changes light bulb.

3rd draft. Hero stops villain from changing light bulb. Villain falls to death.

4th draft. Lose the light bulb.

5th draft. Light bulb back in. Fluorescent instead of tungsten.

6th draft. Villain breaks bulb, uses it to kill hero's mentor.

7th draft. Fluorescent not working. Back to tungsten.

8th draft. Hero forces villain to eat light bulb.

9th draft. Hero laments loss of light bulb. Doesn't change it.

10th draft. Hero changes light bulb.

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Punctuation Parable

Dear John,

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior.

You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy - will you let me be yours?

Gloria

Dear John,

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior.

You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,

Gloria

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How to Write Good

1. Avoid alliteration. Always.



2. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.



3. Employ the vernacular.



4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.



5. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.



6. Remember to never split an infinitive.



7. Contractions aren't necessary.



8. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.



9. One should never generalize.



10. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."



11. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.



12. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.



13. Be more or less specific.



14. Understatement is always best.



15. One-word sentences? Eliminate.



16. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.



17. The passive voice is to be avoided.



18. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.



19. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.



20. Who needs rhetorical questions?



21. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.



22. Don't never use a double negation.



23. capitalize every sentence and remember always end it with point



24. Do not put statements in the negative form.



25. Verbs have to agree with their subjects.



26. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.



27. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.



28. A writer must not shift your point of view.



29. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)



30. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!



31. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to the irantecedents.



32. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.



33. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.



34. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.



35. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.



36. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.



37. Always pick on the correct idiom.



38. The adverb always follows the verb.



39. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; They're old hat; seek viable alternatives.

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Ode to the Spell Check

Eye halve a spelling chequer



It cam with my pea sea



It plainly marques four my revue



Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.



Eye strike a key and type a word



And weight four it two say



Weather eye am wrong oar write



It shows me strait a weigh.



As soon as a mist ache is maid



It nose bee fore two long



And eye can put the error rite



Its rare lea ever wrong.



Eye have run this poem threw it



I am shore your pleased two no



Its letter perfect awl the weigh



My chequer tolled me sew!

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