next exit next exit : a career in comedy writing your guideposts for understanding and implementing...

Next exitNext exit:A Career in Comedy

Writing

Your guideposts for understanding and implementing David Evans’s

“The Seven Laws of Comedy Writing”

RULES OF THE RULES OF THE COMEDY RODEWAY:COMEDY RODEWAY:

THIS WAY THIS WAY

TO LAUGHTERTO LAUGHTER

1. Be able to throw away your 1. Be able to throw away your best jokebest joke

According to David Evans, sitcom writer and author of “The Seven Laws of Comedy Writing,” “I’ll come up with one joke that seems sensational and clearly eclipses all the other jokes in [a script]-- that doesn’t exactly fit. I want it to fit. It would be wonderful if it fit. But it doesn’t.”

SLOW DOWN--DANGEROUS SLOW DOWN--DANGEROUS TEMPTATION AHEADTEMPTATION AHEAD

Don’t force humor into a script It may feel wasteful not to use your

“best” joke, but a joke that doesn’t blend with the characters, scene, and storyline you’ve developed becomes a detriment to your script, NOT an asset

2. If you don’t laugh, 2. If you don’t laugh, nobody else willnobody else will

Don’t ignore your comedic instincts

Write what makes YOU laugh, not what you will hope will make someone else laugh

Don’t rely on “comedy writer tricks”;

trust your own sense of humor

“If you’re writing comedy and you’re not genuinely, spontaneously laughing at what you’re writing, something is radically wrong” (Evans)

3. Character is 98 percent 3. Character is 98 percent of comedyof comedy

Remember that comedy “is not a joke superimposed onto a situation; it grows organically out of the characters.”

Therefore…

Create characters with definitive

personality traits and richly developed personae

Comedy is naturally propelled forward by fully-realized characters simply behaving like themselves. With funny characters, every situation becomes an opportunity for unpredictable laughs!

4. ...and timing is the other 4. ...and timing is the other 98 percent98 percent

Comedy comes to life through its delivery. Timing is key!

From a beat of silence to repetition, make sure your script builds in timing directions for your cast

Pioneers in Pioneers in comedic timingcomedic timing

Bob Newhart (left)and Lucille Ball (above)

5. The power of the step sheet5. The power of the step sheet

Step sheets help keep your scenes organized and your timing on track

The process is simple: “Write down the sequence of scenes you’re going to have in your comedy script. Then write down in just a sentence or two what happens in each scene” (Evans).

Steps sheets SHOULD NOT detail a scene’s jokes or dialogue

Your goal is to briefly summarize changes in the story or in the characters, so you can easily chart the progression of your script

The step sheet will help you eliminate unnecessary scenes and/or pinpoint holes in your story progression

6. Hold the jokes and make the 6. Hold the jokes and make the story funny!story funny!

Remember, comedy is more than simply a series of jokes

Don’t overload your script with canned humor

A quick test to make sure you’re not relying too heavily on jokes:

Tell the basic story without any of the jokes. If the story is still funny on its own, you’re on the right track! If not, it’s back to the drawing board!

7. Turn off your TV--7. Turn off your TV--and keep it off!and keep it off!

Many aspiring writers think that in order to write for TV, they have to mimic what is already successful

Resist the urge to imitate! The problem with what is already on TV is just that--it’s been done before!

Turn off the tube and get creative! This means being true to your own comic vision! Whether you grew up on a farm in the midwest or a penthouse in a major city, look to the humor that exists in your everyday life. Afterall, the people and events that surround you are what molded your sense of humor in the first place. Keep it authentic by following the old adage--write what you know!

Links of Interest:Links of Interest:

TVWriter.comVisit the message board or follow links to script contests and seminar opportunities

Screenwriters FederationWeb site for the SFA (formerly Screenwriters Guild). Not just for the budding feature film writer--check out the various resources for TV writers, too. Includes basic guidelines for script writing and formatting. Great help for beginners!

TV’s Best ComediesRelive the best comedy shows since television’s inception! From Howdy Doody to The Family Guy, enjoy perusing this comprehensive recap of TV’s funniest from 1947-2000