Over at the Women Rule blog there's a very interesting interview with Vanessa Gebbie, author of Short Circuit. Its seems very apparent from the interview that two things seem to really fascinate us as writers. The act of naming (our characters) and procrastination. I could go on forever about the former. Even this morning I awoke thinking of names. Hester Swaine. What a brilliant and powerful name that is. She is the protagonist from Marina Carr's By the Bog of Cats - and a better name for this particular character you could not find. The opening image is of Hester dragging a black swan across the stage. So 'swan' had to be in there somewhere. But here I'm just going to give you some thoughts from genius comedy writer, Graham Linehan, on the subject of procrastination. I am mostly quoting from a Guardian interview from 2008 - which also includes some great tips for comedy writing. Linehan states:
Wasting time is part of the process. For me genius is 1% inspiration and 99% procrastination. It's the nature of writing, that you procrastinate and procrastinate until it gets to 4 o'clock and ... and then it's tea time. I will do anything but sit at my desk, but all the time, ideas are ruminating around in the back of my mind and then suddenly after six hours of Guitar Hero, something concrete emerges from the void.
The rest of that Guardian feature has great things to say about comedy writing if you're keen on that sort of thing:
'Analysing comedy is like dissecting a frog. Nobody laughs and the frog dies."
So claims the legendary Barry Cryer. Indeed, there is nothing more damaging to a joke than trying to explain it. It's like revealing how the lady is sawn in half or telling someone who hasn't seen the Sixth Sense that Bruce Willis is a ghost (sorry). But even in a cursory examination of writing comedy, I'm afraid some frogs are going to die.
There are comedic rules and formulae and, while these tenets should be respected, especially by a newcomer, perversely you can still succeed by openly contradicting them. Because comedy is about breaking the rules. Even its own rules. Though, as with many disciplines, it is wise to master the basics before you attempt to subvert them.
Comedy is also so subjective that a script that reduces one audience to tears of laughter, can leave another staring at you in threatening silence.
So how do you even come up with a joke? Richard Pryor gave the excellent advice, "Be truthful and funny will come." Though of course veracity is not enough on its own, it can often be extremely boring or depressing. Conversely many comics make a great living telling downright lies.
Often ideas come from a subconscious flash of inspiration. Dara O'Briain discusses how Douglas Adams described how Arthur Dent learned to fly: "apparently the way to do it is to fall and then get distracted. At which point you forget you've just fallen and take off. That essentially is the best description of writing jokes, you trigger yourself to not think about something and then something comes out."
This epiphany can come from the collision of two idle thoughts, the juxtaposition of unlikely events, questioning conventional wisdom or by viewing society without preconceptions. It's why children so often say funny things, because they have not yet learnt about conformity and notice the hypocrisy that adults are too jaded to spot. So you always have to be primed to see the humour in the everyday life, but perversely not desperately be searching for it.
How can you hurry the comedy along? Some writers use artificial stimulants such as alcohol or drugs. As a younger man I felt I wrote better after consuming a dangerous cocktail of chocolate and diet coke. Though booze can sometimes help you relax a little and hallucinogens can alter your perspective, on the whole you're better off staying clean. If logic breaks down, comedy doesn't usually follow. We all know that what appears funny when you're inebriated can seem embarrassing the morning after.
A comic's mind usually retains some childishness (and not always in a pejorative sense). Perhaps there's some insanity in there too, but the comedian (usually) has control over their madness.
Personally I find that deadlines are the best inspiration. I like leaving things to the last possible minute, then letting blind panic be my stimulus.
Wasting time is part of the process. For me genius is 1% inspiration and 99% procrastination. It's the nature of writing, that you procrastinate and procrastinate until it gets to 4 o'clock and ... and then it's tea time. I will do anything but sit at my desk, but all the time, ideas are ruminating around in the back of my mind and then suddenly after six hours of Guitar Hero, something concrete emerges from the void.
The rest of that Guardian feature has great things to say about comedy writing if you're keen on that sort of thing:
'Analysing comedy is like dissecting a frog. Nobody laughs and the frog dies."
So claims the legendary Barry Cryer. Indeed, there is nothing more damaging to a joke than trying to explain it. It's like revealing how the lady is sawn in half or telling someone who hasn't seen the Sixth Sense that Bruce Willis is a ghost (sorry). But even in a cursory examination of writing comedy, I'm afraid some frogs are going to die.
There are comedic rules and formulae and, while these tenets should be respected, especially by a newcomer, perversely you can still succeed by openly contradicting them. Because comedy is about breaking the rules. Even its own rules. Though, as with many disciplines, it is wise to master the basics before you attempt to subvert them.
Comedy is also so subjective that a script that reduces one audience to tears of laughter, can leave another staring at you in threatening silence.
So how do you even come up with a joke? Richard Pryor gave the excellent advice, "Be truthful and funny will come." Though of course veracity is not enough on its own, it can often be extremely boring or depressing. Conversely many comics make a great living telling downright lies.
Often ideas come from a subconscious flash of inspiration. Dara O'Briain discusses how Douglas Adams described how Arthur Dent learned to fly: "apparently the way to do it is to fall and then get distracted. At which point you forget you've just fallen and take off. That essentially is the best description of writing jokes, you trigger yourself to not think about something and then something comes out."
This epiphany can come from the collision of two idle thoughts, the juxtaposition of unlikely events, questioning conventional wisdom or by viewing society without preconceptions. It's why children so often say funny things, because they have not yet learnt about conformity and notice the hypocrisy that adults are too jaded to spot. So you always have to be primed to see the humour in the everyday life, but perversely not desperately be searching for it.
How can you hurry the comedy along? Some writers use artificial stimulants such as alcohol or drugs. As a younger man I felt I wrote better after consuming a dangerous cocktail of chocolate and diet coke. Though booze can sometimes help you relax a little and hallucinogens can alter your perspective, on the whole you're better off staying clean. If logic breaks down, comedy doesn't usually follow. We all know that what appears funny when you're inebriated can seem embarrassing the morning after.
A comic's mind usually retains some childishness (and not always in a pejorative sense). Perhaps there's some insanity in there too, but the comedian (usually) has control over their madness.
Personally I find that deadlines are the best inspiration. I like leaving things to the last possible minute, then letting blind panic be my stimulus.
My current novel in progress has me in a predicament of having very few characters whose names are up for inventing...feeling the need to write something and think up a very random (yet completely well thought out)strange name!
ReplyDeleteI sometimes go to graveyards for this. I have a pseudonym (now blown: Evelyn Chambers - a name I nicked from a graveyard. I think there's something mystical to naming - so go carefully and entirely trust your instincts!!
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy New Year to you too! Keep visiting!
ReplyDelete"By the bog of cats" must be one of the Medea's that I've liked the most so you made me think a lot about names and renaming as well. Regarding procrastination I think that's my speciality... and I would add feeling guilty on top of it.
ReplyDelete