Nothing Like A Good Laugh

When we write, we authors put our characters and you, our readers through a lot. We keep you on edge hunting a killer, preparing to face an alien monster, looking for a loved one lost in an avalanche.  Heck, we keep you all on edge in the bedroom department as well, waiting to see if the horizontal cha cha will come into play.  The perfect way to break that tension, to give both readers and characters a little breather, is with a few laughs.

Easy, peasy, right? Wrong. Humor has to have balance and be brought in at just the right moment. Too early or too late, the moment is lost and what could have been a brilliantly funny line lays there like a overdone turkey on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Readers, you know what I’m talking about. You come across humor in the exact wrong place and suddenly your eye rolling and skipping ahead or putting that story down. I know, because I’ve done it.

Oh, but when that humor is done right, it is pure magic. There are few things better than making someone laugh just as the world is about to crash down or the tension is so thick, it’s like drowning in mud. Here’s a peek at what I did in my story, Maxie Briscoe: Werewolf. Tension is high between the three main characters as the cops have been swarming and Maxie worries that her murdered friend suspected she was a werewolf…

Lead forms in my stomach. “Oh, my God, what if she did make notes, and they’re in with the stuff the cops have already taken from the house?” My gaze flicks wildly back and forth between the guys, my stomach jumping like frogs in a pond.

“Calm down, Maxie.” Noah reaches out and grabs my wrist, giving it a light squeeze.

“He’s right, relax.”

The tone of Damien’s voice forces my eyes to his.

“So what if she made notes and the cops do have them? Werewolves don’t exist. We’re Halloween creatures, legends, remember? Do you really think Ostrander is going to come over here and arrest you? Haul you in on suspicion of growing claws and fangs?”

Crazy laughter bubbles in my throat…I snort. “I can just picture Ostrander calling Animal Control. ‘I know it’s a woman, but…”

Needless to say the tense moment died away with a good chuckle for Maxie and her fellow werewolves, Damien and Noah.

What are some of your favorite moments in stories where the tension was broken with a good laugh?Or even moments in real life where you found yourself cracking a joke or a sarcastic comment that had everyone going from tense to chuckle? I remember at my great-aunt's funeral, the shiny new priest was delivering the eulogy and through my tears it became clear this guy, with all his 'nice' and 'courteous' platitudes, had not known what a dragon my aunt had been. I leaned over to my cousin and said "Look at the little guy. Man, she would have made him cry, then had him for breakfast." We both started cracking up and people kept looking at us, but we couldn't help it.

Thanks for stopping by. I really hope you enjoyed my take on humor. May your holiday weekend be filled with lots of laughs.

Melissa

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