Writing Your Own Comedy Material
I’ve wanted to write on this subject
for a while, but I wasn’t sure how to get into it. And no, I’m not going to go into a lecture on stealing material (which you shouldn’t do – enough said). I started this humor writing blog for people who want tips on writing humor – regardless of if you’re an up and coming comedian who thinks they’re the next Jay Leno or a business person who wants to kick off their boring sales meeting with some laughs, or maybe you’re a sales guru who has figured out that people do business with people they like and people like people who are funny. Whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re reading it and trying to do some humor.
And if you read this blog and even buy
my comedy writing book (or anyone’s comedy writing book) and still can’t figure it out, then I’m glad to write some material for you through my joke writing service. . . with exceptions – there are 2 types of people I will not write for: Comedians – unless they are famous and are burning up material on TV fast, and people who aren’t comedians but got into a comedy contest (like funniest lawyer) and need material so they can win.
I know that sounds mean,
but as a comedian myself, I have no respect for people who try to buy their way to the top of comedy by hiring a writer right off the bat to write their material. There are hundreds of new comedians out there who are working hard to do their own material, and that’s just not right to buy your way in. I’ve had people say things like “I’m funny, I just need good jokes” or “I want to be on the Tonight Show, so write me 5 minutes of material.” If you want to be a comedian for a living or even as a side-gig, you need to do your own material and write from the heart. If you can’t write your own comedy material, then you have no business being in this business. Asking someone to write your comedy material is like a lawyer paying a friend to take the bar exam for them.
And if you’re in some one-time comedy contest,
then double no to writing for you. The other people in the contest are writing their own comedy material so they can win the funniest – you’re not really the funniest if you didn’t write the funny material now are you?
As I said, I’m happy to write
for practically anyone else. . .because if comedy is not your job (or something you hope to make into your job), and you’re not trying to beat people out of a contest, then you may not want to spend time on jokes. I don’t do my own taxes because I don’t want to learn how to do them, but I do read up a little on them so I know something when I talk with my accountant – same principle for comedy. Read what you can, but if it’s not your real gig, then it’s okay to hire some help. It you want it to be your real gig, then work hard at learning how to do the basics.
And by the way, if I could sit down and zip off 5 minutes of killer comedy material that would zoom you up through the comedy ranks and on to the Tonight Show, don’t ya think I would save that 5 for me???
Jan
Say What? About Joke Writing
Last weekend I took a break from comedy writing
to do laundry, and so I ran over to the store to get some bleach. I asked the cashier what aisle the bleach was in, and she sent me TO THE COSMETIC AISLE. It took me a minute to think of what kind of bleach you get in the cosmetic aisle. . .and then I said, “it’s not for my mustache, it’s for my whites.” That cracked me up! And FYI, I DON’T HAVE A MUSTACHE. . . but for some reason that woman associated bleach with facial hair, not laundry – maybe it was her issue??
So not only did I get a great new joke for my act,
but it gives me something to focus on in this blog. . .the WHAT of comedy writing. I’ve talked about Who When Where Why and How of joke writing, so it’s nice to wrap it up with the What. When you’re trying to find the funny, you have to ask “What” about the subject of your sentence and you’ll come up with more humor.
Asking the what question will give you some great punch lines. So run the subject of your joke through a series of what questions. . .
- What else can you do with. . .
- What time. . .
- What do people associate with. . .
- What IS it. . .
- What could it be. . .
- What’s it really mean. . .
I use the what question
all the time to come up with the silly and absurd. For example, when I was doing a show for the insurance company Geico I made my list of what do we associate with that company, and of course the lizard pops out. And what do we associate with lizards. . .slimy, reptiles. . . and what do we do with lizards. . catch them, play with them, squash them. . .
This helped me to
come up with the joke “I did a show for Geico recently. It didn’t go so well. I was standing back stage waiting to go on and I squashed this lizard.” The joke gets a great laugh and it’s easily recognizable.
What is the leading question for much of our daily lives. . what are you doing this weekend? What’s she doing with HIM? What’d you get on the test? What kind of car did you buy. . .
So WHAT are you waiting for? Asking what can bring out the funny fast. Now go have a great weekend.
Jan
Editing Your Comedy
Okay, it’s been 6 weeks
since my last comedy writing blog – that’s what happens when you have a BUSY April and May for keynotes. It’s a good year for comedy! I just finished my quarterly newsletter titled “Jans article – Comedy Wisdom”, so I’m focusing this blog on editing your humor because I had to do a lot of it to get my humor article down to a manageable size.
me in lake tahoe
One of the biggest mistakes
that new comics and speakers make is that they don’t edit the joke enough and/or they don’t edit it in the correct way. Go to any open mic night at a comedy club and even the worst comic will have a good IDEA for a joke. ..they just don’t edit it correctly. And I assure you that even Bill Cosby, though he sounds like he has these long rambling stories, spends time editing his stories.
A couple of key points
on editing your jokes – make sure you:
End with the funniest word or close to it. . .sometimes people put a prepositional phrase after the real joke. Cut that out to make it pithy.
- Don’t put too many descriptive words together. It makes people think too hard and you lose them in the joke.
- Do say it out loud. Many times after I’ve written a joke, it comes out different, and funnier, when I then say it out loud.
- Don’t use big words or unfamiliar that take people time to digest. Comedy is not the time to show your vocabulary unless it’s pertinent to the joke.
- Don’t use the same word in the set-up and punch. Example, if you use the word “child” in the set up, and you need to say it again, use the word “kid.”
- Do get an editor. Okay, I don’t use an editor in most of my stuff, but I do have one for long articles, like my quarterly comedy newsletter – Keynote Chronicles. And I highly recommend him – Andy Kirk. Contact him (acolinkirk@gmail.com) and tell him I sent you if you need a GREAT editor.
That’s it for editing at the moment. . this blog is already wayyyy toooo long.
Jan
PS Send me a note if you’d like a copy of my quarterly newsletter, and I’ll put you on the email list!
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