SHOULD YOU EVER USE SWEAR WORDS IN YOUR WRITING?

A recent article by Morgan Hunt in Writer’s Digest discussed when it was okay to use swear words in your articles or stories. Anyone who watches much television or goes to movies knows that obscene words are proliferating in the media as quickly as mispronunciations of words. (Does anyone else get irritated by newscasters incapable of pronouncing words correctly besides me?)

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m no prude and have been known to, on occasion, slip naughty words into tales that I tell. Actually, more than on occaasion! However, I have my limits, and when it comes to writing, there’s a time and a place for that type of language. And yes, swear words do have their place in stories, articles and books, depending on the circumstances.

Non-fiction

For nonfiction work, why use swear words when emotions can better be expressed with other, more acceptable words unless you’re writing for a publication that regularly features articles laced with that type of language? However, if you are quoting someone else, swear words may best help readers picture that person’s personality. For instance, if you are quoting a well-known person who swears, then it is usually okay to use his or her words exactly as told to you (or use a row of symbols to indicate the word). And especially if you are using well-known quotes from a movie, book, etc., you should include the offensive words. I’ve never faced this decision, but if I was using a quote that employed the “F” word, I would look at the article’s intended audience.

If for a men’s magazine, then it might be okay to go ahead and use the actual word, but if writing for other magazines and they occasionally employ such usage, then I might use ‘f---’ or ‘f---in’, or symbols. Then it would be up to the editor to change it, or the reader to supply the rest of the letters, although most readers familiar with popular culture would know what was intended. Make sure you know your audience!

Fiction

For a fictional story or book, usage of obscene words depends on the characters. What social setting are they in? What era? Is the setting and the character culturally ‘hip’ and where swear words are commonly used? When writing about decades before the ‘60s, swear words would almost never be used unless you are writing about the underbelly of society. Obviously, gangsters and murderers would not be concerned with proper language, and instead would likely spit curse words out to intimidate victims or impress their peers. Young boys might also occasionally use naughty words to look tough that their mothers would frown upon. There are few other occasions to use swear words during earlier eras—but there are always exceptions.

I faced the question of using swear words when I started my new mystery novel. My goal is to write a book that is funny, hip, colorful, and will appeal to young women from every background. So I feel I should refrain from flagrant use of offensive language.

However, the lead character is a 30-ish single young woman who was briefly married to a dimwit redneck whose friends cursed to replace strong emotions, so she definitely has a nodding acquaintance with crude language. She works as a single interior designer working in Houston, a fairly socially conservative region of the country, but with lots of young people living away from home for the first time and struggling with their somewhat conservative roots while trying to fit into the freewheeling lifestyle of a sophisticated, large multinational city.

The lead character’s parents are very conservative, live a typical small town lifestyle, and attend church every week. So she’s caught in a cultural warp—between young, trendy peers who strive for the ‘coolness’ factor—and her parents’ "socially correct” world, which doesn’t tolerate swear words pouring out of the mouth of a woman. This is basically a “deep South” background and tradition where the distinction between the roles of men and women and how they are expected to behave is still clearly defined.

I do want the language to reflect real life, so my main character, who is as "with-it" as any young woman, uses the word ‘dang’ a lot—a currently popular swear word in Texas used by young people who find typical curse words offensive. The characters that swirl around her, though, are not as hesitant about cursing. Some occasionally blurt out mild curse words that express their frustration and anger. I’m still struggling with how to keep the story from being offensive while still staying true to the character of typical young people working in a stressful environment.

So should you use swear words? The line that separates when to use swear words and when not to in writing is not clearly drawn. Clearly, if writing for a religious magazine or newspaper, you would never use one. If writing for pop culture publications where the crude utterings of hip-hop artists and other young entertainers would shock almost anyone over 30, then swear words are almost expected.

Markets for magazine articles require that you understand who their advertisers and readers are and what their tolerance level is. If tough language is the norm, then you can follow suit, but if you fail to find even one minor swear word in any of their back issues, then don’t include a single one if you expect to sell your work to that publication.