# How do you describe laughing in a novel?



## jmsx521

There are different degrees of laughing that need to be described in a different way so that the reader doesn't confuse one type of laughter with another. Some, start with a little smirk, and others start out-wide explosive and unconstrained....  And every person does it their own unique way too.

How would your describe different laughs... and do you actually write the words/vocal-sounds of laughter, let's say in a novel?

*"Ha-ha-ha," he burst laughing.*
or
*He burst laughing.* -- emphasizing on the _burst_, instead of the actual vocal sounds.

And, can someone give example of that type of little burst of laughing that many people do with their mouth closed. I don't even know how it is called; the best way I can describe it is, imagine you are in a quiet office environment and you see something funny: You burst, but just for a second, because you know you shouldn't interrupt the silence... and you never open your mouth in the laugh; it almost sounds like you are clearing your sinuses, or throat.


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## Kayleigh7

muffled laugh?

I prefer it when the author writes what the laugh sounds like, i.e. 

"Her laugh floated through the air like a melody" its a bad example but the only one I could recall at the moment.


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## JosephB

Use dialog or the situation tell the reader what kind of laugh it is. And you don't need to be so specific in defining just what type of laugh it is.

You practically did that with your description of the office environment:

Jenny read the email and tried to stifle a laugh.

Or 

Jenny read the email and laughed, despite her efforts to hold it in. She stopped when Clyde gave her a dirty look.

Or use a simile:

Jenny suppressed a laugh, sputtering like a old water faucet.


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## Kayleigh7

good examples joseph.

that is what I was trying to convey but i am tired and in desperate need of coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.


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## Damien.

His face crinkled in laughter.


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## JosephB

Or:

A laugh escaped from between Jenny's pursed lips.

That might best describe what you're talking about. There are always lots of ways to describe something.


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## C.Gholy

Some of my lame examples

He erupted in laughter. 
She couldn't help but roar in hysterics.


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## John Stillwater

I think this, like many topics, can take us back to one of the hard and fast rules of writing, or at least fiction writing:  _Show, don't tell._  In other words, don't describe what's happening, paint the picture of what's happening.

Instead of:  Larry laughed, "Hahahaha!!!".  Try:  The corners of Larry's lips curled, involuntarily -- and he fought back hard as his cheeks swelled momentarily with the pressure -- but it was no use.  His laughter erupted, echoing down the corridor as he bent over, slapping his knee repeatedly.  He'd hit his own funny bone before, but to see his normally graceful sister  grasping her elbow and rubbing it furiously, was more than he could stand.  Besides, she'd have done the same.

Not the best examples, I know, but I think they get the idea across.

Hope this helps.

John.


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## HarryG

He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself in time, but raced in the general direction of the toilet.  The rocking took over when he was inches away, but it was too late.

  He lost control and roared, no longer caring about the people behind him.  Despite the soothing water from the tiny wash basin, and nearly choking, he couldn’t stop.  The red eyes in the mirror didn’t help, they only set him off again.


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## Sam

I think you're making way too much of a big deal about a laugh. You _don't have _to show everything. You can simply say that the person laughed and save yourself two paragraphs. 

"Show, don't tell" is just a style issue. It doesn't have to be absolutely used at all times without exception.


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## HarryG

Show, don’t tell, in my opinion, is the most important advice you can give to an aspiring writer, apart from ‘write what you know’.

  Of course that is only my opinion.

  I laughed when someone said that to me many years ago.  I laughed when I read it in lots of books.  I stopped laughing when the rejection letters flowed in.

  I laughed again when I finally hit the jackpot, a small one.

  How do you describe laughing?  It needs a bit more effort than just saying; he laughed.


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## Sam

I agree, Harry. Not saying that I don't. But you don't need to show everything. In fact, a novel full of showing would be very long. 

And, writing what you don't know can actually be as much fun as writing about what you do. It requires research, of course, but what novel doesn't?


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## valeca

HarryG said:


> How do you describe laughing?  It needs a bit more effort than just saying; he laughed.



Depends on the prose, the author, and the style.  Sometimes simply using 'he laughed' fits better than a long-winded and/or unnecessary description of the act.


