Categories: Books

How To: Write Better Sketch Comedy

Last time I told you how to create quality live action, stop animation sketch comedy. Now I touched on the fact that one of the most important parts of making sketch comedy is the writing, so I figured that I would take this time to expand a little further into what it times to write a quality sketch.

So if you’ve ever thought that you had what it takes to write a quality sketch, then pay close attention as I explain the finer points of comedy writing.

1. Avoid Off The Wall – Since you’re first starting to learn the craft of sketch writing, don’t feel like you have to go off the wall with your sketch. You don’t have put the sketch on a spaceship between a guy and his mule. If you think ideas like these are instant comedy gold, think again. What gets your audience is seeing things happen in real life situations between real life people. Now as I say this I don’t want you to get the impression that everything has to be cookie cutter. Not every sketch you write has to be between a husband and a wife at the kitchen table. As a matter of fact, a little odd gives your sketch an instant starting point as you write it. Putting a nervous mother and a recently paroled criminal at the same barbeque can create a funny set up. But understand it’s just the set up. Make it work beyond that and stay away from things that your audience will find a little too ridiculous.

2. Borrow From Your Life – You’ve probably heard this a lot if you’ve ever heard a stand up talk about his life and where he gets his material from, but there is a reason every stand up says it. It’s the same reason everyone who writes does it. The people around you can feed you so much information and so many little ticks and personality traits that would make for so much comedy. Pay attention to those people. Does your boss have a little catch phrase, does your friend always like to high five. Does your stylist smoke weed with the mailman and paint pictures of ducks? These things should be bleeding onto the page. You don’t have to hurt anyone’s feelings either. In all my sketches, everyone has been an exaggeration of someone or something. Sometimes they are just an exaggeration of how I see myself. So if you want to conceal your source, then take their funny niche and put it on someone else.

3. Take Your Time – Please don’t rush through your sketch. Every writer loves a new sketch. They are proud of the last line or that one really great exchange between two characters, but at the end of the day, a first draft is just that, it’s the first draft. It’s really unfinished and it needs a second or third look. When you finish a sketch, put it in a drawer and don’t look at it for 3 or 4 days. Don’t worry, the world can wait for it. Then take it out and look at it again. Then take a look for unnecessary lines. I once helped trim a 12 page skit down to about 8 because we removed unnecessary lines that didn’t move the script forward and then we took out successive lines where basically the same thing was said twice. If you don’t think you’ll fall into the trap, think again. Everyone does it and it takes a while a reread to see it.

4. Eliminate Questions – Look at your last skit and you’ll see that it’s filled with people asking questions. This is an easy out for a skit writer. Don’t fall into that trap. Sometimes people have to ask questions in your script, but why don’t you try making more statements and less questions. If it doesn’t seem like this one holds a lot of water, then try it and revise your script and take out half of the questions and see exactly how much better your script is. I guarantee you’ll see improvements in your work.

5. Don’t Go For The Funny – Let the funny happen. Have you ever forced a joke in front of your friends? I’ll bet it didn’t go over well. I’ll bet that the funniest you ever are is when you make a joke in a natural conversation. Let your characters have a conversation and then let the jokes come as the flow dictates. There is nothing worse than watching someone who is trying too hard to make a script work.