Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

Matt Willard · 11-17-2009, 12:37 AM

Day 22!

Workout 3A is to gather and caption 25 pictures related to a certain theme. I picked sports. Gathering them all on Photobucket was a tough enough task, but I did it. Finished it off with a bit of Bill Engvall.

Matt Willard · 11-18-2009, 12:40 AM

Day 23!

Today I watched Airplane! I'm surprised by how much I didn't laugh. Oh, sure, it's still a good movie, but a lot of the jokes didn't really surprise me in the right way. The jokes that did make me laugh were mostly clever twists of phrase, but the movie is pretty reliant on visual humor. Overall, most of it just wasn't bold enough to get me to laugh.

Matt Willard · 11-18-2009, 09:53 PM

Day 24!

Since I'm totally not trying to avoid writing this week, I spent today's hour listening to Bill Engvall's "Here's Your Sign" album. Funny stuff, and even some of the retorts were more creative than I remember.

Matt Willard · 11-19-2009, 11:14 PM

Day 25!

Listened to Mitch Hedberg's last CD, Do You Believe In Gosh? A lot of the material was rough and in development, but it was still creative and funny. The man had bizarre premises and conclusions that I love, and part of my work reflects that now. After that, I read a bit of the massive collection of New Yorker humor pieces I found.

Matt Willard · 11-20-2009, 11:09 PM

Day 26!

Read the New Yorker collection. It reminded me what I'm striving for as a humor writer - the stuff was very tame, to be honest. I'm looking for unexpected, out of left field comedy. I get that from comedians way more often than humorists, and I hope to basically amount to a "writing" comedian. I don't want to make you smirk, I want to make you laugh as loud as possible.

Matt Willard · 11-22-2009, 12:03 AM

Day 27!

Read some more New Yorker. Gonna have to get back into the workbook groove before this trial ends.

Matt Willard · 11-23-2009, 01:21 AM

Day 28!

Finally went back to the workbook to do Workout 3A, which is captioning photos Since I'm rusty, I only finished five, but when I realized (again) that I like to search for illogical connections, it made the jokes easier.

Sanchenuss · 11-23-2009, 05:22 AM

I don't think comedy is good when it comes from books or through preperation but I have come to learn that a lot of people here on earth laugh at the dumbest crap ever.

Gene · 11-23-2009, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanchenuss

I don't think comedy is good when it comes from books or through preperation but I have come to learn that a lot of people here on earth laugh at the dumbest crap ever.

I think some of the best comics can just do free association and come up with some pretty amazing comedy bits. I also think even the people who can just seem to throw one liners out do a lot of preparation. Even when comedy seems to come natural to a comedian there will be a lot of behind the scenes writing, rewriting, testing on audiences and rehersals.Like many other professions talented comedians invest a lot of work and practice on their craft.

Matt Willard · 11-24-2009, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

I think some of the best comics can just do free association and come up with some pretty amazing comedy bits. I also think even the people who can just seem to throw one liners out do a lot of preparation. Even when comedy seems to come natural to a comedian there will be a lot of behind the scenes writing, rewriting, testing on audiences and rehersals.Like many other professions talented comedians invest a lot of work and practice on their craft.

Exactly. A natural-sounding act is just the result of years of preparation and careful planning. Even better is that training in that field increases your ability to make spontaneous remarks. Keeping a notebook helps (which I've kinda neglected on - should really make a habit to write everything down :V)

Day 29!

Most of the stuff in this New Yorker collection is pretty dull to me, so I turn to an old favorite - Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You!). I don't watch his show that much anymore, but it's always funny whenever I tune in. The book does a good job of replicating that style. I'm surprised at how it can catch me unawares even when the jokes it employs aren't "absurd" enough. Maybe the joke writing process exposes the ideas to me too early to kill any surprise they might cause. I guess it's like reading any famous novel - it only got there though a lot of noodling. The author saw it all come together, but to the guy who reads it the first time, it can still be marvelous and wonderful.

Matt Willard · 11-25-2009, 12:50 AM

Day 30!

An hour of I Am America And So Can You for the finish. Analysis tomorrow.

Andrew Brunelle · 11-25-2009, 01:31 AM

Great trial! As a comedian myself, I have done this for years. It really is amazing the breadth of material that makes different people laugh. I could give you a laundry list of comedians to check out, but it will probably be better if you do your own exploring. Have fun!

