Topic Guide

What Is Comedy writing?

Comedy writing is a subject covered in depth across 4 podcast episodes in our database. Below you'll find key concepts, expert insights, and the top episodes to listen to — all distilled from hours of conversation by leading experts.

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Key Concepts in Comedy writing

Comedy life coach

This describes Laurie Kilmartin's role in helping Conan O'Brien prepare for the Oscars. She accompanies him to small comedy clubs, observes his performance of potential Oscar jokes, and provides critical, real-time feedback to refine material and ensure it lands effectively (01:00).

The true inspirations of comedy

Kilmartin shares a counterintuitive insight that seeing 'not good' stand-up comedians can be a powerful catalyst for aspiring comics. This observation, rather than solely witnessing comedic brilliance, often sparks the thought, 'Wait a minute, I could do that,' igniting one's own journey into comedy (04:08).

Wasting time in the writer's room

Conan and Kilmartin discuss their writer's room habit of watching random internet videos or TV shows like 'And Just Like That...' for up to half an hour. Conan argues this 'wasted time' is useful if everyone is laughing, believing it fosters creativity and camaraderie, despite appearing unproductive (20:28).

The conan language

This concept refers to the specific comedic style and tone of Conan O'Brien's shows, which a writer must learn to 'speak' to successfully contribute. Skyler Higley explains that adapting his individual comedic voice to fit Conan's world, despite their differences, allowed him to produce 'the best stuff' and integrate his unique perspective into the show's established humor (19:22).

Ninja/assassin writer

Conan O'Brien's description of Todd Levin's writing style, characterized by quiet observation and then delivering sharply hilarious, well-written material without constant "babbling." This contrasts with Conan's own more demonstrative performance style (02:01).

Bad magician performance style

Conan O'Brien's self-description of his own performance, using distraction and demonstrative behavior to hide what he perceives as a lack of "protein" or substance. He contrasts this with Levin's more understated, confident approach (02:40).

What Experts Say About Comedy writing

1.Laurie Kilmartin serves as Conan O'Brien's 'life coach' for testing Oscar jokes, guiding him through stand-up sets and providing crucial feedback on joke efficacy and necessary tweaks (01:00).
2.Kilmartin was inspired to pursue stand-up after observing both highly skilled and 'not good' comedians, recognizing that the latter can be true inspirations for aspiring performers (04:08).
3.She maintains a clear distinction between her writing voice for herself and for other comedians, stating, 'There's never been a joke I've written for you or anybody else that I would have done myself' (06:10).
4.The Oscar writing process necessitates constant adaptation; jokes conceived in December might become irrelevant by showtime due to rapidly changing news cycles and public sentiment (08:12).
5.Conan O'Brien often gets bored with repeating jokes and prefers to riff, a challenge for structured live performances, which Kilmartin helps him manage by directing his creative energy (09:15).
6.The physical transition of the writing team from their office to the Dolby Theater creates a significant shift, making the reality of the live Oscar show palpable (14:17).