Struggling with a blank page? Every comedian hits writer’s block, but the secret isn’t waiting for inspiration — it’s using structured comedy writing exercises. In this post, you’ll learn 5 proven drills to spark punchlines and stories you can actually use on stage. Plus, grab a free PDF with all 12 stand up comedy writing exercises, including advanced punchline practice, delivery tweaks, and a 7-day habit challenge.
Comedic pauses are an essential part of stand-up comedy. They can help make your material easier for the audience to understand, create comedic tension before the punchline, and give the audience time to solve your joke and begin laughing. Let’s start off with an example of amazing comedic timing. Notice how the pause directly in
A short comedy sketch by Jared & Luke Lacoy (from The Clean Comedy Podcast) Today, I want to share with you my first comedy sketch written for TikTok and YouTube #Shorts. The unique challenge I faced writing this sketch was that I only had 1 minute to setup and complete the sketch. Everything had to
You Have To Market Yourself! – Comedy Sketch & Walkthrough Of My Writing Process Read More »
Here’s a YouTube video of my recent interview with the Clean Comedy Podcast. Luke and James do great work putting on this show every week. You can find The Clean Comedy Podcast on Youtube or you can listen on your favorite podcasting app. You can also check out my earlier interview with them from Dec.
Pixar has a formula that works… but what is their formula? In this video, I’ll show you how Pixar structures a typical short film to quickly tell the audience everything they need to know to “get the jokes.” This is the same storytelling structure that you’ll find in almost every comedic sketch (i.e., Key &
How Pixar Uses Comedic Tension to Tell Funny Stories Read More »
What makes for the best punchline isn’t as straightforward as people thought. The Surprise Hypothesis, which posits that jokes become funnier as the punchline becomes more surprising or unpredictable, has largely failed empirical research. Even weirder, results suggest that less-surprising punchlines are often funnier. While counter-intuitive, it makes sense once you dig a little deeper.
First, quietly and respectfully ask other comedians if they agree with you. It’s not about accusing anyone. It’s about making sure that you’re justified in calling it a “theft.” If others feel reasonably certain that another comedian is using your material, then you can try talking to the accused thief. If you believe that the
Q&A – What Do I Do When Someone is Stealing My Jokes? Read More »
How Jokes Work (From the Audience’s Perspective) As you’ll see, comedic conflict and joke-telling are not completely inseparable. A joke is simply a setup/punchline structure that is designed to create a comedic conflict. All jokes create comedic conflict, but not all comedic conflict is created from jokes. Understanding comedic conflict greatly increases your repertoire as
How Jokes Work (From The Audience’s Perspective) Read More »
In this lesson, I’ll introduce you to various styles of comedy and give you a few examples of each style in action. Here’s what you need to know before we dive in: You do not have to choose only one of these styles… especially early on. If you still consider yourself a beginner then play
Styles of Comedy: What Kind of Comedian Are You? Read More »
Comedic Conflict is easily the most important topic in comedy. When you understand Comedic Conflict, you understand the single-most important tool in every comedian’s toolbox. There aren’t any “exceptions to the rule” with Comedic Conflict (unlike joke-structures). It’s easy to see examples of Comedic Conflict throughout stand-up, improvisational comedy, sketch comedy, TV, movies, and even
