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Law student wanting to pursue comedy writing

This September I am starting my bachelor in law at a quite prestigious university. The problem is that I am uncertain whether I want to be a lawyer for the rest of my life as I have ever since being a kid loved writing comedy stories and loved humor. I'm thinking about doing comedy writing in the future though I'm not sure if that would be possible with a law degree.

Most people say you need an English degree or anything art degree related. So how important is a particular degree to become a comedy writer? Can a law degree come to my advantage since some writing skills come with it?

I know, a strange scenario but as people say: you gotta follow your dreams these days ay?
Reply 1
Avatar for hotpud
hotpud
18
I would have said it is more important to be good at writing things that are funny. Does your university have a Footlights type club / organisation you can join? Failing that comedy clubs like the Comedy Club have open mic opportunities for budding comedians to try out new material etc etc. But ultimately, if you want to write, you are going to have to start writing. Do you listen to / watch comedic programs?

PS - why did you choose Law if you have no interest in being a lawyer?
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by hotpud
I would have said it is more important to be good at writing things that are funny. Does your university have a Footlights type club / organisation you can join? Failing that comedy clubs like the Comedy Club have open mic opportunities for budding comedians to try out new material etc etc. But ultimately, if you want to write, you are going to have to start writing. Do you listen to / watch comedic programs?

PS - why did you choose Law if you have no interest in being a lawyer?

I chose law as a ‘back up’ plan since it has better employment opportunities, decent pay etc… and I have always been confident with essay writing. To be honest, until recently, I didn’t even know there were degrees suitable for something like comedy. I just thought: I’ll get that law degree, which i should find fairly interesting to study, and after that I could pursue writing on the side.

Also, I will be studying in the Netherlands. Not the UK, due to Brexit, which implies sky high tuition fees for us EU citizens. And there are no good English or creative writing degrees outside the UK in Europe to begin with. Infact, they’re very rare.

But yeah, there are comedy clubs in the city where i will study so i should take a shot.

I just hope a specific degree will not matter too much since most writing courses and tips should be found on the internet anyway. But i’ll accept your advice to write and keep watching comedy performances. We’ll see what happens 🤷*♂️😬
Reply 3
Avatar for hotpud
hotpud
18
Original post by TheoJansson
I just hope a specific degree will not matter too much since most writing courses and tips should be found on the internet anyway. But i’ll accept your advice to write and keep watching comedy performances. We’ll see what happens 🤷*♂️😬


Most writers are self-employed so do not need any qualifications. The knack is getting your work in front of someone who can make waves which is where most people fall down. Or, their work just isn't particularly note worthy. Perhaps having a useful degree as a backup is no bad thing.

Good luck!

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