Top 5 Things to Know About Writing Comedy
Whether you’re writing comedy or drama, there may be something here for you.
“Drama helps us dream about who we could be . . .
Comedy helps us live with who we are.”
– Steve Kaplan
Comedy is very complex and there are a lot of rules and tools. Most of this information comes from Steve Kaplan’s The Comic Hero’s Journey and The Hidden Tools of Comedy.
Kaplan’s books are excellent and a fun read that do a great job of explaining how comedy works. If you’re serious about learning comedy, I recommend them.
If you want to learn more about writing rom-coms, I recommend Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit.
#1 Comedy Builds Character Empathy
Michael Hague and James Scott Bell, two very talented story doctors, have their own lists of qualities we can instill in our characters to build reader empathy:
Michael Hague
· Undeserved Misfortune
· Jeopardy
· Likeability
· Funny
· Highly Skilled
James Scott Bell
· Sympathy
o Jeopardy
o Hardship
o Underdog
· Likability
o Care Package (caring relationship w/other person or animal)
o Pet the Dog (takes time and trouble from goal to care for someone/something vulnerable)
o Determination
o Competence
o Wit
· Vulnerability
On MH and JSB lists of building empathy, being funny is important.
For MH, he recommends that you use at least one of the first 3 bullets, and one of the last 2 bullets, making comedy very important to building reader empathy.
Example:
While You Were Sleeping – Lucy opens with narration that is funny and silly, setting the whole tone for the film and her character.
#2 Character Rules Comedy
Jokes are NOT the most important element in comedy. Character is the driving force.
Comedy is truth about the character. Good comedies are based on characters being themselves; they aren’t trying to be funny. Comedy shows that we are illogical, irrational, and inappropriate.
Comedic characters suffer real pain. We’re sympathetic to someone in pain because we’ve experienced pain ourselves. When characters are desperate and in pain, they’ll come out with their most outrageous and honest statements.
Pain + Truth = Funny
Examples:
Lars and the Real Girl – the doctor tells Gus that Lars is suffering from a delusion, Gus grapples awkwardly and painfully with denial, but his lines are hilarious.
While You Were Sleeping – Lucy is a funny woman and silly things happen in her life, but it’s also very apparent that she’s deeply lonely.
Groundhog Day – Phil admits to Rita that he doesn’t like himself. He jumps from the clock tower after several painful days in an attempt to kill himself. The old man dies no matter what Phil does to save him (mirror moment).
The better you know your character - Character creates plot, action, and movement. When pushing your story forward, the only consideration is, “What would my character do next?”
Example:
Big Bang Theory – they write it by putting the characters into situations, then asking what they would do next.
Characters with more skills and more knowledge are more dramatic. Characters with fewer skills and less knowledge are comedic. You can use this trick to balance the dramatic/comedic elements in your story.
Examples:
Mr. Right – Francis is a very skilled hitman, but he has difficulty with relationships; his moments as a hitman are dramatic, his moments trying to relate to others are comedic
Inside Out – When BingBong’s rocket cart is pushed into the memory dump, Joy doesn’t have the skill set to understand what he feels, so she makes jokes in an attempt to get what she wants from him. Sadness has the skills and knowledge to empathize with him, so her interaction with him is more dramatic.
Happy ending or transformation - All this pain needs to be rewarded. In almost all comedies, the protagonist should experience some kind of satisfaction or learn something by the end of the story. It doesn’t mean the protagonist will succeed in achieving their goal, but comedy must end with a path to a better future.
Example:
Lars and the Real Girl – Lars and Margo go for a walk after the funeral.
The protagonist remains human even after the transformation.
Example:
Groundhog Day - Phil catches the kid falling out of the tree, then reminds the boy that he’s never thanked Phil.
#3 Comedy can Decrease or Increase Tension
Comedy can be used to both ease and increase emotional tension through character.
Decrease Examples:
The Princess Bride – Miracle Max eases the tension of Westley’s death by cracking jokes as he attempts to revive him.
Inside Out – Joy fails to decrease the tension BingBong is feeling with comedy.
Increase Examples:
The Man Who Knew Too Little – Comedy creates tension for the audience because they know the danger that Wally doesn’t recognize. (This film doesn’t follow typical fiction conflict, in that everything goes stunningly well for the protagonist, and it gets him in deeper and deeper. Comedy allows us to break rules.)
Groundhog Day – Phil drives down the railroad tracks, is pulled over by cops, and then places an order like he’s at a drive-in restaurant.
#4 What Comedy Isn’t
I love all these actors, and they’ve all done work that I love. Humor is very subjective. If you enjoy these shows, that’s great, nothing wrong with that at all. They just don’t make me laugh.
In Comedy, it may be the author’s intention to make the reader laugh, but it is not the character’s intention. The character’s intention is to make their own life better.
Jokes that aren’t character appropriate or don’t advance the story; “Wouldn’t it be funny if?”