Matt Willard · 11-25-2009, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Great trial! As a comedian myself, I have done this for years. It really is amazing the breadth of material that makes different people laugh. I could give you a laundry list of comedians to check out, but it will probably be better if you do your own exploring. Have fun!

Hey, man, I've got a list that I'm willing to expand on. Drop me a line! And we can jam about other comedy things, too. I need more of those connections.

Synopsis!

This went fairly well. Like all things, I learned that this habit needs variety to keep going. Sometimes I'll want to write, sometimes I want to watch or read. I just need to keep that in mind and make sure I have material always coming in so I can do that. The workbook stuff has definitely taught me some things about comedy and joke writing, so I hope to keep doing that. All in all, this habit is a keeper, and I definitely want to maintain it in an interesting way.

cacheborn · 11-26-2009, 04:14 AM

Great trial Matt. I love comedy so I am always looking for funny books, jokes, videos etc. Amazing that humor really comes in so many different varieties, there's mimicry, stand up (that mostly includes observational comedy) and so on.

IMO, one of THE funniest guy out there is Robin Williams, he has almost supernatural wit and timing. If you haven't, watch his interview on Inside The Actor's Studio
(It's in 14 parts I think, each part 8-10 minutes.)

Caution : Do not watch while drinking or eating, might be hazardous

11-26-2009, 04:14 AM	#44 (permalink)
cacheborn Family Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 6,439	Greta trial / Robin Williams Great trial Matt. I love comedy so I am always looking for funny books, jokes, videos etc. Amazing that humor really comes in so many different varieties, there's mimicry, stand up (that mostly includes observational comedy) and so on. IMO, one of THE funniest guy out there is Robin Williams, he has almost supernatural wit and timing. If you haven't, watch his interview on Inside The Actor's Studio (It's in 14 parts I think, each part 8-10 minutes.) Caution : Do not watch while drinking or eating, might be hazardous

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11-17-2009, 12:37 AM	#31 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 22! Workout 3A is to gather and caption 25 pictures related to a certain theme. I picked sports. Gathering them all on Photobucket was a tough enough task, but I did it. Finished it off with a bit of Bill Engvall.

11-18-2009, 12:40 AM	#32 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 23! Today I watched Airplane! I'm surprised by how much I didn't laugh. Oh, sure, it's still a good movie, but a lot of the jokes didn't really surprise me in the right way. The jokes that did make me laugh were mostly clever twists of phrase, but the movie is pretty reliant on visual humor. Overall, most of it just wasn't bold enough to get me to laugh.

11-18-2009, 09:53 PM	#33 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 24! Since I'm totally not trying to avoid writing this week, I spent today's hour listening to Bill Engvall's "Here's Your Sign" album. Funny stuff, and even some of the retorts were more creative than I remember.

11-19-2009, 11:14 PM	#34 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 25! Listened to Mitch Hedberg's last CD, Do You Believe In Gosh? A lot of the material was rough and in development, but it was still creative and funny. The man had bizarre premises and conclusions that I love, and part of my work reflects that now. After that, I read a bit of the massive collection of New Yorker humor pieces I found.

11-20-2009, 11:09 PM	#35 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 26! Read the New Yorker collection. It reminded me what I'm striving for as a humor writer - the stuff was very tame, to be honest. I'm looking for unexpected, out of left field comedy. I get that from comedians way more often than humorists, and I hope to basically amount to a "writing" comedian. I don't want to make you smirk, I want to make you laugh as loud as possible.

11-22-2009, 12:03 AM	#36 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 27! Read some more New Yorker. Gonna have to get back into the workbook groove before this trial ends.

11-23-2009, 01:21 AM	#37 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 28! Finally went back to the workbook to do Workout 3A, which is captioning photos Since I'm rusty, I only finished five, but when I realized (again) that I like to search for illogical connections, it made the jokes easier.

11-23-2009, 05:22 AM	#38 (permalink)
Sanchenuss Banned Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 27	I don't think comedy is good when it comes from books or through preperation but I have come to learn that a lot of people here on earth laugh at the dumbest crap ever.

11-25-2009, 12:50 AM	#41 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	Day 30! An hour of I Am America And So Can You for the finish. Analysis tomorrow.

11-25-2009, 01:31 AM	#42 (permalink)
Andrew Brunelle Family Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Home Posts: 2,578	Great trial! As a comedian myself, I have done this for years. It really is amazing the breadth of material that makes different people laugh. I could give you a laundry list of comedians to check out, but it will probably be better if you do your own exploring. Have fun!

Personal Development for Smart PeopleTM Forums

Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums