Is it common for comedians to (almost) completely make up stories for the sake of good material at a gig?

Posted by Major-Feed5214@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 267 comments

I saw a Mark Twain quote on Reddit the other day: "Never let the truth of a good story." I've been to a couple of gigs and watched a few online, with some stories and narratives whereby I am quietly thinking to myself "part of me wonders if this *actually* happened or not". How common is comedians making up stories and are there any examples/have any comics admitted to it?