Lesson 3 - Editing and Feedback

Self-editing, and editing from peer feedback, are the skeleton keys that will unlock just about every door in the humor universe.

Art by Mariam Chagelishvili

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This is lesson 3 of 8 from Alex Baia’s Forever Workshop “Humor Writers, Get in Here!”

Today we learn:

• How to be your own editor

• Knowing when to cut vs. keep

• A feedback method with scientific precision

• When to take feedback vs. when to go with your gut

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Welcome back. We’re officially in lesson three of the workshop. Today, we’re covering a life-or-death topic. This is something that can turn your humor piece into comedy gold.

Today we’re talking about editing and feedback!

1. Self-Editing

A first draft of a humor piece is virtually never ready for prime time. I don’t believe I have ever published a first draft, and it’s not too common for me to publish a second draft. My average published humor piece is a third draft. Some pieces may even require four or five drafts.

To get it right requires editing and rewriting. This can mean two things: One, self-editing based on your own sense of what’s working (or not). Two, getting outside feedback and revising from the feedback. We’ll cover both—and there is some clear overlap—but let’s start with self-editing.

As we covered in the lesson, “Writing From a Headline,” you can kick off your draft with lots of raw ideas and jokes, in any order. Once you’ve got a bunch of raw material on the page, you can mold your funny ideas into coherent paragraphs, and edit the paragraphs into a first draft. You want each paragraph to be a comedic “beat” and the entire piece to serve as an escalating series of connected beats. That’s your first draft. 

The first draft really doesn’t need to be perfect (obviously) or even that good. Just go for minimally-coherent and loaded with potential, like an inebriated college Freshman. 

Your first draft in hand, it’s time to sharpen it up. You might want to put it away for a day or two first, to edit with a clear head. But that’s optional. When looking over your first draft, here are the questions to ask yourself: