Writing comedy material

Whilst most well known comedians are known as much for their delivery style as the type of material they perform, nevertheless the content can be as specific and unique to the performer as their delivery and on stage persona.

Having decided to embark on the road to being a stand up,  you will need to write your own material.   When starting to write comedy material, there are some basic rules that the writer should bear in mind and that will help avoid some potential pitfalls.

• Write about what you know.  The key to being funny is to be believable and an audience will consider you phony if they sense your comedy is not coming from the heart.  Look for topics that interest you, or situations that you are familiar with.  If you cannot find humor in your everyday life and situations you probably should not be considering a future in stand up comedy.
• As you are writing, bear in mind your usual style of delivery.  On paper it might come across as hilarious but unless it is supported by good delivery and you can perform it confidently and comfortably, the joke will fall flat.
• You MUST be original.  There is no bigger sin in comedy than stealing another performers material.  That’s not to say you cannot cover issues and situations that other comedians cover, but do not recycle and package other comedians material in your own performance.
• Write, write and write some more.  This cannot be exaggerated enough.  Just as you will be practicing your performance over and over, you should also be getting more and more experience at writing.  Admit when an idea doesn’t come off.  Sometimes you will work on material then admit it’s not working and it isn’t funny.  Bin it.  This is not failure, but a key skill in writing good material.  As you write more and more, your skills will develop, the better your sense of humor will become and you will find it easier to sift through your material to unearth the gems that you will later include in your performance.