But to do that you have to have a firm understanding of what a joke is. Webster defines a joke as

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1 Comedy Writing Techniques Vent Convention By Linda Perret Thank you for allowing me to come here and talk about one of my favorite topics, comedy writing. And for allowing my lips to move during this talk. Comedy has been a very important part of my life. It is something I enjoy, something I try to incorporate in all aspects of my life, and something I am fortunate to make a living at. Comedy has allowed me to write books, shows, plays, stand-up, and even afforded me the privilege of working for some pretty talented ventriloquists. And I ve loved it all. Someone once said writing comedy is easy. What you do is pick a topic, think of everything that isn t funny about that topic and then write something else. Of course, finding that something else is the tricky part. And that s what we are going to work on today. Strangely enough, we don t actually write jokes; we let jokes happen. But they only happen when you prepare your mind for it. You do that with research, preparation, and concentration. I like to compare comedy writing to Lego s. Legos come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Alone they are just pieces of plastic but with some skill, practice and trial and error you can build all kinds of amazing structures. The same is true with jokes. You can take a whole bunch of jokes and combine, twist, and snap them together to form a routine, a sketch, a show, a book or any number of things. But to do that you have to have a firm understanding of what a joke is. Webster defines a joke as something said or done to cause laughter, especially a brief narrative with a climatic humorous twist. My dad, who wrote for Bob Hope, Carol Burnett and many others, had his own definition of a joke. He said A joke is a series of words that end in a paycheck. Basically, a joke tells a story. And like any story, a joke has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But in the case of a joke we call them: 1

2 the setup the lull and the punch. The actual joke may be a long narrative line, a short quip or an exchange between two persons or a person and a dummy. No matter what the style, those three elements will be there in any joke. Let s look at each element. The setup. Simply put, this is what we are talking about. This clues the audience in on what we are going to be discussing or poking some fun at. The Lull. The lull leads your audience along with you. It makes the audience feel like everything is okay. It guides them in the direction you want so you can pull the switcheroo on them with. The Punch. This is the big payoff, the surprise, the twist. The ba-zing-a so to speak. Let s apply the philosophy to this Phyllis Diller line: I have nothing against dogs; I just hate rugs that go squish-squish. The set-up in this line is I have nothing against dogs This clues the audience in to what we are going to talk about dogs. I just hate rugs this is our lull. It pulls us along. It gives us, the listener a little bit more information but there s nothing out of the ordinary. As a listener you say, Yeah so? That go squish-squish and there s the surprise. That s the switcheroo. The audience wasn t expecting that because rugs aren t supposed to squish but when 2

3 you combine the rugs with dogs we get the picture and the audience makes the connection. Here s another example from the wonderful Henny Youngman: My wife went to the beauty parlor and got a mudpack. She looked great for two days. Then the mud fell off. The first line clues us in on what we are talking about the wife going to the beauty parlor. She looked great for two days makes perfect sense and then he hits us with the unexpected part, the twist that she was wearing mud and looked better. On occasion, the setup and lull will blend together, or in the case of a routine, the setup may be part of an earlier joke, but the elements are still there. A good way to look at it is that a joke is a story you are telling. You re creating an adventure and leading your audience along. You take them in one direction that appears normal and then at the last minute throw in a surprise turn. Once you have a collection of jokes you can string them together to form a routine. Believe it or not there really is a process to generating humor. People often ask me what is the first thing I do when I sit down to write comedy and my answer is always the same. My very first step in writing comedy is to panic. No matter the topic, whether it s something assigned to me or a topic I pick, writing for myself or someone else, it can even be something that I really want to write, but as soon as I get the greenlight, I freeze. The first thought is, there is absolutely nothing funny about this topic. If you have those thoughts or fears, it s normal and you can work through them. 3

