CroZ

Do you dislike bad language in books?
I like seeing it because it means the writer is being more honest, in that the characters are just acting like real people.
But i've met alot of people that would simply drop a book (even if they liked it) for using the word 'fuck' which dosent seem fair to me, although I find most people around my own age (19) feel the same way as I do.
I was just wondering if and why people dislike it so...

valeca

I'm not a big fan of it, but I wouldn't put something down because of profanity.

I can't agree that the writer is more 'honest' if they use swearing, nor the idea that the characters are just acting like real people. In everyday life, the majority of people I deal with won't be swearing during a conversation...perhaps you're limiting the scope to only include the people you deal with, and your own age group. When it fits the character, it works fine, but if it's gratuitous or done for shock value, it's useless.

My father told me something when I was young and he caught me cussing. "You're an intelligent person. You should be able to get your point across without having to resort to something crass, and it makes you sound uneducated. If you can't, it's sad."

It stuck with me and carries over to my writing. We're writers, we have an entire language at our disposal.

Then again, tick me off and I'll burn your ears.

__________________
"...make your own nature, not the advice of others, your guide in life." --Pythia, Oracle of Apollo at Delphi

I'm here.

Hodge

Swear words are just words. Words which we've decided are somehow "crude" or "bad."

When people tell me that swearing is a sign of low intelligence or a small vocabulary, I say, "language is relative and entirely subjective; what may be offensive to one person may not be to another, and in the end they're all just words—words that have synonyms that aren't vulgar, so I don't see why some of them should be considered vulgar. Motherfucker."

Swearing is great for punctuationg a point. Observe:

"That guy needs to learn how to drive!"
"That motherfucking douche needs to pull his head out of his ass and watch the goddamn road!"

Or,

"Ouch! I stubbed my toe!"
"Son of a bitch! I fucking stubbed my toe!"

Granted, just swearing profusely in normal speech is a bit of a turn off for me, because I generally equate swearing to angry or extremely surprising situations, but it's still not that big of an issue. And I do love speaking in retard:

"Yo, wazzup mothafucka? Gonna get me some hoes and smack my bitch up!"

__________________
Science

vanax

i think if the character and the language match thats it's not a big thing but i'm not a fan of seeing it in a book for shock value or just to show anger. i barely ever curse and most of the people i know don't either. i've found that in younger people that kind of language is more common and that it fits some of thier personalities. but i wouldn't use it much.

mammamaia

croz, baby... i'm way past your age range at 67, but silly words and unimaginatively repetitive lingo doesn't shock me... bad/stupid/careless writing is what sets my teeth on edge!

like anything else in writing, what you say isn't as important as how you use it... the same line of 'bad language' in the hands of one writer can enrich a brilliant piece of work, while in the hands of another, can be just another piece of merde floating in a verbal septic tank...

is it more 'honest'?... not necessarily... but if you're writing about an ex-con rap star and don't have him spew the boringly standard stuff such characters seem to be limited to, speech-wise, it'll be not so much dishonest as just plain dumb... and an insult to the intelligence of your readers!...

why do 'people' dislike it?... depends on which people you're talking about... religious types will most likely be agin' it on pseudo-pious grounds, having been brainwashed into thinking they'll go to hell if they even look upon such stuff, much less let it pass their lips... the 'well-brought-up' will blanch, having been taught that 'nice' people don't say such things... and the uppity better-than-thou will avoid it, preferring to pretend that no one with half a brain would need to pepper their speech with such gibberish...

the truth is, all those supposedly 'dirty' words have benign origins and meanings... and are used in the silliest ways... take 'fuck' for instance... all i means is the sex act... and if you're mad at folks, why would you offer to do it with them? [as in: 'fuck you and the horse you rode in on!']... of course, if it's meant as in 'rape' rather than 'consensual copulation' then, it's a threat, which makes it criminal more than insulting, right?... and, if accusing them of incest ['you muthafucka!'], it's actionable as slander and you can sue their pants off... see what i mean?... it's all so silly!!!

so, there!... a pox on thee, varlets!... may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits!... when you reach heaven, may all 72 of your virgins have the clap!

pure, unlustful love and sexually-sanitized hugs, maia

__________________
For 100% free writing help/mentoring:
www.saysmom.com

"You must BE the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

Schumi

I have a character in the beginning of my novel who is trying to creep past someone unnoticed. But when she makes a sound, I simply wrote, "She mouthed an expletive". I don't know if that's acceptable?

mammamaia

sure, it is... writing-wise it's fine, because you're saying that she didn't say it out loud, and merely 'mouthed' it... meaning she just made her lips move, but didn't speak the word...

as for it being 'bad language' it's not, since you don't say what the 'expletive' was, right?

__________________
For 100% free writing help/mentoring:
www.saysmom.com

"You must BE the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi

Mike C

We have a whole language at our disposal, from platitudes to profanity, from the bland to the blasphemous.

You should write with honesty; if circumstances dictate that your character swear, let him/her swear. It's all just words.

__________________
My writing
My Photo Blog
Web design for Writers
The Oddville Press

Schumi

No, I don't say what the expletive was. I think most people could imagine what it would be anyway.

Drzava

Personally I don't use it and don't like to read books with much in it, to me it feels like it cheapens the book and I might as well be watching a movie. Excessive swearing in dialogue and stories seems to be a Hollywood invention, and novels that use it, to me, try to copy it. Why don't any 19th century and even many 20th century classics use swear words?

vanax

some do but like was said earlier if it is used correctly it doesn't stand out as much.

CroZ

I don't agree that swearing has to fit the characters persona, maybe swearing is just a part of his personality. Not everything has to be explained into a neat little package all the time.
Me, my family and friends, and the larger portion of the population of earth can't go an hour without saying at least one swear word. That dosent make me think that they have a small vocabulary, its just part of who they are.

strangedaze

i think profanity can be a powerful literary tool in the hands of someone skilled, or it can be a fucking disaster (ha) when used improperly. like it or not, someone's language characterizes them. their diction, grammar, the whole shi-bang. if your narrator is a seething cusspot, that tells me something about who he or she is. same with any character in the novel, short story, poem, or what have you. so on the one hand, it can enhance the story, on the other hand, it can sap a great deal of professionalism from it. just depends on who's holding the pen.

__________________
His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.

Avarice

a swear word makes a sentence:

its raining outside, o dear.

It's fuckin raining outside, bloody hell.

which one will you vote for in the next election?

__________________
"What the fuck was that?" - Mayor of Hiroshima
'Sounds shopliftingly good!' - some guy.
Ah, the Luftwaffe! - Homer Simpson

Soccah

"Fuck" is beautifully expressive. Then again, every word (well, almost every word) can be beautifully expressive.