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## HarryG

valeca said:


> Depends on the prose, the author, and the style.  Sometimes simply using 'he laughed' fits better than a long-winded and/or unnecessary description of the act.



     I agree and I agree with Sam too, but I was describing an extreme example to make a point, perhaps having misunderstood the OP’s question.


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## Gabriel Gray

Different laughs? As in if somebody is chuckling or giggling? a bark of laughter, a roar. I tend to rotate between different words for different characters.


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## The Backward OX

Sam Winchester said:


> writing what you don't know can actually be as much fun as writing about what you do. It requires research, of course, but what novel doesn't?


I think this was where I came in.

Woul you agree that by the time the research was done you might just have learnt something about the topic? So it then becomes "writing what you know"?


Geez, Sam, you worry me at times.


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## Sam

The Backward OX said:


> I think this was where I came in.
> 
> Woul you agree that by the time the research was done you might just have learnt something about the topic? So it then becomes "writing what you know"?
> 
> 
> Geez, Sam, you worry me at times.



Not as much as you worry me by times, OX.


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## Sam

I will say this: My favourite author is Tom Clancy. He was originally an insurance salesman. Do you think he knew about submarines, nuclear bombs, or anything else that he has written about in great detail in most of his novels? No, he didn't. He had to ask people; he had to do research. Does that mean that he now knows how to write about nuclear bombs or submarines? No, it doesn't. It just means that he did research, like all authors do. So, OX, doing research on a subject doesn't necessarily make you an authority on it, nor does it make you able to write about that subject in a "knowledgeable" way.


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## HarryG

Writing what you know is often misinterpreted as having to write only about something you have personal and detailed knowledge of, which it isn’t, most of the time. As well as the Clancy example, a good one, there is the other oft-quoted one - Sydney Sheldon has only ever written about places he has actually been to.

  But, can you write about crying, if you’ve never cried?  Can you write about laughing if you don’t laugh?  Can you write about the hurtfulness of infidelity if you’ve never been exposed to it?  Can you write about love if you’ve never been in love?

  Can you research something like love?  Will reading a few thousand pages on the internet be enough?

  I was startled with a question about the holocaust only yesterday, the question being on the lines of – should it still be written about, as much as it is?  I answered Yes, very quickly, and then had to justify my answer to an extremely critical audience.  I stumbled around a bit and thought about my own advice about writing what you know, and, of course, my knowledge of the holocaust is from outside sources.  And I wouldn’t attempt to write about it, I don’t know enough.


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## Dr. Malone

Wasn't Clancy in the Navy?

Good thread.  The only thing I'll add, since you'll have to find what's good and what's not from these suggestions yourself, is to avoid the cliched expressions that some posters here are using as examples.


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## JosephB

"Write what you know" can be interpreted in too many ways. It's pretty useless advice.

And how many people haven't loved, cried or laughed? If not, you've got bigger problems than choosing subject matter.


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## Sam

Malone said:


> Wasn't Clancy in the Navy?



He joined the military, but failed a routine eye examination and wasn't accepted.


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## Katastrof

John Stillwater said:


> I think this, like many topics, can take us back to one of the hard and fast rules of writing, or at least fiction writing:  _Show, don't tell._  In other words, don't describe what's happening, paint the picture of what's happening.



There are no rules in writing. "Show don't tell" works sometimes, but it's only a tool and sometimes it's better not to use a hammer when you need a screwdriver.


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## Sam

"Show, don't tell" is not a rule of writing. It is a stylistic suggestion. I have read thousands of books that were full of telling. Tom Clancy uses telling almost religiously, and it doesn't impinge on the story, because he's a brilliant story-teller. If the story is good, it doesn't matter how it's written.


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## seigfried007

Unless it's a sarcastic "Ha-ha, very funny", I don't write in the sounds someone makes.

Laughter is much easier to write than guttural noises and shrugs. Men can have entire conversations using only body shrugs and odd noises (like the ever-versatile grunt.)


There are simply more words to describe a laugh--as Gabriel mentioned. And when you don't feel like using one colorful verb, you can use idiomatic expressions or just describe the laugh/action. 

For instance, a person might laugh until he falls out of his chair, pukes, chokes on his sandwich, splutters, spews Kool-aid from his nose, cries, has a coronary, gets a hernia... He might also have a 'gut-busting' shrill, deep, throaty, hoarse, girly or maniacal laugh.


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## seigfried007

btw "John laughed" is showing and active voice. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it (nothing wrong with passive voice and the occasional 'telling' bit either). Sometimes 'telling' is the best way to get something across to the reader, even if it's not always preferred.


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## Katastrof

Sam Winchester said:


> "Show, don't tell" is not a rule of writing. It is a stylistic suggestion.



I'm not sure why you are arguing with me, when I'm saying basically the same thing as you. But a stylistic suggestion? Why can't people get over the fact that there isn't just one way to write a best selling novel?


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## Sam

What is it with paranoia this weather? 

Katastrof - I wasn't arguing with you. I was, in fact, backing you up. And there are many ways to write a best-selling novel.


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## starseed

There is tons of laughing going on in my novel. I describe it in a variety of ways, from the simple "He laughed" in dialogue, to detailed descriptions (She collapsed into a fit of hysteria and lay on the bed, silent and shaking before finally gasping for air and looking up). Something I would never do is write out the sound of the laugh itself in dialogue ("Hahahahah!") unless it was being said, in words, not laughter... such as a sarcastic, "_Ha_, _ha_." Writing out the Hahahaha's looks ridiculous to me in anything other than online chat. But that's just me. I like more detailed descriptions when the laughter is of some value (such as moments when my main character is admiring how cute his crush looks when she gets all giggly) but if it's just a basic laugh in conversation, I think often a simple "he laughed" will do just fine. It depends.


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## mockingbird

Howz about - her stifled laughter exploded into guffaws remeniscent of a jackass, followed by snorts and cheek blows. OR he laughed like a donkey on heat.


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## Duncan Nicholson

I think it depends on what kind of laugh you are talking about.  Also, does your description really add anything to the story?  Sometimes less is more.


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## Gamer_2k4

jmsx521 said:


> And, can someone give example of that type of little burst of laughing that many people do with their mouth closed. I don't even know how it is called; the best way I can describe it is, imagine you are in a quiet office environment and you see something funny: You burst, but just for a second, because you know you shouldn't interrupt the silence... and you never open your mouth in the laugh; it almost sounds like you are clearing your sinuses, or throat.



I write that as "He snorted."  Other times, I either use "He laughed" or "He laughed lightly."

Maybe I don't run into the problem because there's not much to laugh about in my book. <_<


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## A_Jones

Then she opens her mouth and begins to laugh full out.  A clean pure sound, so unlike her usual cynical chuckle.  I feel the tightness in my chest loosen.  Soon we are both laughing so hard I feel tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes.  Looking at Fae, pure childlike humor on her face, I see her as she might have looked, had she grown up away from the lonely hardship of the forest.

From my book FAE, I rather liked this moment myself.


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## jmsx521

Gamer_2k4 said:


> "He snorted."


 I like this one.



Gamer_2k4 said:


> "He laughed lightly."


 I don't like this one. Sounds unusual. "Lightly" doesn't seem to be a good description for a laugh, because when we think of laughs they are energy-driven expressions, and "lightly" describes something that is more gentle and minimal.

I like "cynical chuckle" better as _A_Jones_ said in the previous post.


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## mrappe

There are so many way to do it as there are many types of laughter and ways to express or describe it I don't think that there is one best way to do it but it depends on how it fits into the story and what kind of mood (if this is important or not) that the writer is trying to convey.

Bill gazed around the conference room at his co-workers, they sat, clearing their throats, with reddened faces, laughter in their eyes.

or

She roared with laughter.

or

"Ha!" she said with a sly grin.

could each be valid for different situations.


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## ViKtoricus

I'm really straightforward. I'd just say, "He laughed." Or "She laughed."

Unless there was something unusual in which he or she laughs, I will not specify it. If such was the case though, here's how I would do it.

