Article: Take notes as funny thoughts come to you, or write down strange occurrences that strike your funny bone. At this point, you don’t need to be writing full-fledged jokes; just write down situations, lines, or personal anecdotes from your past that seem funny and could be used as material for jokes in the future. If you don’t want to carry a notepad around, many smartphones have a notepad app built in. Based on what you find funny, start to write longer jokes and anecdotes derived from ideas you’ve noted. Look for ways in which you can present material in surprising, unexpected, or bizarre ways. It’s a common move in joke writing to lead the audience in one direction, and then surprise them by reversing the premise in the punchline.  Repeat this process over and over: develop a funny idea of observation, pair it with similar funny ideas, and write out a full-length joke or anecdote.  For example, if you jotted down that you hate being stuck in traffic and, the next night you went on a bad date, you could work these into a joke about how bad traffic and bad dates seem to go together in your city. Comedians—especially stand-up comics—can learn a great deal from more established performers in their field. Go to your local comedy club as often as possible, and watch all of the online standup specials that you can find. Pay attention to the comedians: note how they time their jokes, how they move from one topic into the next, and where they seem to draw their source material from.

What is a summary?
Jot down joke ideas in a notebook. Organize one or two funny ideas into a joke. Watch and listen to other comedians.