Keep your Sitcom Plot Simple
And other bits of annoying advice.
Back to normal with Friday-only postings now the plotting webinar’s come and gone. But you can get access to the replay:
If you’re finding plotting hard, keep it simple!
That’s terrible advice, isn’t it?
Or at least, it’s annoying. It’s easier said than done.
And I can’t put my hand on my heart and say ‘don’t overthink it’ because that implies simple plots will tumble out eventually. That is not normally the case.
You need lots of ideas. You need to spend hours building on them and thinking about them. You give them to certain characters and you escalate them and expand the stories. But before you know it, you have a bulging plot that would fill a novel. How do you then keep it under control, and tie it up in a neat bow?
If the plot feels very complicated, if there are too many loose ends to tie up, you now need to prune. Cut it back.
Keep it simple. Or, at least, make it simple again.
Ask yourself:
What is the essence of the story?
What feels like padding or plodding?
What are the big funny scenes?
How can we get to the first one much sooner?
How do we get from one to the next is quick and economically as possible?
This is what I learned on Miranda. We would spend an hour or two plotting something with a huge set piece at the end. I’d feel pleased and exhausted.
Then Miranda would ask “what happens next?”
I’d say “Nothing! The credits! Next TV show!”
Miranda had assumed we’d only made it to half way. So we kept going. And then went back and threw out anything that wasn’t funny, or on its way to something funny very soon. Miranda’s insistence on big set piece scenes in the middle of the show was frustrating, but probably a big factor in the show becoming a ratings smash.
So allow your plots to grow.
And then cut them back.
I’ve learned in gardening that you can always prune much more than you think you can. It all grows back very quickly. Do that with your plot. Grow it. Feed it. Love it. Then prune the heck out of it.
More on plotting next time. But if you can’t wait, and want more advice right now, I have good news. I ran an epic webinar called Writing your Sitcom without Losing the Plot. It lasts over 90 minutes and is crammed with not annoying, very practical advice. The replay is yours, along with notes, for a small contribution. It’s over here. Chip in. And jump in.
