People swear. It's just a fact. But some people swear more in certain instances than others, and it can be used to convey different effects in real life and in media depending on the word and its usage. While some people with uptight childhoods claim that cursing is indecent and should never be tolerated, it's my personal belief as a writer that all words are fair game in constructing sentences and scenarios. With appropriate timing, character, and audience, swearing can be used to good effect, add seriousness (or silliness) to a work, and more.
Here are a few of my tips:
- In works generally curse-free, you can swear for emphasis. When a character finally understands how royally dead they are or jams their toe REALLY hard in a doorway, a simple "darn" may not suffice.
- Give foul mouths to appropriate characters. Sometimes it's just more realistic that way. Truck drivers, marines, or perhaps just really angry people are ideal targets. Alternatively, giving foul mouths to surprising character types can make for amusing comedic sequences. After all, who would expect a babysitter or an "innocent" elderly lady to rattle off curse words every sentence?
- Cluster curse words sparingly. Using them for every other word throughout a piece's entirety makes them lose their impact and, for some people, may become hard on the eyes. I recommend only stringing together several in one of two situations: when a non-cursing character gets angry and means business, or to some comedic effect. Even then, be careful to keep it brief -- you don't want them to lose their power by stretching them out too long.
Of course, there are a number of situations where I wouldn't recommend any form of curse word that people may find unacceptable. For instance, works that are made with young audiences in mind. I know that this sounds like it should be intuitive, but Kung Fu Panda received a lot of flack from some parents I know for using the phrase "I sucked." I didn't think it was that bad, as it aptly and effectively described what the character thought of his earlier kung fu performance, but words like suck, crap, hell, and even boob are borderline swear words. Some people consider their usage vulgar and you always risk losing your audience if you include them in words made for kids; that being said, I say that unless cursing or borderline-cursing is absolutely necessary, it should be left out of any work to maintain a wider possible audience.
Ultimately, swearing can be a powerful tool. It relies on precise timing -- and very precise characterization -- but when used effectively, it can bring a whole new level of oomph to (almost) any work.
You, Avalon, are one of the few people I'm aware of who speaks intelligently about swearing. I agree with pretty much everything you've said here. Though, I tend not to make characters swear even if it would be in-character (because most of my characters aren't like that, and excessive swearing makes me uncomfortable when I write it - I can read it, but I can't write it, it's one of those things).
ReplyDeleteFrom what you've said, I'm beginning to think I'm one of those few writers who can intuitively swear - that is, not have to think about whether or not it's appropriate to swear in a certain part and just know it's right in its context. Though this could be that, whenever I write scenes like that (and it's usually of the third usage that my swearing occurs, in big clumps of well-placed words), I get worked up as I write, feeling the emotions that the characters feel in the moment (or at least something equivalent - I may be excited when they're despairing). Thus knowing it would make sense in the moment.