As a stand-up comic, you know you have to keep evolving. One way of doing that is by improving your sets from one performance to the next. So that means that you should consistently write new material, rewrite older material that does not work, and add material to a bit that just did not have enough. What if you cannot think of a single thing to write about? What do you do then? I am only asking because I have faced this several times. What I found out about writer’s block is...it’s a bitch, but it happens to us all. So how can we get our minds to quit drawing blanks so that way our writing can become more consistent? After asking that question to myself, I did what every other person does whenever they are stumped. I Googled it.
As I searched Google, I came across a series of YouTube videos from New York comic Chris Murphy. And one of those videos was dealing with writer's block. In the video, Chris says to "Keep moving the pen. I don’t care if it sucks, just keep moving the pen. If it stinks it doesn't matter. Just move the pen." Now this is something I have tried and believe it or not, it does work. There have been several times when I could not even think of a topic that I wanted to turn into a bit. So I would just write random thoughts down, or just random words. Then after I was done writing, I would look at my notes to see if anything was there. Usually there was. So just like Murphy said, “keep moving the pen.”
Now just because one thing works for somebody does not mean it works for everyone. So I decided to talk with other comedians to see how they deal with writer’s block. The first comic I talked with was Derek Sheen.
Knox Comedy: Would you mind telling me how you deal with writer's block?
Derek: “I've had a couple of really serious blocks where material just wouldn't materialize at all. I tried meditating: no luck. Forcing myself to physically write out a premise: no luck. Going and watching other comedians, reading, baths, ice cold showers: nothing. One thing I hadn't tried was going outside of my comfort zone; instead of trying to write jokes, I would try to write a sketch or an onstage prank. Once I made some of my non-comic friends dress up like Ninjas under their clothes and during a particular part of my set they got up and slowly undressed, revealing their ninja outfits. Then they put on their masks and snuck around the audience, came on stage and we had a slow motion action sequence that was set to music. Stuff, like that, helped to break me out of my routine and exercise some ‘non-linear’ thinking. Days later, material was freely flowing. Sometimes just doing something OTHER than writing jokes, some type of creative problem solving, can help re-calibrate your brain.”
Knox Comedy: That's brilliant. I bet the ninja thing was funny as hell. So it sounds like you had to think ‘outside the box’?
Derek: “Yes. Sometimes when I feel like the well is dry, I try to do something different that distracts me from thinking about my writer’s block. Usually it's something pretty stupid: Ninja fight, audience sing-along, maybe even making a short film. The ninja thing was pretty fun though. We gave random audience members confetti guns to let off during the part where Jesus came out, broke up the fight, and sang 'Happy Birthday' to America. Pretty dumb.”
Knox Comedy: That just sounds completely bad ass. So any pointers you can give the new comedians?
Derek: “Don't be afraid to try something out of your comfort zone. Don't feel like you always have to be writing. Sometimes you just have to focus on listening. Oh, and always have some ninja costumes lying around.”
The next comic I talked to was Ryan Singer. When I asked Singer what his thoughts were on writer’s block, this is what he told me. "Writer's block for me is a matter of commitment to the craft of actually writing. I never should have writer's block, but definitely allow myself to at times have good idea or funny thought block. I should always be writing, regardless if I think the words coming from my pen are garbage or not. An interesting thing happens, if I force myself to write long enough, even when there is no grand idea aching to release onto the page - something will happen. Something I did not expect, or even think to think of will come spilling out that I will definitely use eventually in something. Or maybe it is just the smallest seed of an idea that never would have been planted if I did not force myself to sit down and pick up the pen on that day I felt uninspired. I always make an effort to write, even when I have writer's block."
To go more detailed, Ryan then tells me "I freestyle write almost everyday. I just dump whatever it is inside my brain, which often times feels like nothing onto a legal pad. I try to do a minimum of an hour of this at least five days a week. Sometimes, I put on some music I love and other times I try to discover a new artist via Spotify or Pandora. Rarely, but when I know I must really get something out that has been haunting my brain, I will listen to nothing but the sounds of the outdoors with my window open. But that's what works for me."
In conclusion, Singer says "Advice to young comics: no one is telling you how to perform, who to become, or what you should explore on stage and as a performer and you should embrace that. Keep in mind that when the day comes when you want to be a working comedian, one who pays their bills through making people laugh, you are not fighting them - you are trying to connect with them. Certain people hold the keys to this work in this business and they decide what or who works in their rooms and that does not have to be a battle cry against you as much as a creative challenge to see what you are capable of creating as a stand-up comedian. Challenge yourself to be you in all situations, even when you feel like restraints are preventing it. Once I decided to challenge myself into writing jokes that were not about explicit sex, religion, or race and remained jokes I thought were funny, my career as a working stand-up truly began. Find your own path to become who your funny is. But keep in mind that along the way there are many who will provide value to your life even when you don't see it yet."
Knox Comedy: Would you mind telling me how you deal with writer's block?
Carlos: “I have been fortunate enough not to run into too much trouble because of writer's block. It's not that I haven't gone prolonged periods without writing something new, but the thing is I write down everything I find has any potential to be funny. So even when I haven't written anything for a while I still have a backlog of ideas that I haven't really worked on yet. I also started writing years before I started doing stand-up. So in one sense I had a backlog even before I started performing. A lot of it is shitty, but at least it's there.”
Valencia then goes on by saying “It might just be a result of the way I write. I don't usually sit down to try to write out bits. I just jot down ideas and eventually try to evolve them into bits. But sometimes the time between me writing an idea and working it out for an open-mic can be as long as six months.”
Next, Carlos tells me “Even when you aren't coming up with new ideas though, you can always go through your current jokes and try to make them better. There will always be some jokes that you think you have down, that you can still make better by adding a few more tags, or dropping some words from the set up.”
Knox Comedy: I can relate to your technique. That's generally how I write. So what kind of writing were you doing before you started doing stand up?
Carlos: “The same sort of thing. I wrote down things that I thought were funny, or sketch ideas. I never thought I'd do stand-up because I was too scared to speak in front of people. But I thought maybe some day I could write for a show, like Conan or something.”
Knox Comedy: Well I'm glad you decided to give it a try. Any pointers you can give the new comedians?
Carlos: “I'm always reluctant to give stand-up advice because I really don't know shit. I'm still trying to figure things out myself. So I only give advice about advice. If someone gives you advice and it doesn't feel natural to you, then just do whatever you're most comfortable doing. If someone tells you to do something that you're not comfortable with, it'll come across on stage and people will realize that you're not being yourself. They may be right that your joke would be funnier if you cupped one of your nuts in a shotglass, but if you feel uncomfortable doing it...well actually no, do it anyway. Just make sure you tape it so I can see it later.”
-End
