- 1). Be topical.
How does President Obama stub his toe in the afternoon and hear about it in Jay's monologue by 11:30? The writers are watching TV and reading newspapers continually for up to the minute news that could be material for a joke or bit. Every late night host or comedy writer wants to be the first to tell a joke on air.
To write a great monologue joke, you must know what is going on in the world. Not only in politics, but pop culture and sports. You have to know as much about Britney Spears as you do John McCain.
You must also be, as Jay calls it, "an equal -opportunity offender." Don't be afraid to make fun of both Democrats and Republicans. Both sides of the aisle can be funny.
If writing a joke from home, you must access as many news sources as you can to look for material. Some great sources are the New York and Los Angeles Times online. There are many other websites where you can find weirder news stories. - 2). Develop the set-up and the punch.
To write a joke for Jay Leno or any other late night host, you must follow the comedy rule known as the "set-up/punch." The "set-up" is exactly what it sounds like. It's a sentence or two that sets-up the joke or bit. Usually, it is a description of something factual. The set-up should include as much information as you can, in one sentence if possible. Do not overwrite the set-up. Keep it simple.
The punch, or punchline, is your joke. For the Tonight Show, the punchline can be either a joke told by Jay or a graphic bit that appears on screen. The best jokes point out the obvious or the absurdity of a real life situation.
Let's take a real life headline from recent events and make it into a joke with a set-up and two different types of jokes.
Olympian Michael Phelps Caught on Camera Smoking Marijuana
Let's take that headline and write a set-up that includes all the information you'll need for the joke. Write the set-up for people that may not have heard the news yet.
Set-up Example: Swimmer Michael Phelps, winner of eight gold medals in the Beijing Olympics, was caught on camera smoking pot .
(This one sentence conveys all the information you'll need for the set-up without being too wordy)
Now we'll use this same set-up to illustrate both a standard joke and a graphic bit.
Joke One: Swimmer Michael Phelps, winner of eight gold medals in the Beijing Olympics was caught on camera smoking pot. Luckily for Michael, none of his sponsors are dropping him because of the photo. In fact he's gained one...take a look. Graphic of a cereal box would appear on screen with Michael on the cover taking a bong hit...Weed-ies! (The cereal box would look like a Wheaties box)
Now we'll take the same setup and turn it into a joke.
JOKE 2: Swimmer Michael Phelps, winner of eight gold medals in the Beijing Olympics was caught on camera smoking pot . Do you know the hardest part about being a swimmer and a pot smoker? Keeping the joint lit.
If it's a story that's getting a lot of news coverage, it's a safe bet that it will be on the late night joke circuit. - 3). Be prolific.
Many people I talk to are surprised when they find out that Jay doesn't personally write all the jokes for his opening monologue. Jay may contribute, but for every 20 jokes that make it on air, you can guarantee that Jay has thrown out 300 others that were written by someone else. Twenty jokes a day is not an unrealistic goal if you want to write jokes for TV. - 4). Try out your jokes in public.
If there is an open mike night in your town, you can try out your jokes in public to see if they get a laugh, or give your jokes to a comedian to try. Even after 30 years in the business, Jay Leno still tries out his jokes some weekends in a local comedy club.
Submit your jokes to your local newspaper. They may have a comedy/joke column that takes submissions.
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