How Do You Write Comedy
Okay so let's get to it! How do you write comedy? I was listening to the news and I heard a story about abstinence, so I wrote several versions of a joke about it:
If you were to sit in a room and someone tossed out the idea of "abstinence," twenty different writers would write twenty different versions of a joke; some funnier than the other.
My point of doing this exercise of writing eight jokes in just a few minutes is not to show off (okay, it is), but not ONLY to show off! It's to point out something very important when it comes to comedy...
I'm able to write these jokes, not because I possess any magical qualities.
I don't produce them out of thin air.
There are processes to writing jokes and when you practice them, you get good.
It's almost that simple.
Not too long ago I was on the radio and, off the cuff, I made a joke about something that was being discussed from the news.
Everyone in the studio cracked up and the D.
J.
said, "Wow! How do you come up with these jokes so fast?" We were on the air, so in fun I whispered into the mic and did my best Liam Neesan impression from the movie "Taken.
" I said, "I possess a very particular set of skills.
" That comment not only got another laugh in the studio, but help to get more listeners down to see the shows that week.
Many of them coming up to me after the show saying, "Man, I loved your Liam Neesan on the radio!" The "skills" I was referring to are skills I learned.
Got that? I learned them.
Then I refined them, practiced them and practiced them again and I still practice.
As a result, I can write funny about almost anything given the right amount of time.
Learning the skills will be up to you.
I can give you many of the tools to write great comedy, but in the end, you will determine how you want to apply them.
Know this: there's NO one way to write comedy.
Lots of comedians and comedy writers have lots of different ways they come up with material.
I can't tell you how any one person does it.
I can tell you that most standup comedians wing it.
They don't have a process for writing material.
They write by coincidence.
They use their intuition and their sense of humor and recognize when something is funny, then they write it down, tweak it, then test it on stage.
Or they have an idea write it down and work through several drafts or talk it out on stage and hope that it becomes funny.
I'm not knocking this.
Many successful comedians have earned their living that way and it words fine for them.
But it's limiting, in that you have to wait for the coincidence to occur.
It doesn't put you in control.
It puts fate in control.
I'm going to reveal one of the biggest secrets in comedy.
Well, it's not really a secret, but if you as comedians at the major comedy clubs what the number one element is for human laughter, they would say "a punch line," or "timing.
" Those are the two answers I've gotten when asking.
But that doesn't do us any good when we're looking for the answers that will help us write better comedy material.
The number one element that triggers human laughter is surprise.
That's it.
Surprise.
One simple word that we've heard a million times, but never thought of applying it when trying to write or tell jokes.
It's in the structure of how you tell your stories and your jokes that will dictate your audience's surprise.
If you surprise them with what they expect you to say and you hit them with a surprise at the last second, that's one way of creating comedy.
The important thing to realize is that all of the above jokes started with the truth, simply a fact or a statement.
Once that statement had you believing in an anticipated ending, it suddenly shattered that anticipation and surprised you, creating laughter.
So try this:
Have fun!
I'm practicing abstinence.
I have to...
I'm married.
Some people practice abstinence for moral reasons.
Some people practice abstinence for religious reasons.
I practice abstinence because I'm married.
I'm practicing abstinence; It's mostly due to the fact that I just joined a new religion; it's called "marriage.
"
There's good news and bad news with my marriage.
The good news is I found out my wife has not been having sex with me only because she's practicing abstinence.
The bad news is: she's only been practicing abstinence with me.
Communication is very important in a relationship.
Like when I got mad at my wife for not having sex with me.
Then I found out she was practicing abstinence...
but only with me.
Saint Augustine said, "Complete abstinence defines one's character.
" To me complete abstinence defines my marriage.
Rick Santorum says that total abstinence leads to increased mental clarity.
To me total abstinence leads to increased incidents of blue balls.
Men and women communicate differently.There are lots of ways to write jokes, not just jokes on the same idea, but even different versions of the exact same joke.
Women are emotional, men are literal.
