Everything But The Weed

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Linda Maze, a Wedding photography Gainesville FL in Gainesville Florida

Is it possible to learn to become funny? 

Isn’t a sense of humour something genetic? 

Can anybody learn the fundamental comedy writing secrets?

These are questions that aren’t very easily answered, simply because the correct response might be both yes and no.

Truth be told, if a individual is graced from birth having a little bit of humour, then they probably have the capability to get funnier.  Nevertheless, if the person in question has been a sourpuss from day 1, then it is doubtful they’ll ever make it as a standup comic. Truly they’ll never master the needed comedy writing secrets to become successful.

Here’s the deal, learning to be humorous is one of the most hard comedy writing skills to learn.
We all are endowed from birth with sufficient sense to be confused, scared, moody,  frustrated, serious, and angry: all elements that a good writer uses to his or her advantage. You will note that ‘funny’ isn’t on that list.  If you are not born with it, then it needs to be found in your environment as you mature, or else it won’t be on hand later in life when you begin to create comedy.
However, I believe anyone who possesses at least a small sense of humor, anybody who likes jokes and likes to laugh, can learn to be funnier. And therefore, they can learn to write much more powerful comedy.  

Here’s a list of 4 important comedy writing secrets guidelines:

Let The Joke Come Out From the Character Or  Scenario.

Here’s what I mean:  a scene should be fleshed out first, using the jokes put in later as they seem appropriate.  Should you try to create the scene around the joke, the scenario is almost certain to fail.  More frequently than not, the joke will ruin the flow of the dialogue, and might even stop the scene in its tracks.  Probably the most efficient jokes are the ones that grow organically from the scene.  The greatest humor always originates from fully developed characters with particular (and most likely quirky) traits that are dealing with some sort of conflict.

Words Having a Hard ‘K’ Sound Are Funny

I first heard this maxim uttered on the Rockford Files.  Jim Rockford was trying to assist a (rather lame) comedian in a possible murder scenario.  It was a humorous episode featuring a would-be comedian who explained to Rockford about the ‘K’ sounds. He  actually understood some of the basic theory behind great comedy.  And he was right!   As proof, you just need to watch any great comedy movie or any classic sitcom. Should you listen carefully you’ll find the majority of jokes rely on the use of a word with these sounds. Neil Simon recognized this truism in his classic movie,  The Sunshine Boys. To quote his main character,Willie Clark:  Pickle is funny, Chicken is humorous, Alka-Seltzer is funny. And, he’s correct. Comedy writers as a rule don’t rack their brains for ‘K’ or ‘C’ sound words to end their jokes, but when hearing the jokes, our minds instinctively choose to laugh at words with those consonants

Be Particular

A particular allusion may be the best thing for a effective comedy routine. The more famous the allusion, the bigger the laugh. Frequently people trying comedy for the very first time will violate this rule on a regular basis. They’ll use the term ‘dog’ rather than Schnauzer, or Poodle, or Chihuahua. As you can see, the specific breed is funnier than the general word dog.
An additional great example of particular humor comes from The Producers.  Do you remember the scene where Max Bialystok tries to convince Leo Bloom how poor and needy he is? He screams at Leo, ‘I’m wearing a CARDBOARD belt!’  Flimsy belt, crummy belt, discount belt, none of these are as specific as ‘cardboard.’ It’s part of what makes the joke so funny.

Put The Humorous Term At The End

This rule is so basic that many writers forget to implement it, to their detriment. If there’s a funny sounding term within the punch line, you ought to arrange the sentence so that the humorous word falls at the end of the joke. Why?  Nobody truly knows. A lot of what makes us laugh is mysterious, and perhaps beyond our ability of understanding. Even hardened, cynical comedy writers can’t consistently explain why some jokes work and others fall flat. The best guess is that it has to do with rhythm and sound. If a humorous sounding term ends up being last thing the audience/reader hears, it seems to strengthen the joke.

I hope you liked this article.  Please visit How To do Standup Comedy for more interesting tidbits about the world of comedy!