Saturday, January 15, 2011

Laughing all the way...

This week I have been working on polishing (that is proofreading and editing) my half-hour comedy writing samples. I have three: a spec of The Big Bang Theory, a spec of Modern Family, and an original pilot I've written called Overexposed. And more than with anything else I've ever written, I feel so happy about the results. Ecstatic really.

I never pictured myself a comedy writer. I thought I was more of a long, drawn out drama writer, weaving stories over time. But last January I challenged myself by signing up for a comedy-writing class. I figured if I didn't try it in film school, when else would I try it? So I wrote my first half-hour comedy. And I loved it. Gone were the worries of how to solve the crimes I'd imagined my characters committing. Gone was the hours of researching serial killers and the tools they used. Gone were the huge plot twists and season-long arcs. Hello funny, slapstick, funny. Quite the change of pace.

So I wrote another comedy, and yet another, and while I'm still not sure it's my "brand" (see previous post), I'm sure of one thing: I LOVE WRITING COMEDY. I love making people laugh and smile. I love making myself laugh (yes, I know, I'm not very humble but I am truthful). I love coming up with the joke that's perfect for only that character or that moment. Don't ask me how I do it, it just happens. And I love it.

So I'm prepping my comedy portfolio to send out this week in the hopes that someone outside of my head and outside of my house's walls thinks I'm funny too. We'll see. In the meantime, I've got to come up with something new to write. And polish those serial killer skills!

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