The Layers Of Conflict In Comedy 

Comedy writing is a never ending process of hit and miss. Real laughter is an involuntary action. Even when we shouldn’t, we can’t help ourselves. Comedy is full of contradictions. It takes all the wrong things seriously and vise versa. It makes connections where there obviously aren’t any and fails to see obvious connections:

To find the comedy, you need to find the comic premise: the gap between comic reality and real reality.

If you want to catch a squirrel just climb a tree and act like a nut.

Real reality: squirrels collect (real) nuts

Comic reality: acting like a nut means acting crazy

The difference in meaning is the gap, the comic premise. The best comedy crosses lines of definition. There are all sorts of different gaps, having one thing in common: conflict.

A normal character in a comic world. This character stands for the viewer/reader (real reality) in an odd world.

A comic character put together with a normal character

A comic character is at war with himself (without changing)

The best comedy storytelling has all three layers: There is a global conflict where he has to adapt to a new/changing world. There is local conflict with the people around them. Lastly, there is inner conflict stemming from changing or being at odds with himself. Example: Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes. Global conflict: teachers / parents/ authorities. Local conflict: friends/ Hobbes. Inner conflict: losing control of himself.

Think about a beautiful, natural place that you have visited. Then, write down everything you can remember: how it looked, whether it was warm or cold, any animals that you saw. Make your description exciting and beautiful so other people who read it will also want to visit.

Plot Twist Techniques & The Requirements of The Reveal

Why you should do writing exercises following writing prompts.

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