I’ve decided. The understory to the Shadow of the Tower is moving fast. I am nearly at the point were I can integrate it into the story as it stands. This will require a minimal amount of rewrite to make the incorporation work. The understory doesn’t appear to be too intrusive, but will insert a little more action at the end. That is were the bulk of the rewrite will occur.
I believe I mentioned previously that I was trying to come up with some two man sketch comedy. Comedy duos have lost a lot of ground in the last twenty-five or so years. There used to be quite a range from classic to late 20th century slick and all time silly. There was Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis, The Marx Brothers, Nicholls and May, Rowen and Martin, The Smothers Brothers to name just a few.
I believe that some of this is due to the internet. The internet has changed music. In the second half of the twentieth century, most successful songs had a hook. It could be a section of rhythm, an intonation of lyrics, an especially appealing chorus, but whatever, it was there and the audience would wait for it. Well, today, just as Sesame Street adapted the 30 and 60 second commercial to its purpose and changed the expectations and the attention span of several generations, 21st century music cannot rely on a single hook. The hooks have to keep rolling, and rolling fast because the next song is just a click away. The song can’t just grab the listener once, it has to keep grabbing to make sure its hold on the listener is secure.
Set up and character development were important aspects of comedy duos. Although this was done quickly, in the internet age, it might not have been quick enough. The twenty-first century comedy audience seems to prefer lots of quick laughs and big laughs as well. Easier to do when working alone. To revise duo comedy will require not only funny material, but lots of throwaway lines, lots of quick flips to the punch line.
To make this work it has to be damn funny and damn relevant. There is little time for any set up, get into the laughs immediately. I don’t know if others, more experienced comedy writers, get a little jaded with their material as they polish it and the concept that struck the funny bone early on doesn’t have the same effect on them. I guess that it depends on the audience, because for them, the lines are not only fresh but also better refined and snappier than at conception. Well, that’s my current goal regarding comedy writing, so wish me luck and lets hope that some of that luck rubs off on my fiction writing as well.
As I tell people who complain about the loud noise, it’s true, Vacuums suck! But watch what you say around them, because the pick up all the dirt. I guess that’s why they say, “nature abhors a vacuum.” Any laughs here, or just too stupid and too obscure? Are you reading this, Rick? I’m not throwing in the towel. It would just jam the vacuum.
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