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Coming up with ideas for writing can sometimes be a daunting task. Pretty much all writers struggle with deciding what to write about and how to find inspiration at some point, this is still the case with comedy writing too!
In this blog, we will explore effective strategies to help you generate ideas for your writing projects.
One common mistake writers make is trying to write something they think their audience will find funny or engaging.
This approach is flawed for two main reasons. Firstly, you can’t accurately predict what will resonate with your audience! Audiences are fickle and what works for one room might not work for another, you never know how they’ll respond!
Secondly, focusing on pleasing the audience diverts your attention from trusting your own instincts and unique voice as a writer. It’s always important to write jokes that YOU find funny!
To find meaningful and authentic ideas for your writing, it is crucial to identify your values and beliefs. This is how to make your writing uniquely you!
Values are the principles or qualities that you hold dear, such as humour, family, or religion.
Meanwhile, beliefs refer to your convictions or perspectives on specific subjects, like climate change or scientific theories. Have a think about each of these and in the next section we’re going to start listing them!
To kickstart your idea generation process, make a list of your values and beliefs. This exercise will provide you with a clear understanding of what truly matters to you and what you feel strongly about. Your list will serve as a guide in selecting topics that align with your personal convictions. Make it as big as possible initially! The more topics to choose from the better
For beliefs, it can be useful to look at a range of things and see what jumps out the most for you!
Thanks to Greg Dean for the inspiration behind this article!
Once you have your list, read through it and identify which values or beliefs elicit the strongest emotions in you! Then try to think about the perspective of going against these values, this should create an even rawer emotion that is a great starting point!
Writing about topics that challenge or oppose your values can be a powerful way to express your thoughts and engage your audience.
Similarly, explore topics that challenge your beliefs or encounter significant disagreement. For example, if you strongly believe in the reality of climate change, but encounter individuals who deny its existence, putting yourself in their shoes and writing from their point of view can give rise to questions, set ups and of course punchlines!
Being able to understand both sides of things means you can write jokes from different perspectives and even undercut other perspectives too! This is a super useful tool in writing comedy.
When selecting topics for your writing, it is crucial to choose subjects that genuinely matter to you. It is essential to have a personal investment in the material you are working on.
If you lack genuine interest or emotional connection to the topic, your writing may lack authenticity and enthusiasm and the audience will be able to smell that a mile away! There’s nothing worse than an unenthusiastic comic performing stale material!
Having emotional investment in your writing also ensures you stay invested in writing! If you have to force yourself to write about a certain topic, the creativity won’t flow nearly as much!
Finding inspiration for your writing is a process that involves understanding your values, beliefs, and personal investment.
Remember to trust yourself and prioritise writing about subjects that genuinely matter to you. With these strategies in place, you will never run out of ideas for your writing endeavours.
Learn more about Comedy Writing here
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