There’s many reasons why people decide to try standup comedy – a desire to make people laugh, a way to turn your problems into something enjoyable – but whatever your inspiration, there’s a few things you should keep in mind.

Writing and performing are both important
As a spectator it’s easy to be fooled into thinking that comedians go up on stage, tell some jokes and leave. As a performer, it’s important to remember that this is actually a very small part of the job. The reality of stand-up comedy is that more hours go into writing than anything else – otherwise, you’d have no material to deliver.

It’s important to make sure you’re writing original material whenever you can. A solid five minute set will be enough for your first open mic, but that doesn’t mean the first five minutes of stuff you write. The more you write, the better you will become. The phrase ‘practice makes perfect’ may be a cliché but it rings true in the stand-up industry.

I find it helps to set myself a schedule of writing time at the beginning of each week and stick to it no matter what. During my day-to-day life I make notes of ideas and thoughts that I think have potential and then I’ll expand on them during those dedicated hours. For me, stand-up is still a hobby on the side and is something that I have to work around university, so my writing schedule often consists of two big sessions of around 4 hours at the weekend and then the odd hour throughout the week. I find this is enough for me to have a new 10 minutes of material that I’m confident in by the end of every month.

Check out Jerry Seinfeld’s interview with The New York Times if you want some writing tips from a true comedy legend:

Remember that everybody bombs
This is possibly the most important thing that a beginner comedian needs to know. Many people use a fear of bombing as an excuse to put off their first time on stage, but there’s no need to. Simply put, everybody bombs. Even the most established comedians will have terrible sets when trying out new material in small clubs. Unfortunately, there is only one way to find out whether a joke works in front of a live audience or not – and it’s the hard way.

If you go on stage for the first time and a joke falls flat, or you’re unhappy with how it went, then don’t let this phase you. Take this reaction as the best feedback you’ll get during your time as a comedian and use it to change or drop what you’ve got until you’re getting the laughs you think you should be.

The first time I bombed was at a venue I’d never set foot in before. I went on stage with around 5 minutes of material I’d tested at another, very different bar in the few weeks before. I quickly learnt that some things aren’t going to work for everybody and used my time to play around with my existing set to try and get the audience back on my side. I wasn’t entirely lucky, but I finished the night with some new ideas under my belt at least.

Comedian Hannibal Buress went into great detail about the positives of bombing in a recent interview with Village Voice. It’s essential reading if you’re sure you want to give stand-up a whirl.

Keep performing, practice before and after and then perform some more.
If you want to take this even remotely seriously, then it’s important that you perform and practice as regularly as possible. Even if, like me, you live in a town with little to nothing in terms of live comedy, there’ll be somewhere you can get stage time. Music-centered open mics are usually happy to have stand-up comedians come and perform. Just find out who’s in charge and ask them before you go up and don’t be afraid to go back the next week with the same set.

It’s also important to get into the habit of practicing at home. If I’ve got a gig one night, I like to spend the day going through my delivery and timing. It may seem silly to think about, but reading your material aloud in front of a mirror can be a great help. Pretend the mirror’s an audience and you’ll get the rare chance to see how you look to other people, rather than how you think you’re coming across.

Performing to friends or housemates is another option but don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll get the same reaction in the same parts of your set during an actual gig. From my experience, friends are too kind and laugh just because they think they should, rather than because they’ve actually found something funny.

And one last thing: Have fun. That’s what comedy is for, after all.