How Steven Wright writes jokes
Wright: "I exercised the part of my mind of noticing things, to the point where I’m now noticing things without even trying to notice them."
How Steven Wright Writes Jokes (Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend)
Steven Wright on His Joke-Writing Process and Being an Influencer (Vulture)
When I first started, I would look through the newspaper for interesting words. There was no joke, it was just a word, like the word electrolysis — I wrote a whole joke on that. For the first six months, I would sit down and try to write jokes, but then, after that, I didn’t sit down anymore. My subconscious was scanning all the time, the things that could be a joke. My mind was looking for stuff, and some of it would leap out as a joke. It was just like a factory in my head…
It never stopped. It never shut down, it never stopped. I don’t go, “I’m gonna write a joke.” I just go through the world and see stuff. It’s like I exercised the part of my mind of noticing things, to the point where I’m now noticing things without even trying to notice them.
Steven Wright set up rules for his comedy too:
Early on, he set up rules for his comedy that might have hurt him in the short term but have allowed his work to age as well as any comedian’s. He avoided anything topical. He also did not curse. “I didn’t want to get a bigger laugh because of that,” he said. “I wanted it to be pure.”