I’m not much of a horror fan when it comes to books, so unlike millions of other people I haven’t read much of Stephen King’s work. But what I have read has left me pleasantly surprised. That’s particularly true for On Writing
To that end, I came across this quote from him that seems to call up the stories in On Writing.
“You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.” ― Stephen King
How very true! Have you ever been somewhere (church, for example) and had a laughing attack that you could not control? About a year ago we were at church and there was a woman behind me that was really belting out the songs. It’s not that she had a bad voice, it’s just that it was loud, slightly off-key, and it lingered far too long on one or two notes. It’s like as soon as she hit the note she really felt comfortable with, she couldn’t let it go. For some reason, this tickled me. I started out chuckling quietly, but the more she belted out the songs the more I laughed. Soon I was in tears, bent over like a freak and gasping for breath. I was laughing that hard. Of course, I’m not proud of these moments. But as Stephen King says, sometimes laughter just grabs you, and won’t let up until it’s darn good and ready.
Isn’t it always the case that the laugh attack comes when it’s least appropriate? I think there must be something crossed in the wiring of our brains to make this so 🙂
I have always found Stephen King’s writing to be particularly compelling. Even though I’m not thrilled with how he finishes up some of his stories, *listening* to them on car trips makes the hours just fly by. He manages to get you really involved with his characters, because most of them are just plain folks like us!