Writing Laughter

[superupaman]

I've asked this to a non-genre writing group, and thought it would be interesting to know if genre fiction has it figured differently.

I'm curious, if your character is speaking and laughing hysterically at something genuinely funny, that is not sarcastically, how would you write it?

Would you use "LOL" or other such lingos, or you'd go with a "Ha, ha!' approach? Or something like a "snort, giggle, snort" thing?

I guess it will depend on the personality of the character, the timeline, etc. But what are your personal favorite ways of writing laughter in first person, in different settings, provided your characters actually laugh at times (which they should, laughing is good for health).

PS. And how would you differentiate that from a sarcastic laughter?

-R

 

[Droflet]

If he's only laughing I'd write he laughed, chuckled, chortled etc.
If he was laughing and talking, which is next to impossible I might go with, "Rubbish," he said around a laugh.
Others may have a different take on it so I'd be interested to hear what they say. Hope this helps, and, oh, welcome aboard the good ship Chrons, superupaman. Can't wait to hear what your super power is.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Welcome to chrons.

I can't remember the last time I read any book that tried to show the laughter with "Ha, ha!" or similar.

He/She/They laughed.

That's all that's required.

 

[Nick B]

If I saw LOL in a novel, I think I would chuck it out the window. (then go out and put it in a bin, because litter annoys the hell out of me)

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

If it's in first person, I'd try to show the symptoms of laughter, such as eyes watering as I try to hold in a laugh, or that ache in the belly when you've laughed too much, etc. I don't think I'd ever say ha ha.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

"Ha, ha!" or similar.

Except when someone ISN'T laughing and is actually saying "ha ha" in flat voice to indicate it's not funny at all!

I agree,
I/he/she/they laughed

I'd only have someone say LOL, ROFL etc if the character is supposed to be an idiot, because it's text shorthand, so it would never be in Narration either unless the chapter is a sort of modern epistolary style deliberately meant to be like IRC, Skype, Twitter, txting etc.

 

[Dan Jones]

I'd only have someone say LOL, ROFL etc if the character is supposed to be an idiot

Not necessarily; I can imagine a YA book told in first person using these abbreviations. It might take a bit of skill to work, but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. Like anything, if we see it in context, and it works, then it works.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

if we see it in context, and it works, then it works.

Yes, I wasn't ruling it out entirely, but it wouldn't be typical even for a YA book unless it had certain setting.

 

[J D Foster]

I've used something like: "Ha!" As a sort of derisive laugh.

I feel like that should be allowed as people do 'say' HA

 

[Jo Zebedee]

If it's in first person, I'd try to show the symptoms of laughter, such as eyes watering as I try to hold in a laugh, or that ache in the belly when you've laughed too much, etc. I don't think I'd ever say ha ha.

This. Always this. Show it, don't tell it. (@Kerrybuchanan, clever grasshopper. )

 

[Brian G Turner]

And how would you differentiate that from a sarcastic laughter?

"Yes, ha, ha, very funny. Not."

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

(@Kerrybuchanan, clever grasshopper. )

Thank you, Honourable Master Jo.

 

[superupaman]

If he's only laughing I'd write he laughed, chuckled, chortled etc.
If he was laughing and talking, which is next to impossible I might go with, "Rubbish," he said around a laugh.
Others may have a different take on it so I'd be interested to hear what they say. Hope this helps, and, oh, welcome aboard the good ship Chrons, superupaman. Can't wait to hear what your super power is.

Thanks! I was curious because I thought if it is in first person, how can someone show that they laughed/are laughing in some way other than saying, "I laughed so hard", or something similar.

Um, superpower? I paint(?), if that counts.
I'm actually a SFF illustrator (book covers, posters, maps, etc.) and I am very new to writing. In fact, I've just started to learn by practicing now; writing short stories in my spare time. I have a book in mind that I want to do, but still not sure if I want to do it as a novel or a painted-something.

 

[superupaman]

Welcome to chrons.

I can't remember the last time I read any book that tried to show the laughter with "Ha, ha!" or similar.

He/She/They laughed.

That's all that's required.

Thank you, Brian! I also don't remember if I ever read anything in those lines. So was curious to know if there were other ways.

 

[superupaman]

If I saw LOL in a novel, I think I would chuck it out the window. (then go out and put it in a bin, because litter annoys the hell out of me)

If I saw LOL in a novel I would return that to my teenage daughter. But it wouldn't surprise me to see it there.

 

[superupaman]

If it's in first person, I'd try to show the symptoms of laughter, such as eyes watering as I try to hold in a laugh, or that ache in the belly when you've laughed too much, etc. I don't think I'd ever say ha ha.

Thabks, Kerry! That's an interesting way to do it.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I'd only use HAHA or LOL if I was quoting a text message/email or something similar.

It depends on the scene. Sometimes they just laugh and sometimes it needs more description like:
The mood caught John in completely the wrong way and all the tension, the fear, the worry, the anger of the last year came out in screams and streams of hysterical laughter. He had to hand Camille to a disgusted Matt before he dropped her. It freed up his hands to root around in his pockets for a tissue he could not find and had to accept Matt’s handkerchief. Matt’s hopelessness and shock made it worse and he pealed out laughter louder than anything Big Ben could manage. He knelt on the floor and bowed his head to the carpet. It took him a full five minutes to pull himself together and sit down, holding his aching ribs. “Matt, I’m so sorry.”

 

[Juliana]

I love that Anya!

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Thanks. I'd not long written it so it was very much on my mind.

 

[Cory Swanson]

I work with middle schoolers and they will say things like LOL in a flat tone to indicate sarcasm. They have all sorts of dumb ways to say stuff, so if you're writing in the voice of a young person and you wanted to indicate all of the painful akwardness of teenageness, I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.