From John and Kiran!

• Flatness and Roundness can be used for comedic effect by contrasting them with each other
  • In a piece that beings Flat (Random Piece) you can take a turn that makes an aspect (perhaps a character) more round at one point, only to contrast it with a flat element, like another flat character (fleabag maybe?) or a flat interpretation of that character by the narration (Random Piece again)
• In parody, if we view adherence to the style of the form being parodied as a kind of flatness, you can build jokes based on contrast by allowing the roundness of the central character come out through the format. 
  • In the Saunders piece, this character shares a lot of internal thoughts and personal life details within a customer service letter, which adheres closely to the style of a letter like that. 
  • Where is the character speaking and where is the genre speaking?
    • There isn’t a hard line between genre and person
    • The piece becomes most interesting and fun when they bleed into each other

• You can also take a very round (and now the meaning of this word is getting stretched) subject matter and have it narrated by a character with a kind of flat perspective
  • In the Simon Rich Condom Piece, the high stakes, nerve wracking story (from Jordi’s perspective) of Jordi losing his virginity is told from a totally different, lower stakes, silly perspective. The condom usually doesn’t quite know what’s going on, and its fears are totally different.
  • Simplicity in this story also lends a sincerity and sweetness to the character of the condom, and to the story as a whole. Gives Jordi growing up an extra sentimental dimension
  • You can also learn details about another character as filtered through the perspective of a second. (I stay in wallet long long time). 

• Don’t try to be retroactively funny. If your piece ends in a twist, don’t rely on the twist to make the piece funny; it should be funny throughout, even if the twist is the big punchline.
• Use form to your advantage: find tension between content (concept) and form
  • Content: Transformer clashes; Form: Insurance letter. 
• Piece claims to give general advice, confuses with biography (ex. Love Like in the Movies)
• If you’re writing a parody, you have less freedom of narrative because overarching narrative is pre-established; some topics are more parody-able than others (ex. 911 Call piece)
• End on something funny. In one liners, try to end on the funniest words
  • “Lowkey tornado”
• Concision: Once the audience figures out the joke, extra length that doesn’t continue to surprise becomes tedious.