This week, Patton Oswalt—award-winning standup comedian, actor and writer—joins us to discuss his new comedy special and the preparation and creative process behind it. Oswalt talks about his penchant for observational humor, the career advice he continues to follow and his plans for his directorial debut. Below, you can watch the full episode, read highlights from our conversation and shop the products Oswalt uses to fuel his success.On His Approach To Comedy Specials“It’s been kind of a steady thing ever since my first special, which is I’m always doing standup. I’m always thinking of how the next hour is going to gel. Right now I’m in that weird period before the special drops [on June 9th] where I’ve got a lot of new stuff. There are a few things I can still do from the special because [no one] has seen it yet…you’re kind of saying goodbye to a lot of the stuff that you are dependent on and know is going to kill, but then you remember there are all these other hours you’ve written.“It’s just like going through life. You’re going to keep meeting new people. This got so cheesy, but basically you are. Comedy is always a thing that I do, so I think of a special or an album as, okay, now we’re checking in a year down the road, here’s what’s happening, see you in another year and a half or so, and then we’ll check in again. I’m always doing it, but you don’t need to see the whole process of me up on stage Tuesday night at the Laugh Factory or Sunday at the Largo working out new stuff [with] a piece of paper like, ‘Let’s see if this works.’ They’re like editions of magazines; here’s how I’m feeling at this year, at this time, at this age.”Courtesy of Patton OswaltWant to save this story for later?No need to bookmark—get it straight to your inbox.We've sent this story to your inbox.On The Best Career Advice He’s Received“There are two [pieces of advice] actually. One is, and this is, in a way, a more general sense, but for some reason it really works for me: don’t get too high on the highs, and don’t get too low in the lows. You will have both, and both can hurt you if you don’t handle them correctly. You can get way too high…that can mess you up just as much as you can mess up [by] going, ‘I’m never getting out of this bit.’ It’s up and down. And then the other one is that every day is a rainy day. Every day in this business, in the creative world, in the lunar professions is a rainy day. Don’t live beyond your means if you’re a creative.“I’m paraphrasing Harlan Ellison when he was talking about writing, but anyone can become a stand-up comedian; it’s just really hard to stay one. So you’ve got to live in a way that’s not beholden to debt or ego. George Carlin said, ‘I never wanted to own a house that I was using to scare people with because when you do then you’re beholden to nine other things that have nothing to do with your comedy.’ So keep everything as small-scaled as you possibly can so that you have the freedom to do what you want and to work with who you want.”On The Importance Of Observation As A Comedian“You really have to fight for the space to observe and withdraw and watch both other people’s behavior and pay attention to your own because entertainers, especially now—this is a much bigger topic—have less and less non-performing time. It feels like in order to be in entertainment or the arts, you’ve got to be shooting content for your Insta, shooting stuff for your TikTok…you’re performing authenticity. So now, authenticity is becoming something that drains you. It’s going to be really interesting to see how that affects not just comedy but anything where you have to observe life and then reflect it back in a unique way, when so much of your energy is now being taken toward promoting yourself so that people will look at the stuff where you’re saying that you’re observing reality.”On How He Prepares New Material“I’m very old school, I have a notebook. I use the classic composition notebook with the speckled black-and-white cover. My notebooks are a combination of me writing [the] beginnings of jokes as best I can—I can’t sit and write jokes. That’s something I’m going to try and do for the next [comedy] album. What I do is I have an idea, and I just kind of work it out on stage over successive nights, and then it becomes [a joke]. Because I want to keep it conversational while also flexing some new muscles I’m not comfortable with, maybe I’ll do more actual sitting and writing. My notebooks are all jotted-down ideas and then clippings of things, like just a picture from a magazine or a name that I’ve heard that written down…I think artists call them a morgue, where you collect pictures and images of things that might inspire you or something later, so you just collect it all together. It’s a weird combination. Anyone looking through my notebooks is like, ‘This looks like the serial killer from Seven.’”Courtesy of Patton OswaltOn Dressing For Different Occasions“I have a travel ‘suit’ which is a nice loose pair of jeans, really good walking shoes and then this short-sleeved hoodie with a pocket in front that I can shove stuff in when I’m in the airport. Then I have my wheeled Tumi suitcase—there’s a very specific one that fits in the overheads—and then my Tumi briefcase that slides onto it perfectly. “When I’m on stage, it’s always a T-shirt and a button-up shirt; nothing crazy, but I dress nice for the stage. It’s the same clothing during the days I [have to] travel to keep it really simple…I don’t like to have too much stuff…especially [on] a travel day when I have enough anxiety because airports have gotten so insane now. I make the preparation for travel just no-brainer stuff.”Patton Oswalt’s Tools For Success:A Travel Ritual: “This is going to sound kind of insane. I bring a Ziploc bag of PG Tips Tea Bags, and when I land, I buy some honey…and then I always ask for an electric tea kettle in the [hotel] room so I can make myself that specific cup of tea—two bags, honey. That’s a reset for me and helps me calm down.”An Enthralling Read: “The last great book that I’ve read, I’m in the middle of it right now actually. It’s called Stoner by John Williams. It’s kind of a slow-motion horror story, but it’s not a horror novel. It’s about suburban, domestic, academic collapse. It’s an incredible read.”A Go-To Writing Tool: “There’s the Pilot G7 pen, [in] black or blue. The G7, not the G10; it’s too thick. Anything below a G7, it’s too thin. The G7 is my favorite writing instrument.”Watch the full interview on YouTube or stream it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. For more Forbes Talks Shop episodes, visit our YouTube page.