The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursions Into the Writing of Humor

This book is not your usual writing manual. It doesn't have chapters, doesn't have an index, nor a table of contents. But this gold mine is worth digging in! Patrick wrote it as part of a fund raiser for the Endowment Fund for his university in the state of WA. Each page of this book is laid out in this way: it contains advice on different subject matters. Each page is written brilliantly, conversationally, and funny too. I have been writing freelance humor for 30 years now and . . . wow. It was such a treat to read McManus' advice. I sat there, turning those McManus pages and POW I'd get smacked upside-the-head with one piece of news and have to mark it, and then I'd read a few more pages and POW there'd be another nugget. If truth be told, I wasn't a Patrick McManus fan prior to finding this book at my library. I picked it up purely because of its title, because there are so few books on writing humor. But, as soon as I had it in my hands I had to order a copy for my own shelf. I highly recommend it for anyone who writes humor. But, actually, I highly recommend it for anyone who writes. When you read this book, sit down and get comfortable, but have a marker handy. You will need it.

This book is an excellent text for those wishing to write satorical stories.His presentation of the technique is different from most texts. I learned a lot fron this book.

Patrick McManus has always been somewhat of an enigma to me. I loved to read his columns as a child. I'd sneak away with my father's hunting and fishing magazines just to read the humorous writings of McManus like other children did with their dad's Playboy magazines.It wasn't until I was an adult that I truly appreciated McManus' humor. And, now, as an author myself, I have come to understand his writing. This book gives great insight into what makes McManus write. He uses past essays to help describe the techniques he uses. Most of all, he gives all of us a glimpse into what makes McManus funny. If you're looking for the "secret" that makes McManus an awesome author, you won't find it in black and white. It's more like studying a master and hoping that some day you can be half as good. No one can be another McManus, but if you study his writings and study his words on writing humor, you might, JUST MIGHT, get to be half as funny.So, as Grasshopper learned from his master, you too can learn from this master.

Potential purchasers of this excellent book should understand that this is not your normal Patrick McManus book. This book is *not* a collection of McManus stories, although some stories are used to illustrate concepts. Rather, this is an excellent book on the craft and art of humor writing. For people just interested in McManus' writing, this might be somewhat of the "magic behind the magician" variety...sometimes, you don't want to know how the feat is accomplished. For writers, or anyone who wants to know how Pat got into the business, and how he manages to keep at the top, this is an excellent book. It is a book that can easily be used as a textbook for humor writing.