Joke Writing Made Simple

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m funny but I don’t know how to write a joke,” this is where your journey begins. Not with guesswork. Not waiting for inspiration. But with a step-by-step system for building original jokes that get consistent laughs – simply put: joke writing made simple.

In either or In-Person Level 1 courses or our on-demand video course, you’ll be taught Greg Dean’s Joke Prospector Writing System which has two parts:

1. Joke Map – How to Write Setups
2. Joke Mine – How to Write Punchlines

In this blog, we’re focusing only on the Joke Map – How to Write Setups. Once you’ve written your setups, you’ll plug them into the Joke Mine – How to Write Punchlines, which we’ll cover in the next blog.

This is the same system Greg Dean has taught to comedy greats such as Anthony Jeselnik, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Christina Pazsitzky and hundreds of working comedians. Most often people will take the “Level 1: How to Build a Stand Up Comedy Routine” class to begin learning this technology, however for those who can’t attend the classes, we now have the on-demand class teaching these same skills.

And it all starts here, with the first half of the system: the Joke Map.

What Is the Joke Map?

The Joke Map is the tool you use to go from a vague idea to a clear list of setups—the statements that mislead your audience so the punchlines can surprise them.

This is the foundation of all well-structured jokes.

The Joke Map gives you control over your material. It shows you how to pick a topic, define your opinions, and write setups that lead directly to laughs. If you’ve ever waited for inspiration or gotten stuck staring at the page, the Joke Map gives you a repeatable way to create new material any time you want.

This isn’t theory. This is a system that works—even if you’ve never written a joke before.

Joke Map: Step by Step

Step 1: List Some Topics

Ask: “What are some things I consider wrong that I’m interested in talking about?”

You’re not looking for what’s funny—you’re looking for something that feels wrong to you.

Example Topics:

Post Office
My family
Department of Motor Vehicles

Your own list should reflect your real opinions and emotional heat. The key is to choose something that matters to you.

Step 2: Select One Topic & Make an Association List

Pick one topic from your list.

Example Topics:

Post Office
My family
Department of Motor Vehicles

Now create a detailed list—not categories, but specific, identifiable details.

Ask: “What are all the things I can think of that relate to my topic?”

Example Association List:

postal workers
junk mail
uniforms
PO boxes
stamps
and so forth

The jokes are in the details, so list a bunch.

Step 3: Create Several Punch-Premises

A punch-premise is defined as a negative opinion about a subject.

Each punch-premise should contain:

A subject (detail from your list)
A negative opinion
No examples

Now pick details from your association list which become your subjects and attach a negative opinion to them. That creates your punch-premise.

Example Association List:

postal workers
junk mail
uniforms
PO boxes
stamps
and so forth

Bad Punch-Premise Example:

“Postal workers are incompetent at delivering mail.”
✖ It includes an example, “at delivering mail,” which limits joke options of the many things at which they could be incompetent.

Good Example:

“Postal workers are incompetent.”
✔ Broad enough to generate many jokes.

Ask: “What negative opinions do I have about some details on my association list?”

Punch-Premise Examples:

postal workers are incompetent
junk mail is wasteful
uniforms are ugly

The important quality for a punch-premise is to keep it simple. Mess up this step with more than subject and negative opinion and the later steps can easily go wrong.

Step 4: For Each Punch-Premise, Form a Setup-Premise

Now flip your punch-premise.

Ask: “What’s the opposite opinion to my chosen punch-premise?”

This gives you your setup-premise—a positive opinion on the same subject.

Examples:

punch-premise: postal workers are incompetent
setup-premise: postal workers are competent

The setup-premise is not a setup—it’s the concept from which you’ll write a series of unique setups.

Step 5: Choose a Setup-Premise, and Write a Series of Setups

Setup-Premise: postal workers are competent

Ask: “What are some examples or statements that express my setup-premise?”

From this positive viewpoint, write short, simple statements.

Setups: “Postal workers are very efficient.”

“I never get anyone else’s mail.”

“They’re good at forwarding mail.”

Keep your setups clear, direct, and focused on one idea each. Don’t write long explanations. Don’t try to be funny yet. The setup’s job is to misdirect the audience into accepting a false expectation, which sets the foundation for your punchlines to reveal a surprise.

Bringing It All Together

Let’s walk through one complete example.

Step 1: Topic → post office
Step 2: Association Detail → delivering mail
Step 3: Punch-Premise → postal workers are incompetent
Step 4: Setup-Premise → postal workers are competent
Step 5: Setup → “Postal workers are very efficient.”

That’s it. The entire Joke Map in a nutshell. You can start with nothing and these steps guide you though the mechanisms that result in a properly written setups. (Even though we only have one example setup to keep this blog from becoming a tome.)

Take the Level 1 How to Build a Stand Up Comedy Routine class and enjoy five full weeks of instruction on joke writing as well as several other important techniques that all comedians need to master or if your schedule doesn’t permit, at least start learning how to simplify your joke writing with our on demand course, Joke Writing Made Simple.

You Can Start the On-Demand Course Now

Even if you’ve never written a joke before, this system gives you everything you need to get started.

Inside the Joke Writing Made Simple on Demand course, you’ll get:

12 Instructional Videos
Free Printable and Fillable PDF Workbook
Greg Dean’s Joke Prospector Writing System
24/7/365 Access Online from Anywhere

If you’re not intelligent—don’t take this course.
But if you are? This is how you get funnier, faster.

In the next blog, Joke Writing Made Simple – The Joke Mine: How to Write Punchlines, we’ll take the setup created by the Joke Map, plug it into the Joke Mine, go through the 5 steps system, and write a punchline for it.

Setup: “Postal workers are very efficient.”
Punchline: “?”

Ready to Dive In?