For any one person, the hardest thing to write is the genre that they don't have a feel for.  If you are innately funny, comedy is not the most difficult genre.  It may be the easiest.

In term of the general population - I think real comedic talent is the most difficult to find. e.g., I think more people possess the drama gene than those that possess the funny bone, etc.

Comedy.

I have never read a good one in my life.

I'm not actually sure it's even possible to write a good one, I think comedy may well be almost entirely performance dependent and you need some sort of genius funny man to make it work.

Easiest is drama. Almost any newspaper has a story in that would make an effective drama.

For me every genre is equally difficult) and the most difficult thing is VO, no matter the genre. I can't write anything in VO - everytime I try it's an on the nose mess.

Hi,

CJ Walley ----- Thank you for your reply

Eldave1 -------  I agree.

Scar Tissue Films -------  I recommend Wild Hogs and Unfaithfully Yours (1984) to you.

Khamanna ------- I think comedy is the most difficult genre to write. Certainly, it is a matter of opinion.

Thanks.

I can't help but feel this question is way too subjective. Task Francis Ford Coppola to write a Coen Brothers style zinger, or Aronofsky a 1920's crime drama, and they might screw it up.  

TheReccher,

I don't get it, especially Coppola  and Coen.

Hi CJ Walley,

Some writers think thriller is the most difficult. Some think horror. As mentioned above, it is a matter of opinion.

Just to weigh in here:

I don't think comedy *is* harder to write.  But it is harder to find a match to the right producer/director - because senses of humor are so subjective.  And Rich is right that it's pretty much performance dependent.  (Not totally - but it's a huger chunk of the final package, I think, than drama.)

As for *hardest* to write?  I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest pure drama.  Because there's no window dressings, it takes a lot more substance to make a script stand out from the pack.  Horror?  You can slap gore on it.  SF: there's FX to throw in.  Thriller: action set pieces to dot the story with.  Mind you - that's simplifying the question far too much... as none of those things is really enough for a great story - any of these genres need great characters, premises, etc. But it's decoration that can distract readers from more weaknesses than when they're reading sheer drama.

My five cents.  :)  --J/W

Hi Wonkavite,

Thank you for your reply. You say,"As  for hardest to write? I'm going to go out on a limb nd suggest pure drama. Because there's no window dressings, it takes a lot more substance to make a script stand out from the pack. I AGREE but not fully because good comedy is also drama. Drama talks about our problems such as social problems, marriage, values, human nature and so on.

Writers like to discuss them through drama. The problems are serious. To avoid boring audience to death, some writers tend to express in a comedic way. Comedy is harder to write because they need to add comedic elements to it, which make their scripts more difficult to write.

Have a nice day!

There isn't a genre that's harder than others unless you don't like to write it.

Dave here, writes great comedy. The subtle kind too, but he wouldn't like to write a horror. So, for him, horror would be the most difficult genre to write.

With comedy, many writers are afraid of it. Being told you're not funny when you're trying to be is harder to take than failing to write a scary horror. We take our sense of humour more personally. I don't feel that's enough to arrive at the conclusion that comedy is more difficult.

Comedy is easy to write, but good comedy isn't.