Comedy Writing for Variety and Late Night

Have you ever wondered how talk show hosts come up with their jokes?

Well, neither have I.

If I had, I would've probably pondered how they can keep it up, live, night after night, and how is it even possible to stay that funny all the time?

Well, it isn't.

In reality, their jokes are written by a group of writers who work behind the scenes and create the endless stream of material used every night.

Ok, you probably knew all this already, but what you probably didn't know is that, earlier today, I stumbled upon a Youtube video where a bunch of these writers (for Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Ellen Degeneres, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman etc) are talking about their work.

Here's the line-up:

I found it really interesting and wanted to share it with you. It's in four parts and lasts about 51 minutes. It's very entertaining and the writers are really raw and honest about everything. So, go ahead and check it out:

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

You'll be iMissed

I must admit that I'm not a fan of Apple products. It doesn't, however, prevent me from admiring Steve Jobs as a leader and an innovator. His passing was premature and it was a sad day for anyone who believes in the power of dreams and original thinking. He was one of the great entrepreneurs of his generation and left a legacy that will continue to inspire many of us.

Personally, I tend to read this quote from him every time I'm feeling doubtful about my future as an author:

“Believe that things will work out. Follow your intuition and curiosity. Trust your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

I never met him, but I feel that I knew his spirit. I suppose everyone who's considered a little crazy or weird by others feels that way about him. He never shied away from being different and inspired others to do the same. And for that, I will always honor him.

Thanks Steve, have fun wherever you are and know that you'll be missed.

The shortest word is I

I...

(No. Wait!)

(Let's just pretend you didn't read that, ok? Look, I know I shouldn't have started my blog with a word like that, and I must seem awfully self-centered because I started this off by talking about myself.)

(It's just that I think I is one of the coolest words ever. It's so short and short words are awesome.)

(They're so easy to read!)

(I also find it hard to start with any other word, since, you know, I'm the one who's writing this and it's a good idea to begin any kind of writing by introducing the person who's talking.)

(Besides, I plan to keep these posts as short as possible, and it just occurred to me that I could make this first one ultrashort by deciding to use just one letter.)

(I mean, let's face it, you really can't get any shorter than that!)

(And while I'm at it, I'd also like to use the shortest of all letters, which in my opinion is the I. It has nothing but a line. Every other letter has at least two lines or the line that is used is bent into a weird shape (Just look at letters like J or C. You can't really expect anyone to take those letters seriously, can you?). Besides, those yogi-like shapes are nothing but letters. They're not words and they wouldn't make any sense by themselves.)

(Not like an I would.)

(Besides, I's a safe choice, because it's difficult to make spelling mistakes with a word like that.)

(So here it is.)

(My first blog post.)

(As short as possible:)

I