COMEDY 118 [M] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [Associations Form] - Classroom A - Classroom BLesson 2Comedy Writing WorkshopWorking With Analyzation Writing Exercise 1"Random Associations"by Gene Perret
This
workout gives you practice in letting your mind ramble through any topic
and come up with random associations that may or may not be used later
as setups or punchlines for jokes. The
items that you generate in this workout don't have to be funny. In fact,
they don't even have to be too closely related to your topic. It's
almost a free association exercise. If your topic is "hunting"
and your mind says you should jot down "whales," don't fret,
don't censor, don't question; jot it down. Who knows? It just might lead
to a "Moby Dick" or "Captain Ahab" line that does
tie in with your "hunting" premise. Trust me on this first workout. When we do the other workouts in this chapter, it will all tie together. HERE'S WHAT YOU
DO FOR THIS WORKOUT
1.
Select a topic or premise that you will write about. It's your choice,
but make it definite. Make it broad, but not so broad that it's
unwieldy. 2.
With a pencil and paper, or a typewriter or word processor, write down
in no particular order (and without editorializing, censoring, or
reprimanding yourself), any words, phrases, people, places, or
things--anything at all--that you feel relate in any way to your
premise. Continue until you have at least 50 such items. HERE'S WHAT THIS WORKOUT WILL DO FOR YOUMaking
the list prepares your mind to write on your topic. You will be forcing
yourself to think about your topic, almost to the exclusion of
everything else. That's a big plus for a writer. It's a discipline we
all need. As
you make random associations, your subconscious mind will also be
selecting different angles to look at your topic from. You'll find that
useful when you move on to writing. When
you finally get around to creating jokes, you will have a wealth of
ammunition that you can draw on for those oh-so-important associations
that form the heart of comedy writing. HERE ARE SOME
EXAMPLES
I've selected the topic "Buying a car" Here are the random thoughts I jotted down:
A
WORD BEFORE YOU START
That
list is typical. It includes many items that almost anyone would include
in such a collection. It might also have a few that no one else would
have included--things that only I would think about in buying a car.
Then, too, it might have a few that seem disconnected to car buying.
That's okay. That's the writer's privilege. Is
this a good list, a mediocre list, or a bad list? Who knows? There's no
judgment required for this list. It is designed to get the writer
thinking about the topic and to furnish ammunition for the actual
writing, which comes later. So
attack this workout with gusto, and have fun with it. Compiling these extensive lists of associations will, in the end, help you in writing your punchlines. Post your list to the classroom after completing each writing exercise. Since lists aren't right or wrong, good or bad, use humor to interact with each other. When responding to others' lists, play off each others' ideas. The juxtapositions should inspire jokes.
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