Are you looking for an honest and legit David Sedaris Masterclass Review? Well, you are at the right place! This review discusses the funny man, David Sedaris, and whether his Masterclass lives up to the hype.
Quick Summary of David Sedaris Masterclass Review
In 3 hours and 37 Minutes, you will learn:
- Take everything lightly and laugh at yourself.
- Talk to new people and ask them interesting questions.
- Observe the world around you and let it inspire you.
- Mine your family and loved ones for content respectably.
- Keep yourself relevant to your reader by being true to yourself.
- Make your work unique, and not be afraid of failure.
- Content that focuses on humorous writing.
- An opportunity to learn from David Sedaris.
- Learn how to be a better conversationalist.
- Learn how to be funny in a respectable way.
- No tips on how to navigate the world of publishing.
- Subjective advice based on David Sedaris’s preferred style of writing.
I recommend this class to anyone who wants to improve their writing skills. You get good tips and tricks on observing your surroundings and let it inspire you to write amazing stories. Although humorous writing is not your area of expertise, this MasterClass will still help you be a better conversationalist and humorist.
I love writing, and I have watched multiple masterclass courses. So when I stumbled upon a writing course taught by David Sedaris, I was curious to see what it offered that would be different from every other writing course.
David Sedaris teaches you to take life lightly, find fun in the mundane, and that everything you go through in life is worth sharing.
I will summarize the masterclass and also share what I liked about it and my key takeaways from this review.
David Sedaris Masterclass Review
So, let’s get started.
David Sedaris is an author, humorist, comedian, and essayist. He shot to fame when he read his essay “Santaland Diaries” in NPR’s morning editions in 1992. In 1994, he published “Barrel Fever,” his collection of essays and short stories. His book “Naked” was on the New York Times bestseller list. In the year 2000, he won the Thurber Prize for American Humor for his book “Me Talk Pretty One Day.” And over the years, he has written for multiple different mediums.
Sedaris writes about real life in an exaggerated way. His publishers are often left confused about whether to recognize his work as fiction or nonfiction. Most of his essays are detailed versions of his journal entries. He also collaborates with his sister, Amy Sedaris, on writing plays.
Who Should Get David Sedaris Masterclass?
I feel David Sedaris’s Masterclass is not for everyone. It is fitting only for people who:
- Want to pursue a career in writing nonfiction humor.
- Interested in writing short autobiographical pieces.
- Eager to learn from an established writer and essayist.
- Want to influence people effectively and be remembered.
- Is a fan of David Sedaris and his writing.
David Sedaris writes about his life and experiences but with a humorous twist. You will learn how to write about personal incidents and get your readers invested in your life.
If you are not keen on writing humorous essays and short stories, this Masterclass is probably not for you.
What does David Sedaris’s Masterclass cover?
David Sedaris’s Masterclass is around 3 hours and 20 minutes long. It is very well paced and his delivery is engaging, keeping the viewers hooked.
It comes with a supplemental 38-page course book that summarizes all the points covered in the class. It consists of a bibliography, recommendations for podcasts and other reading material, assignments, and excerpts from Davis Sedaris’s own books.
The Masterclass is broken down into 14 lessons. They are:
- Introduction
- Observing the World
- Turning Observations Into Stories
- Breaking Into a Story
- Connecting to Your Reader
- Writing About Loved Ones
- Story Evolution: “Active Shooter”
- Kitchen Sink Stories: Live in Cleveland
- Ending With Weight
- Revision Philosophy
- Growing as a Writer
- David’s Influences
- Conclusion: Two Groups of People
- Bonus Reading: “The Spirit World”
David Sedaris’s goal is for you to realize your story is worth telling. He focuses on how you can use the world around you to inspire your writing. The key is to have a keen sense of observation. You just need to write daily, even if it’s not perfect.
To convert observations into essays, you need to think outside the box to make contextual connections to make your writing stand out. He teaches you how to interact with people in a way that draws out more captivating incidents.
Sedaris also provides ways in which you can establish a relationship with your readers. If you stay unabashedly honest and true to form, your readers will appreciate your work. Self-deprecating humor is the best form of humor, according to him. Sedaris says that to make the readers laugh, you need the ability to laugh at yourself.
He also elaborates on how to write about your personal life and family without crossing boundaries and in a way that is flattering. This helps your readers relate to you.
Sedaris also gives tips and tricks on staying focused as a writer and not losing sight of things. Keeping focused helps you grow as a writer. But he also mentions going out and meeting new people and experiencing new things is as important as sitting at your desk and writing about it. It is important to balance both of those things without getting overwhelmed.
He then concludes that it is important to celebrate your success while still staying humble.
Key Points From David Sedaris Masterclass
David Sedaris’s Masterclass on storytelling and humour is an amazing, one-of-a-kind course with a lot of useful insights. I have tried to summarize it below.
- Sometimes, it is okay not to take life seriously and have fun, even when times are hard. As David Sedaris says, “Everything is funny, eventually.” It is important to write about the hard times to journal it.
- Be a great conversationalist. It helps mine stories and cultivate experiences that will make you a better writer.
- Always say “yes” to crazy adventures.
- To write is to rewrite. Keep reading your work critically and have a healthy relationship with your editor.
- Find light in the darkest times. Sadness sometimes adds weight to humor making it more remarkable.
- Always stay consistent. To become a successful writer, you need to keep practicing. You need to allot specific time and space to write consistently.
What did I like about David Sedaris’s MasterClass?
David Sedaris is entertaining, so if you don’t learn anything from this MasterClass, you will get a few good laughs. Learning from one of the New York Times bestselling writers is also a privilege. Not only does he teach his techniques to become a good writer, but he also stresses(a lot sometimes) writing every day.
Before watching this MasterClass, I never really considered myself a funny writer, let alone a “conventionally” funny person. But after this, I would consider my hindsight the funniest guide to help me write about my weird, albeit not too unusual, life.
I found his style to be a toned-down version of Observational Comedy. But what he excels at is that he doesn’t go overboard with his humor.
My key takeaway from his MasterClass would be that exactly. The fine balance between it being funny in a way a story is funny but not funny in a way where I start thinking of my life experiences as comedic.
One last thing that I loved was his reassurance that even if you don’t publish, you are still a writer. Your story is worth telling, and if you tell it well, people will read it.
If I’ve not said this already, I will say it one last time: David Sedaris’s MasterClass is worth your bang and buck. For people who already find their lives interesting enough, this will help you articulate them in an entertaining way. And for those of you who do not find your life interesting (believe me, it is), you can still use your observations of the world around you and spin them into something amusing, both for yourself and for the world to read.
He has an interesting way of looking at life, and he offers stories and observations from his own life as examples. If you want to improve your writing skills, this course will definitely do that.