How to get laughs without writing jokes

Most people think that to be a good comedy writer you have to be a good joke writer. That’s not true. Joke writing is a nice talent to have.  But would you believe there are ways of writing hysterically funny scenes without a single “joke?”

How? It’s in the structure. It’s in the comic premise that you set up. Give your character a goal. And then pile on ways that make it harder and harder for him to achieve it. Guilt, circumstances, temptation, pride, embarrassment, ego, time restrictions – these factors can be the comedy writer’s best friends. The more frustration you can build for a character the better.  And sometimes really loading it up can make it funnier. 

The truth is it’s hard to write jokes. Especially when there’s not much happening. But if you design a solid comic premise the lines will flow and the laughs will come.

Let me give you an example. Bob wants to call off his wedding to his fiancé, Jen.

First, a portion of the scenes with jokes:

INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT

JEN IS SITTING AT A TABLE. BOB ENTERS AND SITS DOWN.

BOB: Hi, Jen. Sorry, I’m late. Traffic was ridiculous. I should have kept the car home and taken a turtle.

JEN: Y’know, we have a subway here in Los Angeles.

BOB: We do? Where?

JEN: That’s the problem. No one knows where it is. If Bin Laden rode the LA subway he’d still be alive today.

BOB: So, anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something.

JEN: Must be important if you’re taking me here. Look at these prices. I needed to take out a second mortgage just to look at the menu.

BOB: I think we’re okay as long as we don’t order the Endangered Special of the Night.

JEN: That would be Nicole Kidman.  So what do you want to talk to me about?

BOB: Oh, it can probably wait until we order and I clear it with my accountant. Are waiters endangered here too? I haven’t seen one yet.

JEN: Bob, are you hands shaking?

BOB: Oh, that happens all the time.

JEN: Really?  That's not good for a surgeon.


You get the idea. Now the same scene beginning sans jokes:


 INT RESTAURANT – NIGHT

JEN IS SITTING AT A TABLE. BOB ENTERS AND SITS DOWN.

BOB: Hi. Sorry, I’m late.

JEN: That’s okay. I’m so crazy about you you could be an hour late and I wouldn’t care. God, I love you so much.

BOB: Yeah, right, well…

JEN: Y’know what I was doing while waiting for you?

BOB: No.

JEN: Giving a lot of thought to that … thing you said you always wanted a woman to do to you during sex?

BOB: Yeah?

JEN: The one I said no girl would ever agree to. Well, if it would make you happy and give you that much pleasure then let’s do it tonight when we get home.

BOB: Really? You’d do that for me?

JEN: Yes, my little perv.  I wouldn’t do it for just anyone, that’s for sure. But my future husband, okay. Oh, and I went on birth control pills. I know, it’s against my religious beliefs, but you hate using a condom. So you said on the phone you wanted to talk to me about something?

BOB; I did?  Uh… yeah. Right.

JEN: Oh, before I forget. We sent out the invitations.

BOB: You did? I thought we were going to wait until we signed the contract with the Sheraton.

JEN: Right. I forgot to tell you. We’re not doing it at the Sheraton. We’re holding the wedding at the Ritz-Carlton. Daddy said, he’s only got one daughter, and this should be the happiest day of her life, and what’s the point of having money if you can’t spend it on something really joyous? So he sold his boat, signed the contract, and gave them a non-refundable five thousand dollar down payment. Y'know, you're the first boy my parents ever liked.  They used to say I didn't know how to pick 'em, but you sure proved them wrong.  Oh, and your mom wants me to wear the ring that's been in your family for two hundred years.  I'm the daughter she never had, she says. 

BOB: She always hated my former girlfriends too.

JEN: Speaking of relatives, now that we have a bigger venue daddy invited all the relatives. You know they all think he’s kind of a schlub and this will be a chance for him to really show off. They’ll be coming in from all over the world. Even my grandma, who’s 92 is flying in from Russia. She can hardly move but she insists on being here. She said -- and this is so sweet – her life has been so hard and filled with so much tragedy, but seeing me walk down the aisle will give her a contentment and piece of mind that will make everything – even the loss of her husband and seizing of her house and disappearance of her daughter, two daughters actually -- seem okay. It will all be worth it to see me married. Are you okay? You look a little green?

Which scene would you rather watch?

Lots of elements go into good comedy besides jokes – structure, performance, timing. The key is creating good characters and putting them in fun situations. Who cares how you get the laugh?