Not long ago, I was reading an article on the Motivation of Being Funny. The author, John O’Connor, was writing about how he got his start as a comedian.
“I like to write when I’m bored.
Not long ago, I was reading an article on the Motivation of Being Funny. It was written by a guy who taught comedy at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. The author, John O’Connor, was writing about how he got his start as a comedian.
According to John, he had read The Wizard of Oz and thought, “That is a funny book, but I don’t want to do that.” He decided that he was going to do something different from what everyone else was doing. He thought, “Well, if I just do what everybody else is doing, then I’m not going to make any money.” So, that’s when he started writing.
John used a lot of self-deprecating humor, but at the same time he tried to be realistic with what he was trying to do. Here’s some of what he wrote about writing, which was a good thing to know.
“I like to write when I’m bored. I don’t write to pass the time, I write to write and to think. I’m very honest about what I’m thinking when I write. Sometimes I’ll write about stuff that I think is stupid, and sometimes I write about stuff that I think is genius. If you can look at my work and be amazed by it, then that’s the definition of a good comic.
“When I’m bored, I try to remember why I was bored in the first place. That’s the most important question I ask myself. If I can’t figure out what’s wrong, I don’t continue writing. If I can’t figure out what’s right, I move on and write something else. It’s kind of like how you shop for a pair of pants.
“If you put together an awful combination of clothes, then you’re not going to wear them. You’re going to have to learn more about them. And if you don’t use them, they’ll probably go back into the store and get used again.” — Warren Buffet
“If you go over again the same word sequence… Think about that, you know, ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘w’, and so on. I’ve done it.
“I’ve done it over again, and I don’t want to do it anymore. So, I’m trying to be funny again.”
I liked this a lot and John was really good at having the humor without the snarky sarcasm. I also liked the fact that he tried to be realistic about what he was trying to do.
But then, I was thinking, “If John really has never written a joke that made him laugh, why would he think he’s going to be able to write a joke that will make people laugh, anyway?” I also wondered why John wasn’t thinking about this earlier in his career.
John is really good at writing jokes, so I don’t believe he’s alone, but maybe it’s good that he didn’t think of this earlier in his career. We all should have a dream, even if we don’t know what our dream is until it becomes a reality.
To me, being funny is important, and if you are funny, then, you might want to write jokes. After all, there is so much talent out there, and so many people don’t know where to turn to get a job as a comic. Maybe John’s example can help make people realize that they don’t need to be funny in order to get work as a stand-up comedian.
