James Mendrinos said it: “Words make jokes work.”
In his book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Comedy Writing, author James Mendrinos says, words are a writer’s weapons. Choose them carefully. Those of us who like to write and read comedy and humor know that. Yet, it’s easy to get careless when we’re in the flow and feel smug about something we’ve knocked out. That’s why editing and rewriting are crucial. Often the choice of one word can make or kill a joke.
Sure, you’ve read it a hundred times, but it’s worth repeating what Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
For example, one from Johnny Carson: “Here’s a health warning: Don’t moon a pit bull after sitting in A-1 sauce.”
In that gag, any other condiment like catsup or mustard, just wouldn’t work as well. A-1 is specific and a perfect twist after the setup “Don’t moon a pit bull…”
I write a lot of lite-raunch stuff, but I don’t use dirty words—at least they’re not dirty to most folks. But the standards are changing all the time. Some comics can’t go more than a few minutes without using the big “F” word. But you know if they’re any good, they don’t really need it. What’s more, if they’re doing it for shock value, it’s losing its juice.
All comedy and humor writers should share a love of language. Those who do, have the most important tool they need to make their audiences laugh. And because they love words they’re sensitive to the nuances…the little grace notes that make them stand out from other writers.
With over 490,000 words in the English language to choose from we should be able to find the right ones to help us write our comedy and humor.
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Filed under: Insights & Opinions, Writing Technique
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