QuanSai
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Swearing?
I hear characters swear in movies, but are such components of communication favored, unfavored, or really not paid attention to heavily enough to
question? I'm really wondering if the publisher and novel-readers would favor it easily.
There are more questions that can stem from this, but I think this is all I really want to ask regarding this.
Thanks. 
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stacy1172
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I think it all depends on the characters personality. Some characters will sound strange swearing, but for some characters you just expect it because
it is part of who they are.
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itzrissa2u
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hey there- welcome to the board!
I can swear like a sailor. In fact when I was pregnant 5 years ago I had to try very hard to stop because it just came out. So swearing does not
offend me.
Hearing it on TV or in movies doesn't bother me, but I find reading it tends to jar me out of stories. I didn't realize until I saw my story in print
in Elements of the Soul and hated the swearing.
I went back into my novel and removed the swearing after that. So I am not in favor of swearing in books. dammit! he
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Sevastian Winters
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Your job as a novelist is not to be God or Clergyman, but rather to be an archeologist or video journalist. Get to know your characters. The more
fully you know your characters, the more you will know which ones swear, which ones don't, who is good at it and who is not. You will know your
character's favorite curse words. Don't train your characters and for GOD'S SAKE, never EVER censor them. The art of fiction is the art of telling the
perfect lie... an honest story that never happened. When you impose your morals on your characters, you cheapen them and you cheapen the experience of
the reader. It doesn't matter if you like your character. It only matters that they are real. If you won't let the rapist say "Fuck", then how is he
supposed to rape the 4 year old child in a believable act of savagery? Record the truth of the human condition as it is...not as you would like it to
be. Anything less is a cop-out.
[Edited on 12/20/2009 by Sevastian Winters]
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Melanie
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I agree with the others.
If the character would swear 'in real life,' he'd better swear in your book.
Melanie 
"Go forth boldly in the direction of your dreams." Thoreau
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Going Forth Boldly -- The Chronicle of Becoming a Professional Fiction Writer
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QuanSai
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Thanks for the responses, guys.
So, basically, the more naturally the character swears, the better. haha... Now I have to figure out how to make such a characteristic seem natural.
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itzrissa2u
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Actually, it isn't a matter of imposing your morals on the character. It's a matter of what jars readers out of your story. If swearing does that it
shouldn't be in it. I remember watching Robin Hood with Kevin Costner way back when. The fact that Kevin didn't have an accent didn't bother me- but
one part where his brother says "fuck yeah" totally did and I hated it. It didn't fit at all.
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Sevastian Winters
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"Fuck yeah" didn't fit in with the time period... lol... Had he said "By Jove; Of Course", you would have been fine with it. Once upon a time "By
Jove; Of Course" meant "Fuck yeah"
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itzrissa2u
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Exactly, Sev! What the hell, we are agreeing on something? Must be a Christmas Miracle. 
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Cleo
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I would have to agree big time with Sevastian, swearing and language in general changes with time. Use slang, swearing and langauge that is relevant
to the time period of your story as well as the environment that your character exists in. I mean you wouldn't have a teenager from the Bronx say 'By
Jove, it would appear that you are correct.'
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
- D. H. Lawrence
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Nancy G.
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I agree with all that is being said, but the reverse is true, also. Don't put swear words in the mouth of someone who wouldn't swear, just for the
shock value. Be honest about who your characters are, and let them speak that way. I don't mind 'cuss words' in movies or books when they are true to
the characters, but on the other hand, they can be so totally overused they ruin it for me. Case in point, Bad Santa, with Billy Bob Thorton, was so
overly vulgar it ruined what was a humorous theme for a movie. The swearing and vulgarity overwhelmed the rest of the movie. Be judicious, as you
would in any writing.
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Sevastian Winters
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Agreed. If you are going to do something for shock value, give sweet dear grandma a diabetic hallucination that results in her mistaking the kids for
angry monsters and plunging a 9 inch kitchen knife into their necks to protect herself! THAT is good shock value.... but a cuss word... bah... lame.
Characters must either always act and speak in line with who and what they are, or else actions outside of character must be explained (such as the
diabetic hallucination of Rissa's damned Duck Montsters)
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itzrissa2u
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 (I know it isn't a duck- but we have penguins, hummingbirds,chickens,
peacocks and even cows but no ducks)
Just thought I would paraphrase the story via smilies.
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Kess
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Another thing to bear in mind with swearing is that if you use it too much, you reduce the impact of the words. Swearing tends to jump out at the
reader, and you can use that fact to highlight situations. However, if a character swears all the time, it becomes part of the norm and doesn't jump
out as much. The more unusual that kind of language is, the more it'll slap your readers in the eyes.
Also, you don't always need to spell out the swearing. Like any dialogue, decide whether we actually need to hear the words, or if a summary would do.
"Mack swore loudly and inventively for five minutes," might be more suitable for your purposes than a paragraph of swearing.
It's a balancing act between the character and impact you're going for. Hope that helps!
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Sevastian Winters
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Quote: Originally posted by Kess  |
Also, you don't always need to spell out the swearing. Like any dialogue, decide whether we actually need to hear the words, or if a summary would do.
"Mack swore loudly and inventively for five minutes," might be more suitable for your purposes than a paragraph of swearing.
It's a balancing act between the character and impact you're going for. Hope that helps! |
Good point Kess, but you have to admit, God Damn it, sometimes swearing is fuckin' funner than a kick in the ass by a bitch that knows what she's
doing! HAHAHAHAHAA (oh come on.... I HAD to!)
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Kess
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| Quote: Originally posted by Sevastian Winters | | Quote: Originally posted by Kess |
Also, you don't always need to spell out the swearing. Like any dialogue, decide whether we actually need to hear the words, or if a summary would do.
"Mack swore loudly and inventively for five minutes," might be more suitable for your purposes than a paragraph of swearing.
It's a balancing act between the character and impact you're going for. Hope that helps! |
Good point Kess, but you have to admit, God Damn it, sometimes swearing is fuckin' funner than a kick in the ass by a bitch that knows what she's
doing! HAHAHAHAHAA (oh come on.... I HAD to!) |
Fuckin' A! 
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stacy1172
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Ya'll are enjoying this swearing way too much...LOL! 
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LaurelHeio
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Where would you say to balance swearing and stating? I'm not one to swear, but "He swore. She swore. He swore again" does not a well-written dialogue
make.
Would one be better more often than the other? I know everything depends, but any personal preferences?
And what does everyone think of making up swear words? The Wheel of Time's "Blood and Bloody Ashes" seemed to contribute to the feel of another world
to me.
The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you don't mind some people dying all the time or maybe only starving some of the time which isn't
half so bad if it isn't you.
- Laurence Ferlinghetti
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Melanie
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Ahh... in fantasy fiction, it is almost necessary to make up swear words based on what they consider taboo, or based on their gods/goddesses.
If, for example, your fantasy world has no anti-sexuality taboos or puritanism, no one is going to care if the characters say the equivalent of fuck.
I don't think, however, you should make up silly-sounding words and just use them as curses. "Jnaik!" he screamed angrily. Pfft, in my opinion.
Also, it's a fun way to create bits and pieces of your own language.
In my current fantasy work in progress, one of my main characters says, "Ihn's stones." Ihn is both the river and their god, and his stones are used
for stoning people. In my world, it's akin to saying "God damn it."
Melanie
"Go forth boldly in the direction of your dreams." Thoreau
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Going Forth Boldly -- The Chronicle of Becoming a Professional Fiction Writer
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LaurelHeio
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HA! I like how it means EXACTLY that.
The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you don't mind some people dying all the time or maybe only starving some of the time which isn't
half so bad if it isn't you.
- Laurence Ferlinghetti
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Thomas Forthe (Tom)
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By Crom, I think shes got it!
"Two things are infinite; The universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe."
Albert Einstein
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Don't make me go all Ninja on yo ass! 
