I-Search Worksheet Take III?

Sorry for the indecisiveness but I have read my last worksheet again and again. I really was quite ashamed. I think my last two topics were very forced. The one I finally settled on has proved a stymie. I haven't made very much progress despite a lot of wasted text and filespace. All my lines feel lame and just written for an assignment. The material is so dry I am afraid the reader may fall asleep and break their nose on their keyboard. I do not like to write disingenuously and boredom is death to me. Last night I was watching the history channel and a show called 'History of the Joke' came on. Lewis Black detailed the process involved in creating jokes, delivering jokes, and developing your own comedic style. I was SO hooked! I instantly realized what fun I could have with this topic therefore I would like your permission to do this one instead. I already have material I like on this one and I just started writing.

What do you want to write about? How do you write a truly funny joke?

What do you want to find out about your topic? Can I do it? Can I, using tried and true technique be funny?

What are your questions about the topic?

1. How do you know which jokes will work and which ones won't? What is funny? Why is it funny? Is the same joke always funny and will it work on every crowd?

2. How do you create material that is designed almost scientifically to make people laugh? What happens when they get offended?

3. What does it feel like to get on stage and tell a joke that gets a great response. What is your first flop like?

How does it connect to your life?

Although I find myself hilarious and think I have a wonderfully dry wit I cannot help but notice the sympathetic but wincing smile I get at the punchline of any joke I tell. That is if anyone actually realizes that I was joking and not making another absurdly random and morbid commentary that they completely failed to understand. I am an excellent and accomplished public speaker. I can think on my feet and love attention. I want a new skill, I want to tell jokes and see if I can make a crowd laugh! The trick is writing one joke, you start there. I want to learn how someone like George Carlin constructs his act and then pulls it of in front of thousands. How many times did he have to flop? How about Sam Kinison, Buddy Hackett, Lenny Bruce, or Bill Cosby? Let's start simple. I want to learn a method and then write one truly funny joke.

Give three reasons you like the topic

1. I have been enjoying the craft of many of the above named comedians and so many others for many years ... to an unhealthy degree at times. Funny never rubbed off though. The seven words you can't say on television only ever got me detention.

2. I have always dreamed of having an art form I could exhibit in public. Karaoke (although I have a beautiful tenor) is very unsatisfying. At least I impressed the bartender.

3. The mechanics of langauge and how it is percieved and constructed fascinate me. This offers me yet another insight into my favorite topic. George Carlin's father wrote the collected works of Shakespeare several times. I identify with him.

Give three ways your life might change if you answer your questions

1. I have always wanted to get inside the head of a professional comedian and this might give me a look that is uncomfortably close. Many of them are my personal heroes.

2. If I find I have a skill and a new talent I might then be morally obligated to use it. Caveat Audience!!!!

3. I might be a bit more likeable to more different types of people. That improves everyones life, don't you think? It would be nice to be laughed WITH for a change.