7.11 How to Write Comedy Mitch Hedberg

Instructor:
Jerry Corley

Mitch Hedberg didn’t simply look for something funny to say. He took familiar words, phrases, products, and everyday observations—and looked at them as though he had never encountered them before.

In this course, you’ll examine the writing techniques behind Hedberg’s distinctive one-liners, surreal observations, and brilliantly simple wordplay. You’ll learn how his laid-back, “maybe-I’m-stoned-maybe-I’m-not” persona gave him the creative license to question ordinary logic and follow ideas into unexpected territory.

Using Hedberg’s approach, you’ll discover how to dissect familiar phrases and collocations, apply a persona filter, uncover overlooked meanings, and expand a basic observation by asking: “If this is true, what else is true?” and “What would happen if…?”

Then you’ll put the process into practice by transforming everyday subjects—including escalators, king-size beds, hand soap, and hand sanitizer—into original comedy premises and concise, surprising jokes.