Swearing In Stories

As long as the narrator is a character, I think it's fine to swear in the narrative, if that's how the character thinks/talks.

Dialogue is the same, of course--not all characters swear, but if your character does, then that's just how they talk and it's fine.

I, personally, don't swear in real life and am not around people who do, so none of my characters (so far, anyway) swear. It's just not like them. If it was part of their personality, though, they would.

~Azila~

I don't swear that often; probably because if anyone in my family saw it they'd be pissed. But swearing - especially f--k and b--ch and s--t, they just degrade the story more than anything else. The others aren't great, but they aren't used on a level that these three are.

Since mine is high fantasy middle-ages stuff, I keep well away from it.

Of course, you can be unique, and go for it, but that would be too adventurous for me.

Krupp wrote:I don't swear that often; probably because if anyone in my family saw it they'd be pissed. But swearing - especially f--k and b--ch and s--t, they just degrade the story more than anything else. The others aren't great, but they aren't used on a level that these three are.

It can be easy to avoid swearing in the narrative, however in dialogue it can be more difficult. I'm still debating whether to include the 'f' word in the narrative at the beginning of my novel...I keep deleting it and then writing it back in because it doesn't have enough impact without it. But with it the particular sentence comes across as very vulgar...that is kind of the impact I'm going for though, so perhaps I'll keep it...

But in the same novel in the dialogue the 'f' word gets said a lot, and the big 'c' word mentioned more than once. But the majority is set in a young offenders institution, and keeping it as mild language would have made it unrealistic. It's designed to shock and to be offensive, and I don't think that it degrades the story or writing at all; it's difficult to find another literary device which has the same harsh impact as the bad language can have.

Heidigirl666 wrote:

Krupp wrote:I don't swear that often; probably because if anyone in my family saw it they'd be pissed. But swearing - especially f--k and b--ch and s--t, they just degrade the story more than anything else. The others aren't great, but they aren't used on a level that these three are.

It can be easy to avoid swearing in the narrative, however in dialogue it can be more difficult. I'm still debating whether to include the 'f' word in the narrative at the beginning of my novel...I keep deleting it and then writing it back in because it doesn't have enough impact without it. But with it the particular sentence comes across as very vulgar...that is kind of the impact I'm going for though, so perhaps I'll keep it...

But in the same novel in the dialogue the 'f' word gets said a lot, and the big 'c' word mentioned more than once. But the majority is set in a young offenders institution, and keeping it as mild language would have made it unrealistic. It's designed to shock and to be offensive, and I don't think that it degrades the story or writing at all; it's difficult to find another literary device which has the same harsh impact as the bad language can have.

If it's meant to be a vulgar novel, that's one thing. I'm merely talking about creating casual characters that swear for the sake of it...that's when I feel it goes a bit far.

Aedomir wrote:Since mine is high fantasy middle-ages stuff, I keep well away from it.

Of course, you can be unique, and go for it, but that would be too adventurous for me.

I'd imagine that people in the Middle-Ages swore quite frequently, though.

I swear. I swear a lot. As it is, not swearing in these posts takes conscious effort on my part, and sometimes I slip up. I really don't see what the big deal is, but I respect the rules.

Of course, this means my characters swear a lot, too, and my narrator has done so. I don't care what people say about vocabularies. Sometimes when you do something stupid, or you find out something that really surprised you, or you get really angry, you aren't going to be eloquent, you're going to swear ... and this applies to characters, too. Even people who don't often are liable to slip up and cuss sometimes.

Meep wrote:Sometimes when you do something stupid, or you find out something that really surprised you, or you get really angry, you aren't going to be eloquent, you're going to swear ... and this applies to characters, too. Even people who don't often are liable to slip up and cuss sometimes.

This I agree with, I just hate it when people swear for no reason in narrative. Dialogue, if the character's personality calls for it, is fine.

I was actually reading some fan fiction the other day, and an author was making this sweet girl swear constantly. (And in the books, she NEVER swore.) That bothers me. When you define someone as that pure (corny much?) you don't make them swear randomly.

I love the 'ganstas' that swear a lot, though.

~JFW1415

I think swearing makes for realistic dialogue, but I don't have my characters start throwing out curses like punch-drunk sailors, either.

I swear a lot in general....so it can pop up in my writing. However, only really in dialog and even then only occasionally and for certain characters.

I think if it's going to show more about a character then put it in, but if it's not adding anything to the story then what's the point?

Alainna
xxxx

Stephen King's work is potent with curse words and expletives and I feel it adds to the realism of many of his characters. Its because although his stories are third person they are being narrated by the character.

In some stories (see Silver Ferride / Fantasy Fiction) I too use swear words. Taboo language is an excellent addition to the English Language, to break taboo is extremely effective in literature and in conversation. If we had no taboos our expression would be limited.

I try not to swear too often in my stories because I know that when I read books with a lot of language in it, it distracts me. My narrator is a rebellious, sarcastic girl who hates the world, so I have to swear sometimes lol. I try not to be too excessive with her swearing though. There are other ways to explain how freaked out you are than to scream "Oh sh*t!" every five seconds. Sometimes a lot of swearing just shows a lack of creativity, I think.

Only use swear words in dialogue or when freaking, darn, etc. are not good enough to make an impact.

Swearing has its place, as most things often do. Everything in moderation, as they say. A piece with intense situations with no swearing may come across as weak, while a soft, quiet scene littered with obscenities might come across as tact--not to mention talent--less.

In short: Use your higher thinking skills, and make good judgments.

--King

Where I'm from everyone swears. We don't do it because we're weak-minded and have no other way to express ourselves as that one popular quote states. It's just how we speak.

In writing I don't mind reading something that has swearing in it. In my perspective it makes it seem more realistic (depending on the characters, plot and genre). But sometimes it can be annoying. Especially if it's just an author throwing it in randomly to try to make a "cool" story. If the swearing fits the situation and the characters then I'm alright with it. Also if it's not excessive (unless there's an argument or something).

If you don't like reading stories with swears then try to avoid stories with subjects where swearing will most likely come up...gansta/thug for example.

If you are writing something and you put a swear in there just make sure it's necessary. Use your best judgment like the person above me said.