Yet even after I discovered that repeating memorized Steve Martin routines failed to make me popular at the one junior-high party I was invited to, I kept trying.
In 1999 I took stand-up out of my everyday conversations and started performing it in professional venues. I'm still fascinated by the evolutionary arc of an act.
You know instantly whether something works. You can tweak it on the fly or die trying. (Jokes that make me laugh out loud when I write them almost always bomb. I have no idea why.) But the coolest part is that if you ask any 10 comics how to put together an act, you'll get 10 different answers. The joke development process is as unique and personal as each laugh it intends to evoke.
Get an Idea
This is the worst part of the process. Comedy protons have to collide in my brain by chance. Jerry Seinfeld can sit down and write for a full workday, like its a desk job. Zach Galifianakis thinks of stuff while mowing his farm (for reals). It's good to force your brain sometimes, Steven Wright says. Its a muscle. You gotta work it out. Once something happens for me--usually while I'm driving or in the shower--I scribble it down on the nearest surface.
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