Example:
Two Weeks Notice – Lucy needs to use the bathroom, but they’re caught in a traffic jam. Hugh Grant drags her to an RV and asks the family inside if she can use their bathroom. The “comedic” situation has nothing to do with character and doesn’t advance the story. It’s just a toilet joke
Jokes for the sake of having jokes
Example:
The Ranch (Netflix) – Jokes not dependent upon character, don’t build character, and don’t advance the story; jokes feel like they’re written just because the show is supposed to be a comedy.
Ridiculous setups for cheap gags
Example:
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton - Nathan Lane is having an argument with a client. For no reason, he moves to an alcove with a low ceiling and a random chair. The conversation escalates, and he jumps from the chair to hit his head on the ceiling.
Characters trying to be funny
Generally, the characters in your comedy are not in on the joke. They say something in deadly earnest during a situation that makes the line wildly inappropriate.
Example:
Two Weeks Notice - Hugh Grant is having a business meeting with his brother, in the bathroom, while his brother showers (ridiculous set up). He sits on the toilet, and to be funny, he flushes the toilet to change the shower temperature (clichés are forbidden in comedy).
Characters laughing at things other characters say to trick the reader into thinking the writing is funny
This is akin to laugh tracks for TV sitcoms, prompting you to laugh whether the joke is funny or not.
This is telling instead of showing. Readers are savvy, and they will notice the writer is trying to trick them. I’ve seen several authors do this.
Example:
Beloved best-selling author (who shall remain nameless) had a male and female character in the second book in her series. In a handful of the first chapters, character 1 said something, then character 2 would laugh, but what was said was not funny. The character 2 said something and character 1 laughed, again not funny. She was telling me the character was funny, instead of showing me funny characters. (She also told the reader there was chemistry between them instead of building the chemistry.)
#5 – Why Most Rom-Coms Suck
Rom-Coms should be based on who the two main characters are and what they want.
Identity vs Essence – Michael Hauge teaches this. Identity is all the labels we put on ourselves: mother, firefighter, Methodist, dog lover, etc. Essence is what we are at our core after all these labels are stripped away. The only reason a couple should be together is that they recognize and love each other’s essences. The couple should be in conflict when one or both are living in their identity.
Example:
Eurovision Song Contest – Lars and Sigrit believe in each other, they believe they can achieve what they want together. They’re in conflict when they start to think about labels: winner, artist, lover, superstar, etc.
Transformative Power - Romantic comedies should show us that love is a transformative power that fixes what’s wrong with the protagonist, and often the world is a better place afterward.
Example:
Mr. Right – Martha transforms from trying to please her jerk boyfriend to a woman who doesn’t take abuse, and Francis goes from a hitman to a better man.
Eurovision Song Contest – Lars learns to let go of his need to win so Sigrit can reach her potential.
Joy, passion, integrity, and dignity - There are four qualities the story must embody to touch our hearts (at least one in each of the main characters). It’s important to get feedback on this aspect from a critique partner.
Example:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding – Ian, the hero, embodies all these qualities
Reversal is the crux of most comedic encounters, but is particularly useful in romantic comedy.
Some common reversals: private matters become public (vital in romantic comedy), adults become children, sophistication turns to silliness, humans become mechanical, urban goes wild, feminine becomes masculine (and vice versa),
Private matters become public – My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Adults become children – Blades of Glory (Jimmy and Katie)
Sophistication turns to silliness – Jane Austin novels, Happy Texas
Humans become mechanical – Stranger than fiction (reverse)
Urban goes wild – Miss Congeniality (reverse)
Feminine becomes masculine – Megan in Bridesmaids (not a rom-com, but an awesome example)
Human nature turns to animal instinct – Rom-Com’s core joke is that human nature inevitably yields to animal instinct. Laughs come from exposure: sexual matters and secrets of the body are held up to public ridicule. When the hero and heroine have been exposed, the couple share a special kind of earned intimacy that puts them on equal footing and even creates a bond. Show little sex in romantic comedies, even if the characters are having it a lot. The rom-com story is more about the emotion. Sex is not that funny; it’s more passionate and intense. Rom-com is more about yearning and desire. Fulfillment comes at the end or after the end.
Examples:
Pride and Prejudice (Animal Instincts) - Darcy tries to be proper, but he can’t deny his passionate love for Elizabeth.
Eurovision Song Contest (Sex) – Lars won’t have a relationship with Sigrit because he thinks it will damage their chances of winning (he puts his hand on her face when she tries to kiss him); they only kiss at the climax of the story, and in the denouement they have a baby.
The comedic set piece – A romantic comedy is generally expected to have AT LEAST one scene that is laugh-out-loud funny. There’s no set location in the story structure where a set piece must be placed.
Example:
While You Were Sleeping – the wedding scene
Elf – the mailroom scene, the Peter Dinklage scene
Romantic comedies are comedies, so they must follow the rules of both Romance and Comedy. Many rom-coms fail to observe the rules and tools of comedy.
So there you have it. Just a handful of things to remember when writing comedy.
What are some of your favorite comedic examples of these principles?
