Growing up, I rarely heard curse words.
My mom didn’t curse, and my dad voiced his frustration by saying “Aw-shucks!” I’m the youngest, and my sister and brothers never cursed in my presence. I didn’t find out my sister had a potty mouth until last week. Okay, kidding, but it wasn’t until my early teen years the first time she accidentally cursed in front of me (haha, I was amused, she was horrified!).
My friends don’t curse and hubby doesn’t curse.
My form of cursing is this: “Sugar plums!” When I’m really annoyed, watch out, because then I say, “Sugar plum fairies!” Yeesh. How pathetic is that?
I thought about this last week when Kidlit.com brought up swearing in YA fiction. It made me wonder about cursing in adult fiction. I don’t know how to effectively use cursing in adult fiction or if I even should (you know, since I’m so inexperienced).
How do you know when it’s appropriate to curse and when it sounds overdone or silly? Is swearing necessary in certain genres and situations? Could swearing be too much of a stereotype for some characters? Are agents and publishers turned off by swear words? Should I not bother about this at all, go with whatever comes out of my characters’ mouths, and edit accordingly later?
Please let me know what you think. I’d appreciate any tips!!! Thanks, blog buddies!
“It comes to pass oft that a terrible oath, with a swaggering accent sharply twanged off, gives manhood more approbation than ever proof itself would have earned him.” ~William Shakespeare
“When angry count four; when very angry, swear.” ~Mark Twain
20 comments:
My characters swear up a storm! Well, two of the three main ones anyway. But it goes with their characters so hopefully the readers will let me get away with it.
I have to say, there is very little swearing in my stories - but when it occurs, it truly is because no other words would work as well!
This is a great topic for conversation. I believe there are moments when strong language is appropriate, in fiction and in the real world. I don't have a potty mouth, but I definitely curse when I'm angry, appalled, or scared. Or, when I want to get a rise out of someone.
My mother is a "good, church-going woman" and so shy she's practically catatonic. When I need to shake her up, I drop the f-bomb. It's rather hilarious to watch her reaction. But let me tell you something, once she was very upset and dropped that bomb at me. She got her desired affect, and my full attention.
As for what's too over-the-top cursing in fiction? I say let the beta readers tell you. Their critiques will be easier to trust that your own sensibilities.
:)) Have a great day!
Great point, Nicole -- having characters who don't usually swear suddenly use one of those words will snap everybody to attention -- your other characters and the reader. As long as it's properly provoked, it can be an interesting way to show the extent of that character's distress, unhappiness, pain, etc.
I write in the fantasy genre, which is neat because we get to make up our own swear words. For instance, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series uses "bloody ashes" and "Light." It's a neat exercise in linguistic creativity.
But this could also extend to other genres; your character could have a particular word s/he uses instead of cursing. When frustrated, my sister usually says "Brownies!" instead of something else. It's an endearing little character trait, and it also lets me know exactly how she's feeling without being profane.
Dialog is always a nice place to throw in some swear words, and when one of your characters are running a muck, or acting like assholes.
Id sugest reading some banned books like Slaughterhouse-5, Catcher in the Rye, and the first book I'd ever read with curse words: Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angles.
Hmmm, interesting, because I have tried so hard to eliminate curse words from my own sphere (not always with success...it's tough to beat once they have entered in), having to insert them into my writing goes against my will. It's the mother in me too, I suppose. I don't think curse words are absolutely essential to every work. I would welcome something clean. Sometimes I think authors feel they must use them to color things up a bit. Then again, you wouldn't want to be unauthentic to your character. Still, you're the author. You can play with ways to have your character express him/herself without cursing. To me, this is the harder road, because you are challenging yourself to think of different ways to express strong emotions without cursing. But this might help. Imagine yourself reading your own work in front of an audience, which you surely will do someday. Are you comfortable saying those particular words out loud? If not, then I would get creative with how your characters express themselves. I don't think we always have to bend to the pressures of what society thinks needs to be in a book for it to be "good." I'm perhaps against the grain here, but I've struggled with this myself. In my memoir, I had to use some curse words to stay true to the people I was depicting -- my father in particular. But...we still have a choice with every word we write. Really good point to bring up, Laura! Good luck discerning all this in light of your current WIP. Incidentally, I think it is awesome that you've kept the gunk of curse words from your live. I admire your parents for this, and you for following their lead.
P.S. Typo alert in penultimate sentence: life, not live. :)
I saw this subject on another blog yesterday. I don't use swearing in my books. There's enough of it in real life, and if there's a situation where it would likely occur there's nothing like ... and the reader can fill in the blank.
Some may say that's a cop-out, and that's fine. But I know my audience, and I don't want to offend them. It all depends on what you're comfortable writing and the audience you're writing for. Anyway, that's my two cents.
This is such a great topic! I don't swear very often in my personal life, but I do have characters who swear in some of my writing. It's only certain characters, and it just sort of feels right for the character. I don't think I actually think about the swearing, it's just part of the dialogue. But having said that, I definitely don't think cursing is at all necessary in a book. I read a lot of middle grade and YA books, and there's a ton of wonderfully well written stuff out there with not a single curse word in sight!
I would say that if you aren't used to cursing and it isn't part of your daily or monthly vocabulary choices then you probably aren't going to use it, merely because it won't be your natural voice and that's normally what you write with.
I curse like a sailor, I would love for sugar plums to be just as effective as the word shit (excuse me) but for me it isn't, it's a way to voice my frustration. I will say that I find it easy to throw in the word damn every now and again in my story, but that's normally because it flowed with the rest of the words. Other than that no other words make it into my story. I think you can work around it. Not every adult novel I read has curse words, same with YA, it's all about your character and how they react to it. If they are uncomfortable by it dont push it on them!!
