Sieving With Your Eyes.


A quick flick through some of my recent blog posts has given me a confidence boost when it comes to writing new stand-up material.

A downside to writing a blog every day is you quickly forget the content. It’s like satiating the Beast: you see an idea through to its resolution and then it slips from your mind. Thankfully, you’re left with the written evidence – but it takes a lot of sifting to find the bits that would work in a live setting.

I like the thought of employing someone to do this sifting for me; partly for a second opinion but mainly due to laziness. There’s a lot to get through. It would be like employing a cleaner, chucking your house-keys at them and saying, “You deal with it”.

(If I did this, I’d be more polite.)

The good thing about this form of creative amnesia is that what you’ve written will often take you by surprise. You see it with fresh eyes. Believe it or not, the odd line I reread this morning made me laugh out loud, and I’m my own biggest critic. If I can take bits that work and reform them into stand-up, it will feel like half the battle won; I’m no longer faced with a blank canvas.

I could still do with an editor. I'd put an advert in the local paper if I thought someone would accept endless cups of tea in lieu of payment.

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