Comedy Writing Toolbox: Takeaways
How to be inspired by the art that you love without stealing from the artists that you love.
I’m always trying to understand myself. I think that’s a good practice to have as an “artist” and as a “person.”1 It’s a bit navel-gazy, for sure, but I think it works in a “put on your own oxygen mask before you help the person next to you with theirs” type of way. If I can understand myself, then what I create can be more authentic and true, and more people can relate to it, because I am relatable, because I am a person just like them.2
Finding my own unique voice as a creator is part of this neverending quest to understand myself. Part of the reason the quest is neverending is because it is difficult, but another part of it is because I’m (hopefully) always evolving and growing as a person, so my “specific and unique” authentic voice is, in theory, also evolving right along with that. If I’m slightly different today than I was yesterday, than so should my perception of the world, and my reaction to it, and what I create. This sounds like self-torture, but I assure you it is not.3 I’m not always thinking this deeply about it. Most of it happens naturally.
I like to think of it this way. If I try to do a joke about myself that I wrote ten years ago, I really hope it kind of rings false when I’m saying it. It should feel a bit inauthentic. It should feel like I’m doing somebody else’s material. Because I’m not the same person that I was a decade ago.
Part of finding your own voice as a creator happens through identifying things that you like as a fan and consumer of art. I’ve heard it said that “all artists” start out doing impressions of their favorite artists, taking a little piece here or there until they figure out what works for them and fall into developing their own style. I don’t know if that’s true for everybody, but I know it was true for me. I remember once, after doing a five-minute guest set at a comedy club, an out-of-town comedian who saw my set read me dead to rights on my favorite comics4. I wasn’t “copying” them but my influences were certainly clear to someone who knew comedy. I knew in that moment I had more work to do in developing my own unique style. Hopefully in the years since I’ve made progress on that.
Anyways one of the ways I use my “refined taste” as a consumer of art as a tool in shaping my own voice as a comedian and writer is something I call “takeaways.” Basically, after watching something, I’ll think about what I liked about it5. I keep a document of the major things that stand out so I can remember them when I’m creating. In order to not be “stealing” from the specific voice of the creator I try to keep these things structural. I try to take away something about the formatting of the story or the way it presents ideas — instead of things about the “voice” or specific tone of the joke, or movie, or comedy special. Another way I look at this is as “reverse engineering” the idea by looking at the finished product. I use my own takeaways from the art to think about what I believe the process of creation was like to think about how I’m going to create when I’m creating.
These things can be big, major structural notes and ideas, or small things about the way they present their story or idea. Some of them may seem obvious. Some of them my be present in many other films (or a staple or “rule” of writing). I’m not worried about any of that. If it stands out to me, and I like the ways it’s done specifically as an example in a certain film, it goes in the doc.
Here are some examples of recent Takeaways to show you what I mean. Maybe there will be some slight spoilers for some of these movies but I’ll try to keep it pretty vague.
Queer
The item the main character is on a search for in the plot of the film (a plant that is rumored to give people the ability to communicate telepathically) is a metaphor for what his character needs in the story (better communication with his partner/other people in general.)
Tangerine
Something I wrote about in a previous newsletter — I found it refreshing that Sean Baker reused some of the ideas, themes, settings, and even gags (puking in a car) in his later films. It makes me less afraid to revisit similar subjects in new jokes or scripts that I’ve written about previously.
Oh, Canada
Small examples throughout the film (individual scenes or even single lines of dialogue) that represent or state various major themes of the film. This one is specifically an example of something I noticed in this film that is probably, like, a “rule” of screenwriting or something. But I’ve never taken a class, I just noticed how this movie did it so I wrote it down as a nice little trick.
Babygirl
I like how this film avoided and subverted some specific cliches and stereotypes that could have made it a much less interesting movie. My takeaway here was to think about the type of story (or joke) that you’re telling and be aware of what the “cliches” of that story/joke would be so that you can avoid them or subvert them.
The Silent Partner
I felt like the tone of the film did not match the events going on in the plot. The tone was quite light while the plot was very dark. I didn’t love how that juxtaposition felt when I was watching the film. So my takeaway here is to make sure they do match when I’m writing — or that it “makes sense” in the way that the tone and story/plot juxtapose each other.
Your Friend, Nate Bargatze
I’ve been doing stand-up a lot longer than I’ve been writing scripts. I have a better feel for my voice as a stand-up and how I write jokes than I do of script-writing. Most of my recent takeaways have been little notes for me when I’m working on a new script. I figured I’d add a stand-up specific takeaway here so there’s at least one example. In Bargatze’s new special, he does a good chunk of material about disagreements with his wife. He makes sure that he’s the butt of his own jokes for a while before he starts in on jokes at her expense. This makes sure he doesn’t come off as mean to her, but also makes sure he’s not always the loser in every situation.
OK, see what I mean now by “Takeaways.” I’m not going to use all of these in everything I write (that would be exhausting to do, and most likely result in an “overwritten” script that would be exhausting to read) but they’re there if I need them, or if I feel like something is missing or needed when I’m outlining or rewriting. Keeping things structural also avoids any “I see what you did there — you took that idea from this” moments from happening. Inspiration happens, it’s inevitable, but by being aware of those inspirations and what inspires me I can use those inspirations in a productive, original way that fits my own voice — however it may evolve.
Why are these words in quotes? Well, calling myself an artist feels pretentious, so I use the quotes as a thin layer of protection. And then using them on the word person is just a weird funny joke I guess. What is a person? Am I one?
There, the “person” thing came full circle, within a few sentences.. I guess I am also an “artist.”
Not all the time, at least.
Paul F. Tompkins and Patton Oswalt
Sometimes also what I didn’t like about it.
