Organizing and Managing Jokes

Set Lists

I track all my set lists in an app called Trello. It’s a list of cards that can have checklists inside, so I have a group for different types of performances: open mics, showcases, club shows, etc.

Inside each card I make a checklist of jokes I want to do. I also add tags when useful, like tagging clean shows to make those special ones easier to find later.

The main utility of doing it this way is I can copy a card and then drag the jokes around. It makes it easier to say, “What did I do yesterday? What do I want to change today?”

Jokes

For my jokes, I write them all in Evernote. It’s not the only or the best note taking program, but it’s big and been around for a while. I like it because it’s easy to create new notes and I like the folders (I have a shortcut on my phone that automatically creates a new note in my “No bad ideas” folder that makes it very quick to add a dumb thought.

I use the shortcuts to save jokes that I’m actively working on and testing to make it easier to pull them up on my phone before a set and check what I’d written recently.

Here’s how I use folders (Evernote calls them “notebooks” but they’re just folders and they know it):

I have a folder called “00No Bad Ideas” that’s my main dumping ground. Every stupid thought goes in there. The double zero at the beginning is just to make sure it comes up first alphabetically. I throw ideas in there constantly, then when I sit down to write and open them up and move them to where they need to be.

Then I have separate folders for stuff that could be scripts or columns or shows or sketches.

And then I have the joke folders.

And here’s what each of those is for:

• Phase 1: Where I move dumb ideas without any detail from “No Bad Ideas”
• Phase 2: I do some brainstorming on the idea. I write out my emotion and make a quick list of 8 Things about that emotion. Usually one of those is good.
• Phase 3: I pick my favorite stuff from Phase 2 and try to write a punchline or two.
• Phase 4: Out for testing. The joke is good enough for me to try it at mics.
• Purgatory: If I took it out for testing and it didn’t work but I still like the idea, I put it here to come back to later. Usually once a week a peruse the purgatory folder and see if I have any new ideas to revive one.
• The Act: a joke that’s working and I’m using in shows. Once a month a peruse this list and try to find something I haven’t improved later. I open it and see if I can add new tags.
• The Graveyard: It didn’t work and I don’t think I can save it.

And lastly, here’s how I layout a joke I’m working on. I don’t do it for every one, but for stuff I’m putting in a lot of work improving it’ll probably look like this.

I use list format and go to a new line/bullet every time I think something funny has happened. And I indent when I’m adding more tags to the same train of thought. This helps me see at a glance when a set up is too long and it makes it so I can’t pretend I didn’t want something to be a punchline.

As I edit, I bold the most recent changes so that when I’m about to go on stage I can quickly open each joke and see what new lines I’m trying to remember.

Then at the bottom I add a little green box with a bit more information:

The Pipes – This is where I honestly write about the plumbing of the joke, things that I’m not necessarily saying out loud. It’s a good place to just explore why I wrote something and why I like it. I’m never saying it out loud, so it gives me a freedom there. Of course, sometimes I write something great in there and I move it up to the joke.

To do – What I know isn’t working yet but haven’t thought of a way to fix.

Not pictured: usually below my green box, I put all the crap I wrote that I’m not using. I don’t delete anything, I just move it all below the fold in case I need it later.

Obviously this looks like a lot of work, and I’m not this thorough for everything. But I do it a lot and it’s really helped me. And once it’s set up it moves pretty quickly.

Hope this helps somebody somewhere at some point!