Where the Wild Things Are

let's unpack some comedy gold

As an editor, I see my job as having two main functions:

• to be a first reader - is what you’re saying clear? Is it clear enough for most readers? What might trip someone up?

• to help you build the best draft. Sometimes that means changing a sentence, sometimes that means changing the structure.

I’ve been geekily analyzing story structure for years - but now I can see why it supports what I do (and possibly allows me to write off all those books and movies and my Netflix subscription?!).

This week I watched a clip of the comedian Josh Johnson. Jump to 9:39 to see him talk about his SECOND New Years Resolution:

Now, you don’t have to watch this before I break it down, but I think it’s worth it. I’d love to see if you noticed what I did as you watched.

Go on, get now. Go watch it, because spoilers abound. I’ll wait for you . . .

Framing the story

I love a good frame device. Here the frame is his New Years resolution, and the nested story is the one about the shooting at the podcast.

As copywriters, we’re often told to jump into the action and start with the most exciting ‘hook.’ And generally the downside to the frame technique is that the opener is not the most exciting part of the story.

(Think ‘you’re in bed sick and your grandpa reads you a story’ in the Princess Bride.)

Here, a New Years resolution is hardly the most attention-grabbing hook to get you to watch.

The payoff of a frame device, however, usually comes one of two ways:

• the ‘out’ frame that brings you back to real life and allows the storyteller to provide some key insight

• the nested story, which is usually hyperbolic and almost too fantastical to believe

Josh Johnson uses both to great effect. The out frame gets a huge laugh, as it reminds us of the unassuming way he started this joke. (It also signals we’re at the end of the joke and he’s probably going to change directions.) And the story in the middle has us hooked the whole way through.

We are willing to wait through that unassuming set up that takes us in, because we know that something funnier will come. We know that because of the genre, comedy, and also because we trust Josh Johnson as someone who tells really funny jokes.

(I also noted that where I watched the clip, on Instagram, they included a text overlay at the start; “the Wildest Thing I’ve Ever Seen on a Podcast.” Technically, they ruined the frame by telling us not to worry, a good joke was coming. Maybe that was for people who didn’t yet know Josh Johnson and so hadn’t built that trust). Or maybe they didn’t trust us.)

How to use this technique as a copywriter:

✍️ Our audience is sophisticated enough now that they no longer believe those hyperbolic ‘buy this and you’ll be earning 6 figures in 6 weeks’ claims. And with good reason. But we sometimes want to future pace the feelings and emotions of what a big leap might feel like. By nesting your hyperbolic story in a frame, you’re not promising it as an outcome, while still letting your reader dream about it as a possibility.

✍️ I doubt Josh Johnson thought up the frame first. He probably started with the podcast shooting, and then figured out how to frame it for laughs. So when you’re drafting, write your wild story first, and then decide what frame is appropriate.

✍️ If you want to use a frame but you’re worried about the slow intro, consider doing what Josh did and add a hint that ‘wild things are to come.’ That can often be a bridge into the story that starts something like:

“You won’t believe what I’m about to tell you,” or “Buckle up, buttercup, things are about to get crazy.”

The rule of 3s

Josh uses the rule of 3s to great effect in a couple of places (probably more, but these are the ones I spotted on first watch).

What’s in his pocket?

He gives 3 examples of what might be in OG 2 LOW’s pocket as well as the gun. It’s funny when Josh suggests it’s his keys or his cell phone. But the biggest laugh comes when Josh suggests it’s gum.

I’ve no doubt that in the telling or writing of this joke to begin with, Josh didn’t come up with gum right away. I’m also fairly certain it didn’t just happen to be the 3rd thing he thought of. But once he had it, he knew it was the most amusing one:

• in comparison to the 1st two (large, important)

• due to the similarity of the words and how they sound (gun, gum)

Once Josh came up with that possibility, he could have just used it, but by giving 2 others first, he built up both the comparison and the tension, and so got the most laughs when he finally rolled out his best.

The face you make when you …

• drop a casserole

• come home after curfew and get caught

• watch two people you don’t know arguing and one says ‘that’s when I took your man’

Yup, it’s another great comparative list of 3 things.

When Josh then uses that face to demonstrate OG 2 LOW’s reaction to, not these trivial issues, but shooting himself in the leg, it really underscores the ridiculousness of the situation.

How to use this technique as a copywriter:

✍️ Remember that technique ‘don’t just write one headline, write dozens’? It applies to analogies, too. As you edit your draft, don’t just skim through these repetitions, but look to see if you can make them more powerful.

✍️ We’re told to keep our writing as short as possible - but sometimes that repetition really helps the reader remember what you’re saying. And it can build tension. Don’t overuse it, but think about where you need to raise the stakes and consider adding the rule of 3.

The gold is in the edits

I know you don’t want to hear this when you’re under deadline and you’re keen to just get this deliverable to the client and off your to-do list. But taking time to think about your formatting, your use of storytelling, and whether your analogies and phrasing is the best they can be - it’s really worth it. It can take a ‘fine’ draft and polish it so the client loves it (and more importantly, their audience consumes it).

All great writers do it. We don’t see it - because that polished deliverable is just the 10% of the iceberg that we can see above the water. It has to be anchored to something - and that’s the work of thinking, structuring, drafting, and importantly, editing.

And if you need help seeing these issues - I’m here for you!

Want to analyze more funny stuff?

While I loved digging into this video, I’m more comfortable breaking down movies and TV shows for copywriters. Find my What’s the Story Wednesday series on Instagram if you want to see examples.

But if you specifically are looking for more ways to add ‘funny’ to your copy and get paid for it, then check out Write More Personality-er, one of our courses in Brand Voice Academy. Justin Blackman, my co-instructor in BVA, knows his stuff when it comes to adding personality to copy.