How To Write Comedy (Fiction Novel + Material For Stand Up Comedy) - w/ Rohan

Rohan distinguishes his first fiction project, Romeo Juliet and Hitler, from the nonfiction book he was preparing when this conversation was recorded. He says fiction and nonfiction demand very different kinds of work, but both began for him with reading. Books showed him a world that visual media could not always make as valuable or relatable.

His first attempt at the novel was deliberately unpolished. He wrote 30 to 50 pages, realized the story was heading in the wrong direction, discarded much of it, and rewrote. He had not studied a formal method before starting. The experience taught him why a writer eventually needs a bird's-eye view of the plot, even if action comes before planning.

Rohan says the first book reached roughly 55,000 words and more than 200 pages. For a later book, he would begin with a skeleton and add the body around it. On the first one, he moved forward with only a loose idea. That made the process inefficient, but it also meant the book existed rather than remaining an endlessly refined outline.

He expected a commercial-length novel to need at least 40,000 to 50,000 words, based on the fiction he had read. The draft took around a year to a year and a half. What made it emotionally difficult was not only the volume; a first-time author has no evidence that even one reader will choose the finished book.

For a beginner intimidated by a full novel, Rohan supports starting with short stories. A shorter form teaches the writer how to begin, sustain interest, and finish without carrying a 50,000-word commitment. More important than choosing the perfect form, he says, is discovering whether the person actually loves writing enough to return when the early excitement disappears.