Comedy writer Kit Proudfoot on beating writers block
Kit Proudfoot is struggling to think of anything funny - which is a problem because he writes funny things. How will he overcome this seemingly insurmountable obstacle? Perhaps by simply writing very badly. Then he’ll go over that writing and find that some of it’s okay, some is terrible, and then… there’s that one thing that just might change the world.
In his comedy writing workshop at Margate Bookie on 18 October you’ll run through a ton of prompts. He’s confident that everyone will come out of the workshop with not just their next great poem, comedy sketch, or monologue, but the greatest ever poem, comedy sketch, or monologue.
Proudfoot is one half of the band Big Woes and working on his next stand up show, Little Defeats of the Heart. In writing, he finds that anything that gets you moving is useful, whether that’s physically getting on your feet and walking around, or waving your pen in the air like it’s a wand.
How do you handle writer’s block and trying to think of new, funny things to say?
I handle writer’s block by simply writing very badly. Sometimes for days, weeks, maybe even months on end. Then I go back over that writing and find that some of it was okay, some of it was terrible, a couple of things I might be able to read on stage, and, hold on, what’s this… this one thing might just change the world.
How do prompts help address writer’s block?
I think anything that gets you moving is useful. Whether that’s physically getting on your feet and walking around, or waving your pen in the air like it’s a wand. Anything that gets you out of the intellect and into your ‘stupider’, simpler, more playful side. If a prompt can do that, then it’s worth its weight in ink. I use prompts constantly, sometimes without thinking about it. And the more ridiculous, the better. It’s a big part of what I want to explore in the workshop. In a way, this interview is a series of prompts. Maybe we're all just prompts - when you really think about it.
What is your writing process?
I write mostly on paper. Take lots of breaks, read a lot, study and copy people, and I redraft, redraft, redraft. Eventually I type things up and share them on stage. Performing something is really useful for that final stage because it gives you a very specific reason to make something as good as you can make it. To help you avoid public embarrassment, shame and/or ridicule.
What should people expect from your workshop?
I hope to get things moving quite quickly, very generative. To see how much energy we can bring to the short-form writing process. I want people to make a mess, lots of ideas - the badder the better. Genuinely. Quantity over quality to begin. I might write a hundred things to get to one thing I’m really excited about, and I think that’s okay.
We’re going to run through a ton of different prompts. People can note them down and use them later, but first we’ll put them into practice in the workshop itself. So if people have trouble getting started, or they have pieces of writing they’ve given up on and don’t know how to open up again, I want to share tools, ideas and different angles for cracking them open.
And then there’s the question of what’s actually funny. That’s something which is impossible to pin down; you just sort of stand there and wait, holding your butterfly net. But one thing I can assure you of is this: everyone will come out of the workshop with not just their next great poem, comedy sketch or monologue, but the greatest ever poem, comedy sketch or monologue.
Kit Proudfoot will host a comedy writing workshop at Droit House in Margate on 18 October as part of Margate Bookie 2026. Book tickets now.