You said it. There's a great book on this, "Comedy Writing Secrets", which if you only take one thing away from it, make it this: put the twist in the last word if possible, or the last two words if not.
That makes all the difference in humor. Try it.
Some short examples: "This baby seal walked into a club."
"Great minds think a lot."
"So, do you live around here often?"
I really enjoyed the book, and your step 2 is exactly what to avoid -- put the punchline as far at the end as possible; even better is to avoid the punchline altogether and leave it as an exercise for the listener. My favorite example, and it has to be the most compressed joke of all (two words and a gesture):
"Short term..." (snapping fingers as if can't remember)
Jokes for Nerds, Stuff that's Obvious (Score:5, Insightful)
Step 1. Make it really really long.
Step 2. Put the punchline in the beginning.
Re:Jokes for Nerds, Stuff that's Obvious (Score:2)
That makes all the difference in humor. Try it.
Some short examples: "This baby seal walked into a club."
"Great minds think a lot."
"So, do you live around here often?"
I really enjoyed the book, and your step 2 is exactly what to avoid -- put the punchline as far at the end as possible; even better is to avoid the punchline altogether and leave it as an exercise for the listener. My favorite example, and it has to be the most compressed joke of all (two words and a gesture):
"Short term ..." (snapping fingers as if can't remember)
420!