When I was a teenager I wrote some comedy radio sketches for
a local radio station. They were kind enough to broadcast them (though not kind
enough to pay me) and, after years of dreaming, I began to realise that there
might be something in this writing lark after all. I wrote some parodies for a
few magazines which were also published, though I still got no cash. I guess it
could have been the start of a beautiful career but, to tell the truth, my
heart wasn't in it.
Don't get me wrong, I love writing comedy and it's great to
hear people laugh at something I've created but it's just not for me in the
long run. For one thing I was never going to be a stand-up comedian. I could
never appear on stage with nothing but my wit to hide behind. I have nothing
but respect for those who do it, especially those who get particularly bad
crowd responses yet still plug on regardless. That must take a particular kind
of bravery. Or stupidity in repeating the same mistakes night after night.
But the main reason that I don't particularly fancy a career
writing comedy is that it's so divisive. Like Marmite, Margaret Thatcher or
Manchester United, people tend to either love a particular style of comedy or hate
it with a passion. It's not like other fields of writing where readers either
like your work or simply ignore it, dismissing it as 'not for me'. It's the
same with music. You may dislike someone's musical output but you're unlikely
to berate someone else simply for liking them.
But comedy seems to be different. I've been to see three
comedy shows recently, all of which were quite dissimilar to the others. In
each instance when I've told friends that I've been going I've had some of them
smile and say that they wished they were going too. And also in each case I've
had others say that they don't like the particular act in question. Fair
enough. But their objections have ranged from the mild ("what do you want
to go and see them for, they're rubbish?") to the frankly offensive, as if
I were somehow implicit in their dislike of the artists in question.
Writing for a living is a thankless enough task as it is,
with the letterbox bringing many more rejection letters than cheques. I
certainly don't want to get into a section of the business where even your
successes are met with catcalls.
With that in mind I think it's probably safer to continue
writing novels that nobody reads.
© Shaun Finnie 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment