tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996753044552511588.post8057667959465158800..comments2023-09-23T05:06:53.430-08:00Comments on 49 Writers: Andromeda/Your Turn: Make them laugh, make them cry -- if only writers knew how!Andromeda Romano-Laxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988887975016816552noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996753044552511588.post-1153230544768291502012-01-16T21:23:27.872-09:002012-01-16T21:23:27.872-09:00I think it was a line from Steel Magnolias when a ...I think it was a line from Steel Magnolias when a character says, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." It is really powerful when you can get the reader/viewer to feel both at once.Lynn Lovegreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18381497298898067525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996753044552511588.post-70677804841917090442012-01-13T15:24:05.115-09:002012-01-13T15:24:05.115-09:00Interesting how different the viewing and reading ...Interesting how different the viewing and reading experiences can be. I'll bet more readers laugh out loud than cry openly, and I'd think crying is much more easily evoked on screen than on the page. Surprise and, conversely, control are at work there. Also interesting to note that as readers we're emotionally moved by characters, but as viewers we will cry over people we don't know in video clips and commercials.<br /><br />Lots of tweeting today about John Green's new release, The Fault in Our Stars; none other than Judy Blume tweeted that it moved her to tears. If anyone thinks kids today aren't reading, they should visit John's website with its steady feed of tweets about his books.debvhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989656208841763294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996753044552511588.post-46652786793015610382012-01-12T15:27:35.587-09:002012-01-12T15:27:35.587-09:00Here’s what I know about emotional response in mys...Here’s what I know about emotional response in myself and how it relates to what I read.<br /><br />I don’t know if this will make sense to anyone else, but what moves me to tears is a situation in which a character is not helpless, but rather one who has looked at fate squarely and accepted his/her lot in life and somehow decided to move through the pain rather than avoid the pain. This will move me every time because it’s an evocation of a truth of life, I believe.<br /><br />An example of a story that moved me to tears: Chekhov’s, The Lament (or Misery).<br /><br />PS These days I'd rather read and write something to bring laughter though. Nick Hornsby's book "How to be Good" had me laughing out loud. <br /><br />Why it made me laugh: Character looks into the face of the tiger of his fate and does not turn away. He accepts his hapless self and keeps telling the truth about his life, much to his wife's chagrin. He keeps on keeping on. <br />Why is this funny? Maybe it is funny to me because I see a truth played out in such a rare way. I see a human being real. Maybe I laugh with the shock of the joy of it. <br /><br />THAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com