How To Write Stand-up Comedy Material

If someone were to ask me how to write stand-up comedy material, you might be surprised to find out that I would give them this stand-up comedy tip…

Don’t “write” anything — at least not the way most people think of writing.

I say this because the second someone sets out to “write” stand-up comedy, they immediately fall into the trap of believing that writing something that “reads” funny on paper will generate big audience laughs.

And the folks who follow that path are sorely disappointed, time and time again.

In my professional opinion, producing stand-up comedy material — which is different than “writing” stand-up comedy material — involves these primary processes:

1. Identifying those things—observations, experiences, ideas, and opinions that one would like to share with an audience.

2. Structuring what one wants to say in such a way that it results in an average of 18+ seconds of laughter each minute on stage (PAR Score 30).

Unfortunately, developing stand-up comedy material is often referred to as having been “written”, as if words and sentences on paper made up all the “magic” needed to entertain and audience.

So almost everyone sets out to “write” jokes, which is not only very difficult, but can literally take years to master.

I actually didn’t want to call the Interactive Writing Guide a writing guide because it is not the ineffective joke writing like all the popular books, workshops and classes teach.

But people are so hell bent on “writing” their way to being funny on stage that I needed a reference point that people could relate to.

Do this: Go find a YouTube video of your favorite comedian and transcribe one minute of their act on paper. You will quickly find that most of what a headline level comedian has to say does not read funny from paper.

That’s because the reality is that what you have to say when you are on stage is not nearly as important as how you say what it is you want to say.

Still, there are those who would prefer to dig a swimming pool with a spoon instead of using a backhoe when it comes to producing stand-up comedy material.

So the big stand-up comedy tip for this article is this:

If you are trying to learn how to write stand-up comedy, don’t write it. Don’t try to pluck what may be funny out of thin air.

Use paper to “structure” what you want to say on stage. It’s a heck of a lot easier than trying to write jokes the hard, old school way.

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

About the Author/Founder of The Stand-up Comedy Tips Blog

Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and author of the content made available in the Comedy Pro Membership Program.

Over the past decade, Steve has established himself as a leading, globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development, delivery and entertainment business strategies for comedy entertainers as well as speaking professionals.

For more information about Steve, please check out the About The Author section on this site.

Tags: jokes, stand-up comedy act, write comedy, write stand-up