Comedy Upgrade: Change Your Tactics
Play with rhythm, tone, format, energy, pacing, cadence, length, and vocabulary. Vary your tactics.
Today’s post is about tactical shifts in comedy writing.
Before we crack into it, a couple of notes…
One, have you ever considered individual coaching on your humor writing?
I have a couple slots for one-on-one humor writing coaching this Spring. This is a great opportunity to get some drafts into shape, accelerate your learning curve, and work on all aspects of your craft, from idea generation to publishing. More details in the Writers Room post.
If you’re interested in working with me personally on your writing, just hit me up with a DM on Substack, and we’ll talk. I can only work with a couple of people!
Also, we had our latest Weekend Writers’ Room, this weekend. These posts happen the first and third Saturday of every month. Next one: Saturday, March 21. Pitch your ideas and get friendly, helpful feedback. Hope to see you at the next one.
Alright, onto to today’s post…
Changing Tactics in Comedy Writing
Back in my post The 21 Most Common Humor Writing Mistakes, I mentioned the idea of “changing tactics,” at the end.
A reader asked for more details…
“Personally, I'd welcome a deep dive into mistake #21, about not changing tactics. This is feedback I've gotten myself, and I find it challenge to solve. If you have any go-to tricks, please share!” - Leanne H.C.
Okay, good question. Let’s dive into this.
I called “not changing tactics” a kind of humor writing “mistake.” But the idea of “tactics” in humor writing is broad and a bit difficult to pin down.
What are “tactics?” I guess the term technically means something like “how you drive the comedy of the piece/sketch/story/etc.” But I don’t think we need a precise definition. It’s easier to show with examples.
Definition or no, I do think there is an overall “vibe” to this idea of tactics, and it’s an important one. Loosely, I would call this vibe, “changing the style and delivery of the piece versus keeping those things static.”
Why change tactics? Because good comedy writing has surprises. It delights the reader with unexpected turns. It subverts expectations. It has a rhythm and cadence that pleasingly ebbs and flows. And it does this while remaining true to the original comedic premise.
In contrast, a humor piece, sketch, or story that’s boring and stagnant often feels kind of same-samey from the start to finish. The piece is unvarying. Here are a few signs that your tactics are static and boring:
The narrator’s emotional tone remains static throughout the piece. There are no emotional shifts. If the narrator starts ‘angry,’ the narrator stays equally angry from start to finish. This gives the piece a ‘flat’ emotional feel.
The paragraphs and sentences are all about the same length.
As you read the piece, the rhythm and cadence sound unchanging, same-samey, monotonous even.
The word choice is repetitive.
The punchlines all arc in a very similar direction. Or they all use the same type of humor, i.e., every punchline uses hyperbole or another specific humor type.
There are no vibe shifts, peaks and valleys, or breathers.
When a piece begins to feel stale, it often means you need to switch tactics. This could mean you need an energetic or emotional shift.
Play with rhythm, tone, format, energy, pacing, cadence, length, and vocabulary. Vary your tactics.
How do you find the right comedic tactics? Experimentation. Keep testing, and don’t get complacent. When your piece feels bland, here are some tactical shifts to explore:
Vary your length
Sentence length, paragraph length, joke length, and beat length. Varying the lengths gives the piece a varying cadence and a more surprising feel.
Say you are writing a list-style humor piece titled “The Most Profound Things My Parole Officer Ever Said.” If this list is, say, fifteen funny quotes from the parole officer, and the average quote is two sentences long, you could throw some longer and shorter ones in there. Throw in a rep that’s a single six-word sentence. Or, throw in a rep that’s surprisingly verbose, a significantly longer paragraph. This makes the piece feel more like a roller coaster. When every joke rep is an identical length, it’s not always terrible, but it feels slightly more predictable.
Vary your diction
You shouldn’t use weird or arcane diction just for the sake of it. Word choice should fit the voice and premise. But if you repeat the same descriptions or terms over and over, it gets stale. If you’re writing about someone drinking beer, don’t just say “drink” each time. Why not throw in a “chug,” a “swill,” a “tender and loving sip,” and so on, as long as it fits the narrator’s voice.