C OMEDY W RITING Kathleen Lietz

C OMEDY W RITING – T HE J OKE A priest, a rabbi and a duck walk into a bar….

C OMEDY W RITING – T HE M ECHANICS The power of Three – “The Setup” A priest, a rabbi and a duck walk into a bar… A priest, a rabbi, a football player and a duck walk into a bar Brevity – Over-telling kills comedy A priest, a rabbi and a duck walk into a bar… A priest dressed in secular clothing and grinning in a friendly fashion, a long haired rabbi with a large backpack laden with books and a duck wearing a pinstriped tie draped loosely around his neck, walk into a bar… Use Surprise – The reader may already be anticipating your punchline; Keep them on their toes. A priest, a rabbi and a duck walk into a bar. It was a very diverse bar.

C OMEDY W RITING – M AKING IT WORK Comedy is most powerful when it is: Specific Use the best method of delivery for the situation: visual, dialogue, character, location Use specific language: Set it up and deliver your punchline Relatable Don’t be too obscure Don’t alienate your readers Don’t play to a small subset of your readers Serves a purpose Reveals something about the story, setting or character Supports your plot points Be authentic An opposite Comedy draws in an audience Having comedy setup drama can be incredibly powerful Comedy is a writer’s tool – be conscious of how you use it!

C OMEDY W RITING – A FEW T IPS Know your audience, know your genre Read your sentences out loud Don’t “tip” a joke Take an improvisation class or a comedy writing class Go out and see comedic plays Study your favorite comedians Use Twitter as a comedy writing exercise