4 Let s say you want to write a new piece for your stage show. It can be very daunting to say, I m going to write a 40-joke routine. That s a lot of jokes and That s where the panic, writers block or whatever you want to call it, sets in. But this is also where the joke writing process helps. You have an idea of the end result a 40 joke bit. But before you can start doing the actual writing, you need to do some ground work. Start by picking a topic. What is your piece going to be on? What are the jokes going to be about? You want your topic to be broad enough for the audience to relate to it but not so vague that it is all encompassing. For example, you may want to do a piece on dating. That s good, but it is a little too general. Dating covers quite a bit of territory. But if you say Dating when you re older you ve narrowed it down and it s more defined. Now that you have your specific topic, you can begin writing the jokes, right not yet. Even with the slimmed down topic, writing 40 jokes can be challenging. So the next step in the process is to break this down even further into what we call subtopics. There s no doubt about it, sitting down and coming up with 40 jokes on one topic is difficult, but writing 5 or 6 jokes on a single, related aspect of that topic is more doable. That s the idea with sub-topics to break your topic down into 5-6 smaller areas that you can focus on and write jokes only on that limited aspect. Since all of your sub-topics are part of your main topic, when you re done, you ve got 40 jokes about your main topic. Again taking our topic of Dating when your older possible sub-topics may be: Finding Dates Where do you take your date How is dating later in life different from the teen years Preparing for your date 4

5 Challenges that dating at this age has The high cost of dating You can probably come up with more and better sub-topics but you want to break down your larger topic into bite-size sections to make it more manageable when you get to the writing. Speaking of which, now that you have your topic and sub-topics, you re ready to write right? Almost. There s still one last piece of groundwork you need to do to prepare for the actual writing of jokes. To go back to my earlier explanation that a joke has a setup, lull and a punch, it is possible to have all three of those elements and still not have a joke. So what makes a line funny? The missing element is finding a way to combine two unrelated items in a clever unique way. Rodney Dangerfield had this line: My wife can t cook at all. She made chocolate mousse and an antler got stuck in my throat. Here we are forcing the two ideas of mousse you eat with moose the animal. Another example: They just opened a new Starbucks in my living room. Here we re combining Starbucks with the notion that they are everywhere. And one more: Be the kind of girl they marry, not the kind they date. So on our first date now, I nag the guy for a new dishwasher. This relates dating to what married people would do. 5

6 In order to get to those funny ideas that you can combine, you want to develop a list of possibilities that you can use in your writing. And we do this by creating a reference list. These are words, phrases, ideas, people, places connected to your topic. It s a good idea to physically write down your reference list. Eventually you will get to a point where you can do it in your head but when you first start or if you have a large project you are tackling physically write them down so you can refer back to them if helpful. Your reference list should include such headings as: People Places Things associated with Sayings Events Opposites Once you have the headings down do a little free association with your topic and write down anything you think of that is related to your topic. As soon as a thought pops in your head, jot it down under the appropriate heading. Don t censor yourself, or worry about how you will use the thought or idea in a joke, just get it down and move on to the next one. A lot of what you generate at this point won t be used, but that s okay. You re working on getting possible ideas. You also don t have to worry about being funny at this stage. That comes along later. Right now you just want to get down things that you could use. Using our sample topic of dating, I came up with the following items on my list: For: People connected with dating: I had Taylor Swift, gigalo, chaperon, the easy girl, Places connected with dating: 6

7 Restaurant, bowling, picnic, movies Things Associated with dating: Going Dutch, paying, double dating, Sayings: Never kiss on the first date, Kissed a lot of frogs, getting lucky Events: Good night kiss, walking a girl to the door, blind date And the Opposite of dating: Marriage, monogamous, staying home I bet all of you are already thinking of things to add to the list, aren t you? So we did the list for our topic of dating, now let s do it again with the second part of our topic Being older. Same headings: people, places, etc. but now we fill it with items that are associated with being a bit older. People: Places: Rip van Winkle, grandkids, Betty White Retirement Community, matinees Things Associated with: Sayings: Pension, fixed income, Jeopary, Early bird specials, 7

