Creating a Comic

Alex Epstein is a screenwriter who regularly offers writing advice at his blog, Complications Ensue. In a recent entry he talked about writing dialog:

When dialog is too logical, it sounds rehearsed, and [the audience] tunes out halfway through even a sentence. When it’s slightly disjointed, they don’t know what’s coming next, so they have to actually make the effort to listen to the whole speech. So when the audience has to work just a little to follow the train of thought, the effort pulls them into the experience.

This rings true for writing stand-up material, too. My biggest challenge as a comedian—by far—has been writing and performing in such a way that the material doesn’t sound overly rehearsed. If I follow an idealized joke script too closely, it sounds too formal; if I rush through and deliver it too quickly, it sounds fake. Either way, it falls flat, and the laughs evaporate.

As a result, I end up writing for the comedy club stage in a far briefer, more declarative style than I do with any other writing. I had no idea what a linguistic highwire act stand-up would be before I got into it, and it sounds like writing dialog for the screen is a similarly interesting challenge.

Related entries in Creating a Comic:

• Open Mic: First Timer Primer
• Stand-up Comedy Glossary
• Open Mic: the Bringer Paradox

 — Posted by CJ under Creating a Comic. Please comment or trackback!