Playbook: Alex for Standup Comics

Your personal reference for using Alex in comedy writing. Ready-to-run prompts for generating premises, punching up jokes, and developing material.

What This Guide Is Not

This is not a habit formation guide (see Self-Study Guide for that). This is a comedy writing toolkit — the specific ways Alex can help you develop material, and the prompts that work.

Where to Practice These Prompts

Every prompt in this guide works with any AI assistant — ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, or whatever tool you prefer. The prompts are the skill; the tool is just where you type them. Pick the one you’re comfortable with and start today.

For an integrated experience, the Alex VS Code extension (free) was purpose-built for this workshop. It understands comedy writing context, lets you save effective prompts with /saveinsight, and brings your playbook and practice exercises into one workspace. VS Code is a free editor that takes minutes to set up, even if you’ve never used it before.

You don’t need a specific tool to benefit. You need the habit of reaching for AI when the work is genuinely hard — not just when it’s repetitive.

Core Principle for Comics

Alex will never write your act. It doesn’t have your voice, your timing, your persona, or your lived experiences. What it can do is help you generate more raw material, find angles you haven’t considered, identify weak spots in your bits, and pressure-test your premises.

The best comics use Alex like a tireless writing partner who never gets tired of spitballing, never judges, and never takes offense when you throw out 90% of what it generates.

The Seven Use Cases

1. Premise Generation

When to use: When you need raw ideas. When you’re staring at a blank notebook. When life gives you an experience and you know there’s something there but can’t find it.

Prompt pattern:

I need premises about [topic/observation/experience].

Context: [any relevant details about your perspective, your audience, your style]

Give me 15 different angles on this:
- Unexpected observations
- Status reversals
- Comparisons that don't usually get made
- "What if" scenarios
- Things people think but don't say
- Times when the opposite is true

Don't write jokes yet — just premises I could develop.

Follow-up prompts:

Go weirder. The first batch was too obvious.

Now take premise #4 and give me 10 different directions it could go.

What's the premise that would make [type of audience] uncomfortable but laughing?

Try this now: You just got back from a terrible Airbnb — the listing said “cozy studio” but it was literally a converted closet with a hot plate. You know there is something here but you cannot find the angle. Paste the raw experience into the premise generation prompt. The output will give you 10 angles you had not considered — and at least 2 of them will be genuinely funny premises you can take to stage tonight.

2. Punch-Up and Tag Writing

When to use: You have a bit that works but needs to hit harder. Or you have a laugh and want to stack more laughs after it.

Prompt pattern:

Here's a bit I'm working on:

[paste your joke/bit exactly as you perform it]

The laugh comes on: [identify where you're getting the laugh now]

Help me:
1. Write 5 tag lines that could extend the laugh
2. Find any missed opportunities in the setup for additional punches
3. Suggest callbacks to earlier in the bit
4. Identify if there's a bigger laugh hiding that I'm missing

Follow-up prompts:

The tags feel too similar. Give me ones with completely different angles.

What if I flipped the punchline and put it earlier? Restructure the bit.

This is getting groans. Why isn't it landing?

3. Premise Stress-Testing

When to use: Before you invest stage time in a new bit. Find the holes before the audience does.

Prompt pattern:

I'm developing a bit with this premise:

[state your premise]

The angle I'm taking: [your perspective/take]

Be my skeptical audience member:
1. What's the most obvious response someone might have?
2. Where might people disagree with my premise?
3. What's hacky about this that I might not see?
4. Has this been done before? (What's the cliché version?)
5. What's the stronger, less obvious version of this premise?

Follow-up prompts:

How do I acknowledge the obvious objection and still make the joke work?

A heckler says "[likely heckle]" — what's my response?

Is this premise inherently flawed, or is it my angle that's weak?

4. Callback and Set Structure

When to use: Turning a collection of jokes into an actual set. Finding the threads that make 15 minutes feel like a coherent piece.

Prompt pattern:

Here are the bits I'm trying to connect into a set:

Bit 1: [premise/topic]
Bit 2: [premise/topic]
Bit 3: [premise/topic]
[etc.]

Target length: [5 / 10 / 15 / 30] minutes

Help me:
1. Find thematic connections I might be missing
2. Suggest an order that builds (not just randomly sequenced)
3. Identify callback opportunities between bits
4. Find a strong opener and closer
5. Spot any tonal whiplash I should smooth out

Follow-up prompts:

How do I transition from bit #2 to bit #3 without it feeling random?

I want to end on [bit]. Work backward to build to it.

What's missing from this set? What topics would fill the gap?

5. Voice and Persona Development

When to use: Figuring out who you are on stage. What makes your perspective distinct.

Prompt pattern:

Here are 5 jokes/bits that have worked for me:

[paste your strongest material]

Based on this, help me understand:
1. What's my consistent point of view?
2. What assumptions do I challenge?
3. What's my status on stage? (High/low, insider/outsider, etc.)
4. What topics naturally fit my voice vs. what feels forced?
5. What's a premise that would be perfect for my voice that I haven't explored?

Follow-up prompts:

I want to expand into [new topic]. How would I approach it in my voice?

My material is all [one type]. How do I add range without losing my voice?

Compare my voice to [comic you admire]. What can I learn from the difference?

6. Act-Out and Physicality Notes

When to use: When the joke works on paper but needs performance notes. When you’re preparing for a recorded set.

Prompt pattern:

Here's a bit as written:

[paste the bit]

Help me think about performance:
1. Where should I slow down for emphasis?
2. Where are the act-out opportunities?
3. What characters/voices might this call for?
4. Where should I break the fourth wall or address the audience directly?
5. What's the facial expression or physicality on the punchline?

Follow-up prompts:

I don't do act-outs. How do I make this land without them?

Write the bit as if you were writing stage directions for an actor.

This needs more energy. Where can I pick up the pace?

7. Adapting Material for Different Rooms and Formats

When to use: When you’re taking material from one context to another — open mic to club, club to corporate, live to podcast, short set to festival, or preparing for a recorded special.

Prompt pattern:

Here's a bit that works at [current context — e.g., open mics, comedy clubs]:

[paste the bit]

I need to adapt it for [new context — e.g., corporate event, podcast appearance, late-night set, festival, clean room].

Constraints of the new context:
- Audience: [who's watching — industry crowd, general public, TV audience]
- Time: [how long I have for this bit]
- Content limits: [clean/edgy, topics to avoid, tone expectations]

Help me:
1. Identify what needs to change for this audience (without killing what works)
2. Suggest replacement references or setups that fit the new context
3. Adjust the energy and pacing notes for the format
4. Flag anything that might not translate and suggest alternatives

Follow-up prompts:

How do I keep the edge without crossing the line for a corporate audience?

This bit works live but feels flat when I read it for a podcast. How do I adjust?

I have 5 minutes for a festival showcase. Which bits from my 30-minute set would you cut and which would you keep?

Your AI toolkit: These prompts work in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini — and in the Alex VS Code extension, which was designed around them. Start with whatever you have. The skill transfers across all of them.

What Great Looks Like

After consistent use, you should notice: more raw material to work with, less stage time wasted on dead-end premises, tighter and more connected sets, and a clearer sense of your own voice. The goal isn’t for Alex to be funny — it’s for Alex to help you be funnier.

Practice Plan

Month 2–3

Shift from guided exercises to independent workflows — build templates, integrate AI into your real projects, and create reusable prompt libraries for repeating tasks.

Track Your Growth

/saveinsight Premise generation: [description]

/saveinsight Set structure: [description]

Continue your practice: Self-Study Guide has weekly challenges to keep building your skills after the workshop ends.