Writing jokes based on emotions
What confuses you? What angers you? What intrigues you? What excites you?
Joel Byars: How to Generate Joke Ideas?
Instead of only focusing on “funny” ideas, let’s expand your joke writing net to any idea that evokes an emotion:
What confuses you?
What angers you?
What intrigues you?
What excites you?
So as you’re going through your day to day life be aware of these emotional reactions.
The whole reason for this is that joke writing requires a lot of repetition of trial and error. So you want to make sure you are writing about topics you have an emotional connection to.
Most of my favorite jokes started out as something not funny but interesting to me that I then put in the reps to find the funny angle.
This emotional connection will keep you motivated and interested to try the idea over and over again until you find the funny angle.
Good stuff. One I’d add in: What about [XYZ] was surprising to you? Surprise is interesting – and at the heart of most great punchlines.
More from Joel at the Hot Breath YouTube channel.