deviation

The two comedy writers had been working together for more than fifteen years. In that time, they had produced a number of movies, shows and skits. Over the years they had developed a reputation for a certain brand of humor.

To start with, they did not refer to what they did as comedy. Comedy was for the unenlightened. What they did was deviation. Deviating from the norm. From the expected.

That was what made them unique. Although it did not make them, which might come as a bit of a surprise, deviants. Deviants didn’t know the difference.

They referred to bad comedy as standard deviation. This was to be avoided at all costs. It was worse than just comedy. Probably similar to how a certain sect of religion feels towards those that believe almost everything they do but differ in some small way. The full-blown heathens are somehow more tolerable.

As was typical, finding a way to present a deviation was more difficult than the original idea.

For example, let’s say that the letter G is upset at apostrophes. G has had quite enough of words like nothin’, happenin’ and fallin’. Literally taking food off their plate. Or, at the very least, taking away some of their time in the spotlight. How do you represent this? Do you have a number of actors dressed up as the letter G holding up picket signs and marching around angrily? Would this image make people laugh?

Is that even the point?

The fact that the letter G is also slang for ‘gangsta’ adds another level of possible deviation. Would it change how the actors dressed as Gs would look and behave? Would there now be weapons involved? Bandanas?

Would the apostrophes, also known as closing single quotation marks (which sounds much more foreboding), respond and, if so, how? Perhaps in a shockin’ or revoltin’ way?

Additional deviation.

The two comedy writers had been working together for more than fifteen years. In that time, they had produced a number of movies, shows and skits. None of which have been particularly successful.