MAKE: Something From Nothing

MAKE: Something From Nothing

By Matthew L. Hart

Humor Writer/Comedian

Author of:

Uncle Matty's Halloween: Jokes, Bits & Anecdotes

I'm trying to write comedy every day, whether I like it or not.

My creative process kind of goes, as follows:

1) Study

2) Practice

3) Apply

PART 1) Study

If you're like me, you don't like waiting around for inspiration.

And, that's the value of the "Something From Nothing" technique.

"Something From Nothing" 

Is an idea generation technique I found in this book:

The Everything Guide to Comedy Writing: From stand-up to sketch - all you need to succeed in the world of comedy

by Mike Bent

You can follow along with me in this blog, as I explore this technique.

I also like to study comedy in the real world.
This technique would be great to have when creating weekly TV sitcoms.

Sitcoms have a writing staff but, MUST produce every week.
There are no excuses for missing deadlines.

To see how much comedy material can get eaten up in a sitcom series, try to count jokes per minute in your favorite shows. For example, study up on:

The King Of Queens
by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

PART 2) Practice

Follow along with me if you'd like, or try out your own stuff as we go along.
The main thing is, that you're actually doing the work. In my opinion, just starting will get me in the mood to keep going. So, finding a quick and easy way to start, is essential to my process.

I like to get started with some lists.

For the "Something from Nothing" technique,
we will need two lists of random nouns, places, and people.


Look for THINGS around you,
snag names from gossip rags,
and write down the places you visit throughout your day.


You can also brainstorm these things in your head at a desk.
But, I've noticed that I'm most effective when I'm out in the world.

I try to remember that comedy is made for other people. So, it helps me to mingle with people and get a sense of what's important to them and their points of view.

The main thing is that you don't stress yourself over the list. It's supposed to be fun, and that's why I write them throughout the day. Then, I have a fresh list to tackle in the morning.

Here we go:

LIST 1                         LIST 2

1) barn                       1) cat

2) chair                       2) tire

3) grocery store        3) exercise bike

4) hat                          4) bouncer

5) pinball machine  5) pizza

6) Doctor                   6) birthday present

7) Rockstar                7) Auto Body Shop

8) Kim Kardashian   8) Gym

9) power drill            9) Chinese Resturante

10) Starbucks           10) Gwyneth Paltrow

11) jacket                  11) bikini

12) parking lot         12) Alec Baldwin

Okay. That's probably enough for right now.

But, honestly, you would want as many as 100 items for each list.

The better you can get at pulling random words together,

the quicker you'll be able to think of fresh and authentic ideas.

Now, comes the fun part.

We just mash up one word from each list until we come up with something interesting. 

If you keep a written list, you can go over it any time throughout the day.

Standing in line at the bank or grocery story. Wherever.

But, since we're doing this on "paper", I prefer some randomness.

I'll throw a pair of dice, add them together and pull a word from each column.

Rolling...

LIST 1) 4+3=7 : ROCKSTAR

LIST 2) 4+2=6 : BIRTHDAY PRESENT

Great! We just need to mash up Rockstar and Birthday Present.

I like to do this by asking questions.

1) What would you get a Rockstar for their Birthday?

2) For a male Rockstar?

3) For a female Rockstar?

4) For an alternative gender Rockstar?

5) How old is the Rockstar?

6) Birthday Present for a 10 year old male Rockstar?

7) For a 35 year old alternative gender Rockstar?

8) For a geriatric female Rockstar?

9) Are they registered anywhere?

10) What are some funny names for online stores that a 25 year old gender neutral Rockstar would register at?

11) What instrument(s) do they play?

12) Do they like being a Rockstar?

Once you get some questions flowing through your head, feel free to answer them to yourself.

You can do this whole thing in your head and just write down any funny ideas, sifting through.

Or, methodically plot them all out like we're doing here.

I like to write down as much as possible, because you never know when old materials can be used to spark new creativity later on. 

Let's answer some of these questions in the form of a 3 minute rant:

Tom Gucci is a 12 year old, guitar playing Rockstar. He likes fast RC cars and loose Barbies. He's flush with cash so it's hard to buy him a present he doesn't already have. So, anything ridiculous is out! He's got all the Hot Wheels cars, all the video games, all the latest Marvel action figures. So, I got him some things I know he doesn't have. A toothbrush, a fruit basket, and books.

