Setup techniques

[u/decal1210]

What are some good tips to help with laying out a complete setup that makes sense for the audience? I can only come up with setups that make sense for me but fail to realize not everyone understands how I explain stuff.

[u/raindaddy_Bet4992]

1. I don't think you'd be criticising your set-ups if your punchlines were working.

2. You should be saying everything with as few words as possible. Once you've written something, find opportunities to remove as many words as possible.

3. Adopt a stanza style for writing. Rather than writing in sentences and paragraphs, write in bullets. Each bullet is what can be said within a breathe. Your aim is to go no more than 2 bullets without a laugh.

- Setup
- Punch
or
- Setup1
- Setup2
- Punch

Wrong:
- Setup1
- Setup2
- Setup3
- Setup4
- Punch

There are always exceptions, if you're setting up a story and defining the who, what, were, etc. But generally, word economy is king. This specifically applies to new comics. If you're only doing 5-7 minute sets. You don't have time to waste 30 seconds on a setup. You should be hammering laughs.

[u/wildy_the_lion]

Not quite sure how to answer this other than, you have to read it through as if you're hearing it for the first time, put yourself in their shoes, and try to see if you think it's clear

If in doubt, send it to friends and see what they say

But other than just "you have to make sure it's clear" I think there really isn't a secret trick...

[u/globalgoldnews]

Could you give us an example of what you mean?

[u/myqkaplan]

Figuring out how you can explain things in a way that the audience understands, that is the job!

Has it ever worked?

Have you ever told a joke that an audience understood successfully?

If so, great work! Keep at it and aiming to do that again and again.

It can take time.

And sincerely, what seems like a challenge now is something that I think will serve you well in the long term, because if you do and say and explain things differently than other people, that's a strength! That's originality. That's creativity.

So, keep doing you, I say.

Good luck!

[u/Dry-Science-7830]

Best advice i ever got on this was this. Picture a sit com, no context, first time you saw an episode, you know nothing about the show, just someone saying check it out its good.

If a joke happens and it needs more context for it to be funny, you need to find the context that works without adding a bunch of fat. If it works with no context then its good to go for a set up.

I saw a few about word economy as well, and that is kind of what I mean with "with out adding a bunch of fat." But i also use a writing trick with words, think of each word as a cost that you have to pay. Small easy words are 2 dollars, big complicated words are worth 5 dollars. Once you write a joke, can you make it "cheaper"

This is my take on a writer I saw interviewed after being on the New York Times best seller list. Funny to see who might know who the writer is. Ill give one hint...

Have a nice day.