Great post!
Ooo my verification word was fuspit... sounds like it could be a made up curse word!!!
Oh, I love to swear. I don't know why. Maybe its cause I live in France and got into the habit of cursing 'cause nobody understood it. Or maybe it's just the subtle rebel in me. Same reason why I like to sneak cigarettes when hubby isn't home. I know, I'm terrible...:)
@#$%!@$ good post! ;o)
Some characters curse and some don't. Just like people. Stay true to the character and you'll be fine.
Now if only I could learn to say "sugar plums" as my curse word I'd be good to go!
My characters don't curse a lot either. I tend to give them a phrase like your sugar plum phrase that they can use. The male characters do swear more than my female characters - but it's nothing too major. Outside my comfort zone :)
I can relate. I'm your age, and I was raised not to swear. I went to a Christian college where swearing was a REAL no no, and married into a very conservative family. Compared to most people, I don't swear all that much, but I let a word slip every once in a while.
I used to have absolutely no profanity in my writing, but as I got older and wrote about tougher subjects, saying "darn" and "heck" just didn't fit. My characters use mild profanity, and only once do I let them use a can't-say-on-TV word.
Rebecca- Good point- stay true to the character!
Christine- I suppose sugar plums wouldn't work well, huh... ;)
Nicole- Haha, my mom lets a word slip every now and then, too. Boy, it sure gets my attention!
A.B.- Ooo yes, I've read some fantasy and I like when there are made-up swear words. It's really clever and makes sense that when you create a whole new world, of course even the lingo will be different. How fun!
Jon- See tomorrow's post. The Catcher in the Rye is mentioned...
Roxane- That's a good idea reading it out loud to find out if it sounds right. Thanks for the tip!
Kathi- You're right, sometimes swearing is overused in novels. When it's every other word, it just sounds ridiculous, similar to when people use "like" or "uhm" every other word.
Belle- I agree! Staying true to the character seems to be the consensus.
Jen- Hmm, good point. Damn hardly seems like a curse word to me, anyway. Maybe some day all swear words won't seem bad since they're so overused, haha!
Creepy- Lol, you're a rebel without a cause!
Alyson- You should try it! It's funny saying it in public places, haha!
Jemi- My male characters tend to swear more than my female characters, too. Which, now that I think about it, is a stereotype because men and women swear equally in real life!
Shelley- Sometimes I let slip a word other than sugarplums, too, and it sure does catch everyone's attention!
I am with you...no cursing in our family...I just don't get it...these people that every second word is a curse..what do they say when they are really mad? xoxo
Koralee- Haha, I know! It's so annoying when every other word is the firetruck word. I wish I could tell the character to use her imagination and say something else once in awhile. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Laura, okay, so after my workout at the Y today I thought again of this post (from yesterday) and have more to say. I'm with the other commenter who said that there's enough cursing in the world, enough junk, that to encourage it further through our writing doesn't make sense, especially if we are not inclined toward it ourselves. Like I said, I WISH I could erase the cursing I've heard and even let slip throughout the course of my life. I was around a lot of it from a young age and have tried to cure myself ever since. It is like a cancer -- once it's there it is very hard to eliminate. But if you grew up in a home in which it was discouraged, I think you should claim that and stay true to it as much as possible in your writing. It will actually set your work apart. Instead of doing something just because every else does, why not have your main character be someone like you; someone who has real emotions but has made some sort of pact with him/herself that she/he will refrain from swearing. You could really have fun with this, having your character come up with alternative words instead -- zany, made-up words -- to express strong emotion. I'll bet YOU have many varied emotions, and yet you don't express them through cursing. How do you express them? Tap into that reserve! I would find such a book very refreshing. Especially if you're writing for children...let's give them a wholesome example of how to live in this world and express themselves in all kinds of honest ways without taking the easy road of !@#$%^. (Let's face it, once we've got those words in our heads it is MUCH easier to let them fly than think of something more edifying that can also get our point across.) It could be a really fun challenge and set your book apart. I don't think it would be a cop out at all. And if you don't use this idea, I'll go ahead and use it myself. :)(Hee hee)
Swear words are still words no matter their connotation or denotation. So if it comes out let it out. If it feels right I say go for it. I have around 5-7 swear words in my YA urban fantasy novel. It is just an expression to show a more profound emotion. Most people swear and a word or 5 is relatable to the audience. And if you have never sweared before *cough* ahaha it might be harder to put into your text or sound stranger to you but a few R rated movies will pop that cherry and maybe make you feel a little more comfortable around the use.
Roxane- Thanks for such a wonderful comment! I wouldn't use swear words in children's or middle-grade fiction. Kids probably hear it enough already and I don't need to contribute. I've written one story with a couple curse words and it sounded silly to me. The situation certainly calls for it, but I'm just not used to it. So it's tougher for me to tell its appropriateness. My workshop group thought it was good, but I was still unsure about it. You're right; if it sounds weird to me, I probably shouldn't use it. Readers won't even notice- unless I used "sugar plums" haha!
T.J.- "Pop that cherry" lol! I've seen lots of movies and read books with swearing (c'mon, even kiddie books & movies have it!). I don't have anything against people who swear. I just don't choose to use that language. Oh, I've let a word or two slip. Usually it's in a jokey manner, though; I'm going for the shock value. It always catches people's attention when a non-swearer suddenly starts cursing, haha!
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