_It took a moment to sink in, as the joke was very complex. But when it did, a teethy smile slowly imprinted into her face as she began chuckling, and then burst out laughing, even struggling to breathe._


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## jmsx521

mrappe said:


> Bill gazed around the conference room at his co-workers, they sat, clearing their throats, with reddened faces, laughter in their eyes.


 That's pretty original!


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## TheYellowMustang

I never write the vocal sounds of laughter (hahaha), only if it's a sarcastic "Ha, ha. Very funny."

I think the best ways to describe a laugh is to describe _how_ the character laughs. For example, he could be bent over and slapping his knee. Or it could be a low chuckle over the rim of a glass. Other characters could react to the laughter. For example, I have a friend who sometimes startles me when she bursts out laughing. 



> And, can someone give example of that type of little burst of laughing that many people do with their mouth closed. I don't even know how it is called; the best way I can describe it is, imagine you are in a quiet office environment and you see something funny: You burst, but just for a second, because you know you shouldn't interrupt the silence... and you never open your mouth in the laugh; it almost sounds like you are clearing your sinuses, or throat.



The kind of laughter you try to hold back? I'd imagine it would make the person hot- and red-faced, that the stomach would almost start to hurt (or the throat? I remember experiencing this in a church once, and my throat really hurt from trying not to laugh). Maybe veins start popping out of the forehead.


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## Dave Watson

This is a tough one I've found. I remember reading a section in Stephen King's Hearts in Atlantis that did a bang up job of describing a whole room of guys reduced to tears of mirth.

Here's an attempt of mine from my first novel. 

***************LANGUAGE WARNING******************






“Don’t get _too _comfy there, Phil,” Cairnsey said. “We’ve still got to walk down to the caves. You’ll be too stoned to move soon.”
“Don’t you worry about me, young Joshua,” Phil replied. “I’ll worry for all of us. Especially the carrots.”
The others looked at him as if he’d just said he wanted to shag his pet hamster, such was the absurdity of the statement.
Griff gave a weird, uncertain chuckle.
“What are you talking about, man?” he asked with a giggle.
Phil looked confused. He frowned and almost smiled, then blinked a few times. Shook his head.
“Erm…ha…emmm...”
Sam started to giggle as well.
“Er…I mean….ehhh…” Phil was saying.
Cairnsey now started to chuckle, way down in his belly, and for the first time noticed a slight feeling of nausea. 
“What were we…who…what the fuck…” Phil continued his baffled, fractured sentence. "What the fuck were we just talking about, man?” he asked, having completely forgotten. Then he stated to laugh as well.
In a split second it happened, and in that tiny splinter of time, Sam, Cairnsey and Griff, unknown to each other, felt a glorious shining moment of pure euphoria. Every nerve ending in their bodies lit up ecstatically and they shuddered inside with a blissful rush. For a fraction of their lives, they were superhuman. Then it passed, leaving the unmistakable feeling of a strong trip, broken through at last. 
And the laughter took them, crashed down and obliterated them.
Cairnsey fell forward onto his face, laughing a very loud, donkey-like, braying laugh and pounding the ground with his fists.
Griff had fallen backwards off the log he had been sitting on, and lay there on his back, helpless, with his legs drawn up and hugging his ribs, laughing in a shrieking girlish manner.
“Carrots!” wailed Sam. “What’ve carrots got to do with anything?!”  He somehow forced the words out through lungs and a throat blissfully contracted with mirth, struggling to breathe.
Phil was just sitting there, chortling away and shaking his head, still wearing that hilarious baffled look on his face.
“Why would I say anything about carrots?” he asked, completely clueless.
The other three laughed even harder.
“Ahhhh! Stop it, man! I’m gonnae pish myself!” pleaded Cairnsey between his donkey brays.
Sam was now rolling about on the ground, kicking his legs and holding his face which was going purple and felt like it would explode if he laughed anymore. An agony of pure happiness.
Griff was trying to stand up, but fell over again, his legs with all the consistency of sponge.
“I think the trips have kicked in,” he managed to gasp, then gave up and just lay there, his body shaking with great racking spasms and close to losing control of his bladder.
It went on for some time.


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