“Gleefully wacky and irreverent.”

–The New York Times

“Line by line, Mr. Rudnick may be the funniest writer for the stage in the United States today.”

–The New York Times

“Deeply funny musings and adventures elevate Paul Rudnick to the highest level of American comedy writing.”

–Steve Martin

“One of the funniest quip-meisters on the planet.”

–The New York Times

“Paul Rudnick is a champion of truth (and love and great wicked humor) whom we ignore at our peril.”

–David Sedaris

“Quips fall with the regularity of the autumn leaves.”

–Associated Press

July 5, 2015

More Rules For Riters

man with ink well and feather quillEveryone will always tell you that your book, play or movie has too many endings. They will be absolutely right. Ignore them.

I saw a play recently, and at the end of the first act I thought it was a little whiny. The second act was one trillion times more whiny and I loved it. I admire writers with the courage of their obsessions. You don’t have to agree with a writer in order to appreciate his or her work.

Fight the development of writers OCD: all chapters do not have to be the same length.

In movies, especially comedies, there are certain actors who improvise brilliantly. Not all actors can do this: you can see the panic in their eyes, and they start repeating the same lines, like “What did you say?” or “Fuck you!” over and over again. This is where writers can come in handy.

There’s a wedding announcement in today’s paper for a delightful couple named Lisa Dacey and Jennifer Snook. Their names sound like the heroines of a Jane Austen novel set in the age of marriage equality.

Blognick