Gene Perret > Quotes

“Writing good humor requires a considerable amount of imagination and a great deal of discipline.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“[Comedy uses] The same principle that caricature artists employ when making their drawings. They isolate a few features and distort them to false prominence.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Everybody doesnt have to like your material - just somebody who can write checks that dont bounce.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Creativity comes with that little bit of extra effort.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Localizing your comedy always multiplies its humor content because the audience members feel like they’re sharing the stage with you.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Rejections are not obstacles to a career. They’re simply things that don’t work and can do us no harm. Fearing rejection can do harm. It stops you from continuing.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“An audience is tremendously important in humor because it becomes an active participant in the performance. There is no humor until audience members get involved.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Humor is the lifeblood that keeps new careers alive.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Most people dont buy talent; they buy results.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Its almost as easy as unraveling a sweater. Grab any loose thread and pull.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“My best advice to a comedy writer is to set a quota and stick to it. It needn’t be a demanding quota, but it must be inflexible.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Comedy depends on the unexpected.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“A joke is a combination of two or more ideas blended into one.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Inspiration is usually stingy.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“The Joke is not a collection of words; it’s the scene that appears in the listener’s mind as a result of those words”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Often in life we will be evaluated and judged by people less qualified than ourselves. And that’s frustrating. Authority doesn’t always indicate ability or good judgment.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“No joke will work if you have to furnish a detailed explanation with it.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“If you perfect your skills, you won’t have to depend on breaks - someone will discover you. Breaks are tremendously overrated. Its not the breaks. The way to succeed in anything is to be good at it and to keep getting better.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Each joke suffers in comparison to its neighbors.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“When you channel your thinking, your mind becomes much more productive.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“When in doubt about a joke, drop it. Its easier to write a new joke than it is to get new friends.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“There are very few good judges of comedy. The rest of us are guessing.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“If you ignore them, they won’t laugh.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“​Jackie Mason once guested with Johnny Carson. Commenting about Hollywood, he noted that every movie he went to had a sex scene in it. For some reason or another they had to show people naked. Jackie Mason wondered why this was so. When he questioned it, people told him, “That’s what people do.” Jackie Mason said, “People eat soup, too, but I don’t see a bowl of soup in every movie.”
― Gene Perret, Be a Standout in Stand-Up Comedy: Advice from a comedy writer

“Comedy is basically truthful.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Your sales pitch should present the goal and build to the interesting complication. They’ll buy that.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession

“Part of a comedian’s entertainment value is that he can say things that normal people either can’t or won’t say.”
― Gene Perret, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step: Revised and Updated with Words of Instruction, Encouragement, and Inspiration from Legends of the Comedy Profession