WEBVTT

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Did you ever notice how many
jokes start with, "Did you ever notice?"

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And what's the deal with, 
"What's the deal?"

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There's a lot of funny to be found

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by simply noticing the ordinary, 
everyday things

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you don't ordinarily notice everyday.

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So if you'd like to add a little humor

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to that story, or speech, 
or screenplay you're writing,

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here are a few tips and tricks
for finding the funny.

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All great storytelling, 
including comedy writing,

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consists of a handful 
of basic ingredients:

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who,

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what,

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when,

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where,

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why,

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and how.

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Writers have been asking these questions
since at least the 1st century BC,

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yet none can be answered 
with a simple yes or no.

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They demand details,

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and the more specific the details,
the funnier the story.

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Let's start with the who,
the comedic character.

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Think about the books, TV shows,
and movies that make you laugh.

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They're usually filled with funny types,
or archetypes.

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The know-it-all,

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the loveable loser,

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the bad boss,

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the neurotic,

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the airhead.

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Incidentally, these are all stock 
characters found in Commedia Dell'Arte,

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or the artists comedy 
of late Renaissance Italy,

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and they have yet to get old.

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The Commedia rule for creating comic 
characters is find the flaw,

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then play it up.

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Or you can try playing with opposites.

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When the smartest guy in the room
does the stupidest thing,

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or the doofus outwits the brainiac,

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we tend to laugh because
we didn't see that coming.

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Ancient Greek funnyman Aristotle
is said to have said,

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"The secret to humor is surprise."

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This surprise, 
or incongruity theory of humor,

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says we laugh at things 
that seem out of place

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or run up against our expectations,

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like a frog dating a pig,

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or a lizard selling insurance,

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a baby disco dancing,

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a nun disco dancing,

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a cat disco dancing.

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Actually, a baby, a nun, or a cat
doing pretty much anything,

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especially involving disco.

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One fun way to find incongruities
is by drawing connections.

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Actually drawing them with a mind map.

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Start small.

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Pick a word,

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I choose pickle.

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Jot it down, then quick as you can,
try making connections.

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What do pickles make me think of?

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Who eats pickles?

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What treasured pickle memories
do I have from childhood?

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Another great way to generate
comedic material

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is to shift from observation
to imagination.

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Try going from "what is"
to "what if?"

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Like, what if instead of a horse,
for example,

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you just had a pair of coconuts?

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Okay, let's think of some other
memorable moments in history,

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literature,

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or film.

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Now, what if they featured coconuts?

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Get wild, let it go.

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Even if an idea seems overdone,

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or too obvious,

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or just plain dumb,

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try jotting it down, anyway.

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What's obvious to you
may not be to the next person.

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And the opposite of the dumbest idea
might just turn out to be the smartest.

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What about all that dumb stuff
that happens in real life?

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Have you ever noticed how much comedy
revolves around things

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that irritate, frustrate, 
and humiliate us?

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Will Rodgers said, "Everything's funny
as long as it happens to somebody else."

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So if you're having a crummy morning,

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imagine it happening to a character
you're writing about,

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and by afternoon, you may at least
get a funny story out of it.

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Once you've got your characters
and story,

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here are a few quick and easy comedy
writing tricks to make them zing.

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The rule of three,

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or zig zig zag.

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Try setting up an expected pattern,
zig zig,

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then flip it, zag.

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A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut
walk into a bar.

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The punchline rule says put your punch
at the end of the line.

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A rabbi, a priest, and a coconut
walk into a disco.

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That brings up the rule of K.

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For some reason, words with a k-sound
catch our ears

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and are considered comical.

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Coconut,

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disco,

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pickles,

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crickets?

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Okay, so we don't always get the laugh.

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Humor is subjective.

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Comedy is trial and error.

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Writing is rewriting.

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Just keep trying.

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Find the flaws,

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discover the details,

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insert incongruities,

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incorporate k-words,

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and remember the most important rule
of writing funny:

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have fun.

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As Charles Dickins said,

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"There is nothing in the world so
irresistibly contagious

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as laughter and good humor."

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And disco.