8 You re not getting any younger, Just because there s snow on the roof doesn t mean there isn t a fire in the furnace, you re only as old as you feel. Events: Opposites: Retirement, doctor visits Spring chicken, young-ins, kids today Now when you combine ideas about dating with ideas about being older, you create the jokes that fit into your topic of older people dating. Once you have list fleshed out, it s time to move on to the actual writing. But before we do I want to add three pieces of advice. ONE is that if the joke gods smile on you and a joke comes to you out of what appears to be thin air. Take it. Stop the ground work process and write it down. Don t ever think, Oh I ll remember that because you won t. So stop and get it down on paper. You never want to waste a joke. TWO: The other piece of advice is along those lines. This process is a way to get the creative juices flowing and generating funny lines. If the lines are coming to you, then stop the process and write the jokes. You can always come back and pick up where you left off, but if the muse hits you run with it. LASTLY: Don t let the ground work keep you from writing. This process is a tool to help get the creative juices flowing, it s not a replacement of the actual writing. At one of the seminars we used to host, we explained this process to a bunch of writers. A few months later we ran into one of the students. He was raving about how great he thought this advice was. He said, I just have one question. When do I stop making lists? He had an entire notebook full of references on his topic. No jokes just references. When do you stop? When you have enough ideas to help spur you along. And remember, you can always come back and pick up where you left off or start over if you need to. 8

9 Now that you have the prep work done, you want to start getting the jokes on paper. Here s a few techniques you can implement to start churning out the funny stuff. To make the jokes happen The first is INSPIRATION This is the easiest method for writing jokes but also the most elusive and unreliable. This where the lines just come to you. They are little gifts from the universe. Take them, use them, and appreciate them, but you can t depend on this method. SOMETHING TO SAY The next is to have something to say about your topic. What ideas do you want to convey about your topic? List those, now find a unique and clever way of getting that thought across to your listener. This is where the preparation you did earlier comes in to play as you can refer back to your list for suggestions. An example using our topic of dating. I wanted to get across the idea that usually I d rather just stay home. That was the message I wanted to convey. And I came up with the line: At my age, getting lucky on a date means I m home in time to watch Jeopardy. Going back to reference lists I had done, getting lucky was one of the sayings I had down for dating and Jeopardy was one on the list for items associated with old folks. To make my point, I mashed the two together. FACTUAL STATEMENT Start with a factual statement. Often times a joke is a statement with a punchline captioning it. One older comic had this line: 9

10 I like dating younger women at my age I have no choice. Give the audience the fact and then add your own humorous twist to it. ASK QUESTIONS Look into your topic a little more by asking questions. Who s affected by it? Are people happy about it? How did it happen? Why did it happen? The answers to these questions can be used in your jokes. Using our earlier example, some questions may be: What does getting lucky mean for an older person? Where would older folks go on a date? Who would chaperon them? Asking and answering these questions can get your thoughts flowing and spur some funny lines. EXAGGERATE AND DISTORT Take your premise and exaggerate, distort, twist, and take it to the extreme. Push the boundaries of the logic a bit. Again, using our sample premise maybe your dates are really old for some of us that would be 100, for others maybe 35. Maybe they were in World War one and 2. The hot new stud muffin all the women are after is George Washington. Go to the extreme. Look at your topic and see how you can stretch it to squeeze the humor out of it. An example is: I m dating an older man now. When we go out we always hold hands. It s not affection so much as to keep him from falling over. USE REFERENCES AND EXPRESSIONS Clichés, saying, quotes can all be folly for your lines. An example of this would be this line: 10

11 To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer. But you also can look to terms that are common place today. How about tweeting, catfish, acronyms, emojis. All these can be used for humor. The great thing is that there is always something new, like fidget spinners, coming along that people are saying or doing that you can use in your lines. FORMULA JOKES There are hundreds of formula jokes and you can use these to get the jokes flowing. Formula jokes are almost like a template where you fill in the blanks. The form is spelled out for you, Here are some sample formulas you ll probably recognize the form: A series of three The food in this restaurant was so bad they only served three desserts jello, ice cream, and Pepto-Bismol. It s so blank that This was Johnny Carson trademark. A classic line was In New York it was so cold that the Statue of Liberty was holding the torch under her dress. And that s just I spent $46,000 on an all-electric car. And that was just for the extension cord. There are many other formulas. In fact, I keep a running list on my computer whenever I discover one. These can include Who do you think you are It s easy to tell.. He s the so-and-so of the so and so Have you ever noticed 11

12 Although you don t want a routine that is heavy on formulas they are a good way to get the jokes going or to rekindle the flames when you get stuck. They are simply techniques you can use to get the jokes going. All of this is well and good but let s get to the most vital part how do you generate comedy for you. After all your act is the most important thing to you. That s not selfish, it s the truth. I worked with a stand-up comedian who said one thing he hates about young comics is when they come up to him after a show and say, What did you think of my act. He said, My response is I don t think of your act, I think of my act. He wasn t being mean he was being honest. All of us focus on own performance, our own material, and what we need to do. So there s nothing wrong with wanting to apply this to you. That s why we are here. The first step in generating material specific for you is to know you and your characters. You have a terrific joke. A line that is genuinely funny but if it doesn t fit in with the personality of you and your character, it doesn t work. So you need to have a clear idea of who you are when you step on stage. A good way to do this is to develop a summary for each of your figures and for yourself as well. On television shows, they call it a bible. It includes all the information and history of the show and for each of the characters on it. Your summary will include information like birthday, family, likes, dislikes, married status, favorite colors, foods, pet peeves, pets, job, political affiliation, and anything else that would help define your character. It s important to note that you may not use all this information in your act. For example, I listed political affiliation and you may have made a conscious decision to stay away from politics. That s fine, but having this information may help to determine how the character thinks and therefore what slant to take on the jokes. 12

13 Include in this summary, some topic ideas that are suitable for this character. You don t have to generate a routine on each one immediately but it can be almost like a wish list. You can work on these bits when you have the time or inclination without pressure. Then when you do need new material, you ve laid a lot of the ground work already. Just like your material evolves so do your characters and it s important to periodically go back and review your character s story. Keep it updated and fresh. And just as important to do this for each figure, it s also important to do it for yourself as well. When you step on stage, you become a character. Granted that character may be very similar to you in fact you look identical but it s not really you. You are playing a part and that persona should be noted and recorded. There are two reasons for recommending this exercise. One, it provides an outline that can help determine if a joke or jokes are suitable for this character. I ve worked with a ventriloquist that have a dummy that was married at the beginning of his act but then at the end he was doing lines on being a confirmed bachelor. He apparently had some good lines that he didn t want to waste so he just spread them apart. That just leaves your audience confused. And a confused audience usually isn t a laughing audience. So you want to remain consistent. But it also helps you when it comes time to work with a writer or writers. You now have everything spelled out. You can simply supply this to the writer and they should have a clear idea of the person and characters they are writing for. It makes the job easier for you as you only have to do it once and can give it to as many writers you want. The writers can be set loose to write on topics and ideas that fit within these perimeters. It gives them a little more free reign and allows them to experiment but within the guidelines that you have established. It can save you time, money and frustration. And provides you with stronger, useable material that applies directly to you and your characters. Whether you are working with a writer or generating you own material, it s extremely important to remember that you, the performer has the final say on what goes in your act. You are the one on stage and you make ALL decisions. 13

14 Final point Have fun! 2017 Linda M. Perret Services Available through Gene Perret s Round Table We d love to have you at Gene Perret s Round Table. Round Table is for people interested in comedy writing or performing. It is an investment and a way to kick your career into high gear. We offer: Round Table An online subscription newsletter featuring articles, reviews, interviews, markets and more. This newsletter offers how-to, encouragement, and advice. You can sign up for a year, six months or just one month at a time. In addition, only subscribers have the opportunity to sell their funny lines to Perrets Humor Files, so you may be able to earn back your subscription fee. Courses Round Table offers two popular courses Master Course in Joke Writing and the Master Course in Monologue Writing. The first is a 12-week program that takes you through the basics of writing jokes and offers feedback on the lines you submit. The Monologue course is a 9-step program that demonstrates our process for building a monologue. You work and receive feedback on your own monologue. Books We offer several books and services to assist in your comedy writing and performing. For more details or to order services visit See you at the Round Table. Be sure to follow us on 14