Like, I was dating this girl once and she pulled the abstinence card on me.
She said, "We shouldn't have sex until we're married.
" Then she caught me in bed with her best friend.
I said, (pointing to her then me), "You said, 'WE.
'"
If you were to sit in a room and someone tossed out the idea of "abstinence," twenty different writers would write twenty different versions of a joke; some funnier than the other.
My point of doing this exercise of writing eight jokes in just a few minutes is not to show off (okay, it is), but not ONLY to show off! It's to point out something very important when it comes to comedy...
I'm able to write these jokes, not because I possess any magical qualities.
I don't produce them out of thin air.
There are processes to writing jokes and when you practice them, you get good.
It's almost that simple.
Not too long ago I was on the radio and, off the cuff, I made a joke about something that was being discussed from the news.
Everyone in the studio cracked up and the D.
J.
said, "Wow! How do you come up with these jokes so fast?" We were on the air, so in fun I whispered into the mic and did my best Liam Neesan impression from the movie "Taken.
" I said, "I possess a very particular set of skills.
" That comment not only got another laugh in the studio, but help to get more listeners down to see the shows that week.
Many of them coming up to me after the show saying, "Man, I loved your Liam Neesan on the radio!" The "skills" I was referring to are skills I learned.
Got that? I learned them.
Then I refined them, practiced them and practiced them again and I still practice.
As a result, I can write funny about almost anything given the right amount of time.
Learning the skills will be up to you.
I can give you many of the tools to write great comedy, but in the end, you will determine how you want to apply them.
Know this: there's NO one way to write comedy.
Lots of comedians and comedy writers have lots of different ways they come up with material.
I can't tell you how any one person does it.
I can tell you that most standup comedians wing it.
They don't have a process for writing material.
They write by coincidence.
They use their intuition and their sense of humor and recognize when something is funny, then they write it down, tweak it, then test it on stage.
Or they have an idea write it down and work through several drafts or talk it out on stage and hope that it becomes funny.
I'm not knocking this.
Many successful comedians have earned their living that way and it words fine for them.
But it's limiting, in that you have to wait for the coincidence to occur.
It doesn't put you in control.
It puts fate in control.
I'm going to reveal one of the biggest secrets in comedy.
Well, it's not really a secret, but if you as comedians at the major comedy clubs what the number one element is for human laughter, they would say "a punch line," or "timing.
" Those are the two answers I've gotten when asking.
But that doesn't do us any good when we're looking for the answers that will help us write better comedy material.
The number one element that triggers human laughter is surprise.
That's it.
Surprise.
One simple word that we've heard a million times, but never thought of applying it when trying to write or tell jokes.
It's in the structure of how you tell your stories and your jokes that will dictate your audience's surprise.
If you surprise them with what they expect you to say and you hit them with a surprise at the last second, that's one way of creating comedy.
"I have five kids--so I'm half-Mormon.
"
"I ran into my girlfriend in the parking lot at the store--screwed up the front end of my car!"
"My wife is large-breasted.
She thought I was psychic when I first met her because I guessed her cup size.
She walked into the room and I went, 'GEEZ!'"
"If you ask my wife why she's not happy with her large breasts, she'll just say: "Lumps.
" She's not worried that doctors will find a lump.
She's worried that the doctor's will discover the lump is her kneecap.
"
"I saw a commercial that said, 'If you experience an erection that lasts more than four hours, call your doctor'...The funny is not only in the surprise, but also the simplicity.
If I experience an erection that lasts more than four hours, I'm calling everyone!"
The important thing to realize is that all of the above jokes started with the truth, simply a fact or a statement.
Once that statement had you believing in an anticipated ending, it suddenly shattered that anticipation and surprised you, creating laughter.
So try this:
- Write down ten facts.
(DON'T TRY TO BE FUNNY!) - Then ask yourself what is the audience thinking?
- They try to comment on the fact with something that is opposite to what the intended meaning is supposed to be.
Have fun!
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