The Seven Laws of Comedy Writing…Where’s my Medicine?

It's behind you

Works under consideration: 25
Current Handicap: I am Time’s Whore

The Seven Laws of Comedy – Dave Evans
This page used to come up high in google if you typed in ‘Comedy Writing.’
It’s a great collection of tools for your armoury. Dave Evans is an Emmy Award winning writer who’s worked on shows like ‘The Cosby Show.’

1. Be able to throw away your best joke
- c.f. with William Faulkner ‘We have to kill our favourite ‘children.’

2. If YOU don’t laugh no one else will.
- This isn’t always true (I forget 98% of the stuff I write)

3. Character is 98% of Comedy
- Don’t try pinning a character together with funny quirks – meet people.

4. …and timing is the other 98%
- In drawing class they talk about the negative shapes (look it up)

5. The Power of the Step Sheet
- Read Dave’s page. It’s technique

6. Hold the jokes and make the story funny
- Is this always true?

7. Turn off your telly and keep it turned off.
- write, meet people, and people watch, then write.


I’m Adding…

8. Reincorporation
- Watch Eddie Izzard

9. Denying the main character’s intent
What is the active question ie what does the main character want? Then go about denying it…

10. Raise the Stakes
- Make the stakes something important and relevant.

And I’d add a lot more. What would you add? How much do you know and what works for you? Build your list, question it and treat it like an experiment that’s always on the go…

My Medicine
What’s in your armoury? How do you work on making your writing better and better? Me I keep a collection of material, advice, inspiration, and a diary. Yep, a dairy filled with cows (Feck’in spell checker) A diary called ‘JimKin’s Medicine’ I write about my writing, what works, what doesn’t what makes me blocked, what inspires. I write in so many different media, I have to see what works ie general comedy writing, and what is dependant on different media. I also have a bad memory. And I never approach a piece of writing in the same way. Similar but never the same.

Seven Laws is a good tool to have but don’t get hung up on ‘tools’ it worked for Dave Evans, it may not work for you. Build your own ‘Medicine’ Tool Kit’ Armoury and test it every time you write. This worked this time. Mine has daft things in like which three music tracks gave me energy. What to do when blocked eg Take a break, talk to friends about nothing in particular. I mean real friends, the ones that matter the ones you want to give to because they give you life.

Keep the diary or dairy and see what it brings you. “It’s a lot of work JimKin.” Well feck’ off then and stack some shelves…

A little talent + a lot of hard work + loathing the shallow, the vain, the pompous + enjoying the silliness all around will make you a writer. The big part of this sum is WORK. Don’t complain if you don’t make it or get the break….

Amen