Okay. That was a quick three minutes.

Let's look over what we came up with and see if we can pull out some sort of premise.

Tom Gucci is a child Rockstar. This kid has EVERYTHING! Toys, video games, and every toy you could think of.

So, who is Tom Gucci related to me?

- A pop icon on the radio

- a relative

- a neighbor

What's my perspective? Let's say he's a pop icon. And, we're talking about, "A tabloid article about his parent's struggle to buy him a birthday present."

How can I relate?

- I could be a parent

- I could be the child of a parent

- I could be single, no kids

How do I feel about birthday presents? Shopping?
- I hate shopping for birthday presents
- I love shopping for birthday presents
- Shopping for birthday presents for a 12 year old Rockstar is EASY
- Shopping for a birthday present for a 12 year old Rockstar is HARD

Examples of how shopping for a 12 year old is hard
1) You have to know what their interests are
2) They grow out of things quickly
3) Their interest seem to change daily
4) They're interest keep changing, like trying to hit a moving target
5) They don't make sense, like ice skating with sandpaper on your shoes.

Let's make some setups now.


I want to keep in mind that:

1) This is not my kid
2) Shopping for normal 12 year old boys is hard
3) This 12 year old boy is a Rockstar
4) We're buying this boy a Birthday Present

I kind of see a theme here between Hard vs. Easy
So, I'll try to incorporate that into the Setup as well.

SETUPS: 

- Buying a birthday present for a 12 year old boy is like trying to hit a moving target.

- Trying to find the right birthday present for a 12 year old boy is like ice skating with sandpaper on your shoes.

- The only way shopping for a birthday present for a 12 year old boy is easy, is if that kid is a Rockstar.

- Buying a birthday present for a 12 year old boy is like skating with sandpaper shoes. But, if that kid's a Rockstar...

- Tom Gucci's parents have it rough. What do you buy a 12 year old Rockstar who's got everything? Every video game, the newest iphone, and the kid ACTUALLY plays Rock Band in real life! But, I'll tell you what you get him.

- To Birthday shop for a 12 year old Rockstar, you've got to think like a parent. What do you give a kid who can afford to buy anything? A fruit basket. You know he hasn't thought of that one!

- What do you get a 12 year old Rockstar for his birthday? - A fruit basket.

PAUSE

Let's take a second here to reflect on what we're doing. 

You can see how easy it is to start working over a new concept, once you've found one. We might not finish this joke. In fact, I don't think that's what's important right now. 

Take away that the "Something From Nothing" technique demonstrates, an easy way you can come up with an idea to play with, just by mashing together random words on a list. 

Honestly, there could be a great joke in this 12 year old Rockstar premise. But, you will have to use your craft to find it. 

This blog explores the comic tools I've discovered and hopes to share them with you. 

But, for now, we'll let this Rockstar joke go. 

Now you see that it's easy to come up with unique and authentic ideas of your own. There should be no reason not to have something to write about when you're given some time.

Don't feel like you have to fully develop every rant, either. 

Just keep those funny word-mashing rants going through your head whenever you get the chance.

PRACTICE:

1) Making random lists

2) Mashing two words together to form a third, unique idea.

3) Explore that idea through a short rant, either in your head or on paper.

4) Realize that not every combination will create something funny. 

5) When you do find something funny, write it down!

6) Apply your craft to form a joke, sketch, script idea, whatever.

PART 3) Apply

Using my lists or your own, can you come up with a funny joke or rant just by using "Something from Nothing"?

Add your funny joke or rant in the comments below!

Here's my rant:

Tom Gucci is a 12 year old, guitar playing, Rockstar. He likes fast RC cars and loose Barbies. He's flush with cash so it's hard to buy him a present he doesn't already have. So, anything ridiculous is out! He's got all the Hot Wheels cars, all the video games, all the latest Marvel action figures. So, I got him some things I know he doesn't have. A toothbrush, a fruit basket, and books.

CLICK IMAGES to:

Check out my book!

Or, to find the resources mentioned in this blog:

    

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KNOW: The Author!

CREATE: A Comic Character

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