One of my biggest problems is that I lose belief in myself. I'll look at something I've written and start believing it's turgid unreadable tosh. I'll start thinking that I have no business writing comedy and that I should leave it to the experts, whoever they are. And this after having some limited success (doing well in a beeb competition, a monologue on BBC7 and a few skeches on The Milk Run - actually, just one sketch). Does anybody else have bouts of crippling self doubt?
We all get to the stage of self doubt. I'm sure even the greats like sullivan and nye did too. Remember it took John sullivan ten years to get his break. You have to have that self belief in your work. But at the same time try and pin point what it is thats not working and try and improve it. whether its characterisation, plot or dialogue, you have to listen to feedback and read as many produced scripts and even internet interviews with the greats, to hear their own problems during the writing process.
good luck and keep the chin up.
I think confidence is a problem writers in all genres face. But I think it's especially hard when you're writing comedy. The process of re-reading and honing funny things makes them seem less funny, because for you they are not fresh or surprising. I asked Steve Kaplan (US comedy trainer) about coping with this on a course. He said the only way to keep faith in your work is to get it out there, get it read and get feedback from people. If they respond well, trust that it's funny.
Good luck with your projects Jason, and well done on your success so far. (I'm trying to build on my first success in the comedy field too, also a monologue for the BBC).
Every day i face the pile of rejection slips next to my PC. They alternate between grinding away the last dregs of my belief or spurring me on to write, write, write. It's a constant battle as to wether i continue or throw it in. But two things we should bear in mind:
Comedy is subjective. If one producer hates it, another may love it. You have to give the script a chance to get in front of the right person. If everyone hates it, and the reason / feedback is consistent, then revise it or bin it and start a new project.
I think i've said it before, persistence won't guarantee success but you won't guarantee success WITHOUT persistence. Sticking at it, even when the razor blade beckons, is the only way to progress.
Yep, we all have self-doubt about ability. If we didn't then we should be suspicious about our talent. Very few acheivers in whatever field (science / sport / art) are completely confident in their ability.
If I may paraphrase something Tim Vine says on his DVD: he points out that when you've been doing comedy for ages you're entitled to be crap once in a while.
Sounds as though you're on the ladder. Go do something different for a bit and come back to it.
Walk away from your computer, switch on your telly and have a watch of some of the shows that pass for comedy. You'll see plenty of people who have 'no business writing comedy'. I find Two Pints of Lager the most godawful show in TV today but somebody must have liked it for it to be on almost constantly.
Basically, press on mate and do your own thing. When you connect then you'll know about it.