Hey!

Welcome to my blog: Funnier Than Fiction. This blog will be dedicated to my study of comedy, and how personal narrative drives stand-up comedy and other forms of comedic storytelling. I decided to study this because comedy is the only thing is the world that makes sense to me, sometimes. When I was in high school, and everything felt wrong, I could listen to music in my car and watch comedy in my room. Those were two primary modes of escape. Comedy is still the way I feel I can escape from the mundane every day, or the absurdity of existence.

I’ve always felt a pull towards personal narrative in storytelling. I was always more interested in non-fiction essays than novels, and I always had a predilection towards stand up. It makes sense now, as I am pursuing a career in stand up comedy, so it makes sense that I would like it. But I think my taste for it also comes from the fact that it is rooted in some truth. My favorite stand ups were always the guys (and ladies) with the least pretense. The ones who were truly themselves.

Over the next few months, I will examine stand ups and storytellers who use their comedy as a venue to express themselves and try to parcel out whether or not this mode is superior to other styles of comedy.

I’ll be posting on this blog a few times of week, sometimes with more academic essay-style posts, and sometimes with clips from YouTube I cherish. I’m excited to be here.