Writing comedy

This is a thread that proably should have been made earlier, but seeing how it's not in see the index: how do you write good comedy?

Ever heard of a sense of humor?

Comedies, structurally, are not supposed to be written any differently from a regular story. They need an introduction, conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution to be applied to a cast of characters. The only difference is the tone of the work. As long as you get that right, you can pull off a comedy without using a single gag.

huh, okay. Thought there might have been more to it.

Hold on a sec, are you talking about comedy as the single genre? Or adding comedy in a story that could be more drama or action?

Depending on your answer. I might actually be able to say something useful.

edited 12th Dec '10 2:20:12 AM by PsychoFreaX

comedy is perhaps the hardest art form to write. both comedy and pornography are the only fiction genres that demands a physical response from your audience members.

that said it is in no way inherently different from any other types of story telling, just think of the basics: What, where, who and when and asking yourself how are you going to make it funny.

edited 12th Dec '10 5:06:43 AM by joeyjojo

^ I'd argue that angst —maybe even tragedy— also requires a physical response, but in the long run I'm not sure if mentioning it even matters in this discussion, so meh. *shrugs*

If we're talking about writing things that are funny as opposed to comedy as a genre, I'm not sure how to explain how to write it if someone doesn't understand it instinctively. I might be able to describe how to use it, such as breaking the tension when scenes are getting too heavy, or punctuating character interaction to make things more interesting, but that probably won't help you while you're trying to figure out how to write a funny in the first place.

Well one advice I can give you is having funny characters naturally makes stuff funny.

Think of which personality traits you think could be played for laughs etc etc. Here's a list if you need some ideas. But you should also figure some out on your own.

Try taking some traits Up To Eleven. For example a conceited character just won't stop shoving it into people's faces how much better they are.

Well, I'd say I wanted to add comedy to an action story, but I want it to be as important as the action itself.

And it's not like I don't have a sense of humor, it's just that many of my jokes in real life tend to fall flat and I would like to avoid that.

Also, good idea Physco Fea X, I’ll have to keep that in mind as a flesh out more of my characters.

more to the point: any pitfalls I should look out for?

Don't force it down the reader's throat until you know what you're doing. Airplane! style comedy only works visually. Do what comes natural - you'll find you'll be funny when you're not.

Another thing, writing's more suited for dry humor.

If all else fails, just try to set up some ridiculous situations and play it from there.

The best humor comes from setting up an expecation for something, and then doin' something else instead. That's why cliches and any other sort of joke that's been over-exposed suck monster balls.

That goes for all you tropers out there, too. Because I totally needed to point that out. These kinds of gags just aren't funny. If you can't tell, I'm making a partial list here.

Couldn't really think of a decent pothole for this one.

Actually, that last Pot Hole should have just been "Pot Hole".

Well, I was planning on making a web comic, so I could probably do airplane styled humor, to an extent.

Also agree with subverting viewer expectation, although that might be tricky on occasion because meta-humor no longer counts for that...

Proably the one thing we shouldn't thank Oo TS for.

edited 12th Dec '10 7:58:43 PM by doorhandle

Oh, a webcomic? Then you might want to listen to Writing Excuses, which has the creator of Schlock Mercenary on it, and every once in a while you'll get some good advice for doing a serial webcomic and how to set up jokes.

edited 12th Dec '10 11:52:51 PM by Dec

Downloading the podcast as we type.

To write comedy, grasshopper, you must first understand comedy. You must understand why it works. Actually, being a troper would probably provide you with the necessary analytical skills - all that trope subversion, rule of three, and setting up false expectations> but you also need a sense of humour (you either have one, or you don't)

Then you must cultivate your palate for written comedy. I recommend douglas adams, PG Wodehouse, Monty Python (shut your eyes and listen, don't watch), and jasper fforde. David sedaris wouldn't hurt either. I'm sure others can make other recommendations, but i hope it helps

oh, step three is write. setp four is write more. step five is find a guinea pig

And then you write on the guinea pig, right?

All great comedy sources. Neil Simon is good for more performance-based comedy, too.

edited 13th Dec '10 4:42:32 PM by Ultrayellow

Terry Prachett's a good example if you want to lighten the tone of a serious story, or if you want to play a ridiculous/inheritely humorous situation completely straight. He alternates between them within a single book, and the end result is'nt so much funny as indistinctly amusing. There's a difference I swear.

^^that wasn't funny. Partially a victim of the medium (that line or a better-phrased variation thereof would work verbally/in person, allowing for a pause in which the speaker seems to seriously consider the diretions he has been given. The rephrased response would depend on the type of character you're playing. (even if you're just 'yourself', expectations still come into play) Passive/young/dumb- "I follow you...right up until the part about the rodents." Confrontational/dominant-"We can get most of that at borders, but what in god's name do you want with a guinea pig?" Creeper: "I'll pass on the guinea pig, I just had lunch." or (entirely in the delivery) "They don't let me go in the pet store anymore."

The way you phrased it, the joke is too obvious, it sounds like you're trying way too hard, and If you honestly thought you were supposed to write on the guinea pig, you wouldn't have bothered asking.

edited 13th Dec '10 5:30:22 PM by DaeBrayk

how did i forget pratchett?

I dunno. I found his joke funnier than those alternatives, mostly because those alternatives are variations on lines I've heard several times before.

edited 13th Dec '10 6:45:32 PM by RTaco

Mine aren't jokes, or even supposed to be remotely funny. They're alternate wordings to the principle in question and...ugh.

Just saying, but the previous post was the funniest thing on this page.

edit: also, I was tring to invoke rule of 3. And was sorta being sarcastic.

edited 13th Dec '10 7:18:46 PM by doorhandle

Ah, my mistake.