I’m a sucker for interviews where professionals talk about their craft. And I’m a Seinfeld fan. So it’s perhaps overdetermined that I’d love this 2012 New York Times video where Jerry Seinfeld explains how he writes his jokes.
Jerry Seinfeld explains how to write a joke
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
What stuck with me is how Seinfeld describes the work. It’s not thinking of something funny that’s the problem. It’s connecting all the funny things you think of. “If it’s just a split second too long,” he says, trailing off. “You shave letters off of words. You count syllables. It’s like songwriting.”
“It’s like songwriting.” I love that. For more Seinfeld, read Todd VanDerWerff on five ways the show changed sitcoms.
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