I think, sometimes…
It’s true, I do!
Tonight I’m thinking about how a person will often say they like books that “make me laugh, and cry.”
I’m pondering that… and realizing that I think it is far easier to write a sad book that chuckles/giggles/guffaws…
Than it is to write a funny book that wimpers/moans/sobs.
I have not, thus far, really accomplished either. But I think it would be far easier to successfully insert or layer humor into a book with dramatic characters/plot, than to create a sad moment in an otherwise funny book.
The level of ongoing investment it takes to get a single tear from a reader is far greater than the work required to get a smile.
A single out-of-place joke (or a few) can work. It doesn’t require the same level of commitment from the reader. You really have to CARE about someone to cry for them. You don’t have to care at all to laugh.
Think about it like this…
Even after the death of a loved one, a funeral can be a wonderful place for a really good joke. It somehow contrasts/underlines the seriousness of the day. It reminds a mourner of light/life/the next morning.
But a really somber and tragic story, told at a child’s birthday-at-the-circus-party?
Not so much.
Unless you’re a Tom Waits song or something…
(Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be a Tom Waits song… but that’s another project entirely)