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On Character Swearing

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Qualapec:
Well, this started because I had a character that said F**k in one of my stories and I got a ration of crap from my beta reader, who said that it's just as bad for the writer to use swear words of that magnitude as it is for the character. Now, it was completely within character for the character to say that (he'd already used every other swear word in the american language, as well as variations of the "f-word" such as "freakin" and "friggen"). Now the readers view of the character might drop a little, but I really don't think it reflects that epically on the writer that decides to have that character use it.

So, what do the rest of you think?

~She-Wolf

Chaos985:
it can. There are times where people write characters that do nothing but swear, and it just dosent work.  Then agin, most people faced with a quick violent death might just let a few words escape their lips.  I think it has to be done tastefully.

pathele:
I agree, that if it used for effect, it works.  IIRC, Murphy has used f**k in one or two of the earlier books.
It has to be used in the right context and the right character.  If you have an Andrew Dice Clay character, it would probably get old really quickly.

-paul

blgarver:
If swear words are used to excess, it can seem like the writer isn't skilled enough to get the point across without them.  However, the writer also has a responsibility to keep the character consistent and believable. 

I don't think it's any different in books that it is in real life.  I know people who use curse words in every sentence.  And it makes them sound stupid.  And I get really annoyed when they talk to me.  However, whenever I lose my temper, the F word replaces my entire vocabulary. 

In normal situations I don't use an overabundance of curse words, but I do swear here and there.  Like "Oh sh*t, did you see that?" 

Now, if I were a 'good boy' I wouldn't swear at all, and even when I lost my temper it'd be inconsistent for me to curse.  Refer to Ned Flanders in the Simpsons.  I've never heard him say anything worse than Hell or Damn, and the Damn was on an episode when he went off his rocker.

But as far as reflecting on the writer...everything a writer writes reflects a little bit.  Stay within the character, but keep it trimmed and effective, and you should be fine.  I mean, do we think that Thomas Harris is a cannibal?

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: blgarver on January 19, 2007, 05:04:38 PM ---If swear words are used to excess, it can seem like the writer isn't skilled enough to get the point across without them.  However, the writer also has a responsibility to keep the character consistent and believable. 

--- End quote ---

I have a major problem with readers default assuming "the writer is not skilled enough to get the point across without them" rather than "the writer is portraying a character who is not very verbally original".

It depends on the character background, and the background culture's attitude to swearing.  Prissier language would actively misrepresent a setting like Reservoir Dogs or The Commitments or Trainspotting, and would to my mind therefore be wrong in writing about it.

It can also depend on your genre; "Damn you to hell" may offend people less than the f-word in a contemporary realistic USAn setting [ it will be a great deal more offensive in mid-1990s Germany, from my experience. ], but it should have a lot more impact if it comes from a heavyweight exorcist getting really cross in an urban fantasy setting where she might well be capable of causing it to be literally true.

Personally, I've had co-workers note about me that when I was using elaborate invective, it was worth trying to calm me down, but when I said "Oh dear" in a particular tone of voice they cleared the lab.  SFAIK, ten years later that lab was still using my voice saying "oh, dear" as an error message on several of their computers.

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