The "point," you will recall, we defined as the funny observation
of a pure monologue--in lay-conversation it means the laugh line
of a joke; and "gag" we defined as a joke or a pun. For the sake
of clearness let us confine "point" to a funny observation in a
monologue, and "gag" to a joke in a connected series of stories.

It is impossible for anyone to teach you how to write a really
funny point or a gag. But, if you have a well-developed sense of
humor, you can, with the help of the suggestions for form given
here and the examples of humor printed in the appendix, and those
you will find in the funny papers and hear along the street or on
the stage, teach yourself to write saleable material. All that
this chapter can hope to do for you is to show you how the best
monologue writes and the most successful monologists work to achieve
their notable results, and thus put you in the right path to
accomplish, with the least waste of time and energy, what they
have done.

Therefore, let us suppose that you know what is humorous, have a
well-developed sense of humor, and can produce really funny points
and gags. Now, having your points and gags clearly framed in mind
and ready to set down on paper, you naturally ask, How shall I
arrange them? In what order shall I place them to secure the best
effect for the whole monologue?

Barrett Wendell, professor of English at Harvard University, [1]
has suggested an effective mechanical aid for determining the
clearest and best arrangement of sentences and paragraphs in English
prose, and his plan seems especially adapted to help the monologue
writer determine a perfect routine. Briefly his method may be