On Being Specific for Writing the Joke

And now for part two of being specific. . .after your research where you’ve now got specific data, you need to actually write a joke that is specific. Take a look at the words you’re using and see if you can get very, very specific. Don’t use a rounded number like 300 if you can use something more specific like 307. . .if you’re talking about someone’s weight for example, 307 is just funnier than 300. Or saying that someone stayed in a “Swanky hotel” isn’t funny, but staying in a “Swanky Super  8” is funny because, well, Super 8’s aren’t known for their swankiness!

But of course here’s where there’s a fine line. Sometimes you can use too many adjectives that get in the way of the joke. . .you don’t want people to have to think about too many things, and get caught up on some descriptive words, so that they miss the punch line. If you have to use a lot of adjectives, then maybe break the joke up into three lines, with the 3^rd being the punch line.

Take a quick look at the nouns you’re using and see if you can put something descriptive in front of them that makes the subject more specific. You also need to ask yourself does it matter how specific it is. A lot of comics joke about their cars breaking down, and they name a specific model that a lot of people (at least in the past) considered bad. This also gets people on your side (because they’ve owned one too) and it creates a picture of the specific car in their heads. But if you’re talking about your (model) car breaking down, it may or may not matter what color the car is. . .that’s your call depending on your joke.

Ok, enough on being specific . . .Thanks for reading. . .specifically thanks for reading my blog!

Jan