I've been writing sketches for around 2 months now and I think I'm starting to grasp the concept of quality control.
Early on I would pretty much be forcing myself to write several sketches a week, but it didn't prove very fruitful or funny. I decided to relax a bit; now, out of about 8 ideas each week, I'll write two that are very good.
How have others found their quality control changing as they've advanced?
At the moment I'm more of the 'Never mind the quality, feel the width' school.
I'm enjoying myself it's just unfortunate that I have to inflict it on others.
I live in hope that I'm cute in my enthusiasm!!! 
I would never force myself to write unless I had a genuine deadline to meet, which I sometimes have to do on the Junk Males stuff, or if there is a competition deadline.
If what I'm writing doesn't 'please me' I stop writing it. That's my quality control. I do recognise that some of what I write has commercial potential and some has less (or none) but ultimately I have always written for me first, the rest of the World second and I doubt I can change that, nor would want to.
Unless the filthy lucre is involved, of course!!! 
I've written about 5,000,000 things and one of them just might be fractionally funny to a wierdo
Quote: Winterlight @ October 27, 2007, 11:28 PMI've been writing sketches for around 2 months now and I think I'm starting to grasp the concept of quality control.
Early on I would pretty much be forcing myself to write several sketches a week, but it didn't prove very fruitful or funny. I decided to relax a bit; now, out of about 8 ideas each week, I'll write two that are very good.
How have others found their quality control changing as they've advanced?
You can't write top sketches all the time, Cath Tate proves that, if you get decent sketch in ten, it's not bad, just keep churning them out.
Sorry! should have had a one in there, i've had a drink or ten.
Quote: Ray Dawson @ October 28, 2007, 12:05 AMYou can't write top sketches all the time, Cath Tate proves that, if you get decent sketch in ten, it's not bad, just keep churning them out.
Sorry! should have had a one in there, i've had a drink or ten.
You should join my facebook group (drunk on facebook)!
Finished episode 6. Hurrah. I am a man now!
I find the best way for me is to just write with the idea of entertaining myself, if i make myself laugh then it's good enough for me.
If on the other hand i plot and plan my sketches too much they always come out a bit stale to me.
I rarely write sketches, preferring long form. But when I'm writing a sitcom or longer, I do force myself to write even on days when nothing happens, I sit and make my fingers type, even if it's crap and gets binned because I've gone one more step in breaking the myth that creative process and inspiration relies on fickle zephyrs and fancies that suddenly drop into our heads and must be written down before they disappear forever.
The truth is that every idea you ever concieved was in your mind before you realised it was there. The hard part is to teach ourselves not to stumble upon the hidden hoard by chance but to teach ourselves the path to it, so that we can go there as and when we need too. When some of you turn professional (as you undoubtedly will) you'll need to have developed the ability to write to a strict deadline without allowing for the pressures, the stress, the demanded rewrites, and the sudden but illusionary bouts of the mythical "writers' block"
It's hard work but the groundrock of everything we will write is already in our head or in the process of being formed from new input / experience but even that is being moulded into a predetermined form by the one constant we have through our lives, and that's the brain. No one gets to that desired final state but we can train ourselves to get into the 'zone' faster and faster.
As to quality control, a writing partner is a great step. Get someone who will say "that's shit" without offending you. Someone who will add or enhance your idea in a way you never saw. Then leave the written idea a few weeks and reread. Sometimes glaring problems will suddenly become obvious, sometimes new jokes will become apparent.
Rewrites and edits are always one of the best tools in your quality process. A joke is never perfect when first concieved and will never attain that ultimate peak but a rewrite will trim, tighten, repackage the content to make it more 'effective' in its job.
SlagA's quite right about writing being something that comes from the ideas you have in your head, however, I personally don't write any more if I can't find something to write about. I would instead try and fill my head with more ideas by doing something, going somewhere, watching or read something. If we write what's in our heads then we have to get these things into our heads in the first place.
I believe you can't force yourself but you can inspire yourself into writing.
I spent a few years floating in the ocean of un-inspiredness, and when I finally found and harpooned the whale of creativity again, I realised I hadn't forgotten how to harpoon, I was just waiting for the right time... what am I going on about?