Creativity Explained - Jerry Seinfeld Tells Us How to Write a Joke
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Staten Island, NY Posted: 3/22/2015 1:00:00 AM
We can learn a lot from Jerry Seinfeld from this classic New York Times Interview.
In this interview, we see how he developed a Pop-Tart joke over a two year period, from it's inception to completion. While most comedians, including Seinfeld don't spend two years writing a joke, we can clearly see the reason he has become one of the greatest stand up comics of all time.
He describes how an idea for a joke triggers a series of funny associations that are systematically blended and re-worked time and time again until the he gets the best combination of funny words, rhythm and pacing and the all important punchline.
While this may seem excessive, it's one of the reasons for his prolonged success, and it also gives us a great insight into how all great art is created.
Behind every great artist in history you'll find the same obsession to detail as Jerry Seinfeld has when he crafts a joke.
For centuries, the greatest painters of all times have spent countless hours making sketches of simple things like the position of a model's hands, before they painted their masterpieces. Great writers will make countless edits before publishing and great composers will repeat the same handful of notes again and again until they get the sound they are looking for.
The real takeaway is that when it comes to creativity, the greatest artists truly study their art, and their greatest works are the combined result of all the times they've spent perfecting their craft.
Although they don't mention it in the interview, Jerry Seinfeld doesn't just trust his own intuition. He tests and adjusts all his new jokes countless times in small clubs before he uses them in bigger venues. It's not uncommon for him to pop into local comedy clubs for a couple of minutes, just to try out a new joke. These small clubs are essential to the edit process.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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