Profanities in Stories

curses are delicious. i love all those harsh sounds.

fauxpunker:

Well, in this particular instance I can honestly say no argument comes to mind, then. For my own part, I don't really write sex scenes, so I can't say I have much frame of reference there. I guess I'm talking more about things like this snippet from the first page of the thread.

"third-person
He gave the guy across from him the dirtiest fucking look imaginable."

'Fucking' really adds nothing to the sentence. It doesn't change the meaning of the sentence, it doesn't make the look any dirtier. It's just taking up space.

i don't agree. it gives the sentence an angry tone, and it adds force to the description. hell, the word "fucking" makes that sentence.

you're dru's moon.:

I think it depends on the tone more than the time frame, but the time frame can have effect on the tone.

It's just, like, something that is the word you need to use. And why would you sacrifice that for something petty like not swearing?

Granted, I'm biased. I curse rather a lot in third person narration.

Biased, perhaps, but you've got good points. The word can change with the tone really easily.
-

elizabeth gaskell:

Why would age have anything to do with cursing in stories? John Wilmot (2nd Earl of Rochester) was writing in the mid-late 1600s and some of his poems are pretty liberally infused with words like fuck and cunt.

I never knew. Thank you for that piece of information.
-

fauxpunker:

"third-person
He gave the guy across from him the dirtiest fucking look imaginable."

'Fucking' really adds nothing to the sentence. It doesn't change the meaning of the sentence, it doesn't make the look any dirtier. It's just taking up space.

He gave the guy across from him the dirtiest look imaginable.
vs.
He gave the guy across from him the dirtiest fucking look imaginable.
...
Yep. It does make a difference. It adds to the 'dirt'. It makes it more dirty, so to speak.

Actually, it doesn't at all. It doesn't suddenly make 'dirtiest' more powerful. By being the 'dirtiest' look, it's already as powerful as it can be (i.e. dirty<dirtier<dirtiest). It doesn't help describe the look. I mean, a look can't be described as 'fucking'. So, other than for shock factor, what is it there for? Use of metaphor or a word besides dirtiest would be far mor effective. It's there to be there. It's exactly what I was talking about earlier about trying to be edgy but just coming off but failing completely by being the lazy way out instead. To contnue my cooking metaphor, it's curry in a pineapple upside down cake. It just has nothing to do with the rest of the sentence.

I'm not trying to be mean about it or anything, but I'm speaking from experience. Between creative writing classes and clinics and such, I can say that sentences like that get cut to pieces. I've eventually come to see what they mean. Words are your tools. Using the right tool for the job is just as important as anything else.

I like it as long as it adds to the story. Whether that means it adds through characterization or through creating atmosphere.
I would have to see the rest of that story to see if 'the dirtiest fucking look' would be appropriate. Depending on the tone of the rest of the piece, the word fucking could be imperative.
But I do see why you can find it inappropriate. When authors use curses simply for shock value, they become crude. You need to make your writing do the work, but sometimes the work needs a swear word.
In The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, when they are describing the sexual experience between the main character, Offred and her commander, Atwood decides to use the term fuck to describe what they're doing. In moments like these, you have to say that they fucked because that's what they did. They didn't just have sex and they certainly didn't make love.

Alright, you all can keep your swear words. I'm going back to curmudgeon town. And While I'm there I'll be sure to tell the kids to turn down their damn music.

Seriously though, I'll stop brow beating now. When it comes down to it, writing is so subjective that it's all really just a matter of opinion. And you know, opinions are like assholes...In this case, I've just got a very big one. You can decide which.

burning matches:

But I do see why you can find it inappropriate. When authors use curses simply for shock value, they become crude. You need to make your writing do the work, but sometimes the work needs a swear word.

I agree.

Swear words are just that: words.

And any word needs to be the right word for the situation/piece/tone, etc.

Just because you know a super long word doesn't mean it's right. And just because you know the fuck word doesn't mean it's right either.

dru haz. you no haz.:

This is slightly off-topic, but I hate it when an author swears and then "edits" it. "F*ck me with a stick," cried Jimmy.

If you don't feel comfortable swearing, you shouldn't be swearing.

In a writing course I took, the teacher made us do that. I don't swear often in my writing but when I do it's because it's supposed to be there, but I abosolutely hated that one rule.

It made me feel a bit juvenile.

burning matches:

In a writing course I took, the teacher made us do that. I don't swear often in my writing but when I do it's because it's supposed to be there, but I abosolutely hated that one rule.

It made me feel a bit juvenile.

Yeah...replacing letters with symbols is pointless. I mean, the intent of the word is still there, replacing letters with symbols does nothing. Either allow the words or don't. F**k you doesn't because a different phrase because there's stars in the word now.

Reading that example above ("the dirtiest fucking look imaginable"), it kind of struck me that it gave the narrator a... persona, or an opinion or something. It's very first-person-esque, but I think it can work in third person if the style allows it. I haven't really given much thought to a third person narrator with a definitive persona. I mean, I've thought about narration styles but... I dunno.

I don't know. I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say.

Anyway, as long as it fits the style the piece is written in, and flows and all that, then I think swearing in third person narration is fine. If it goes, it goes, and I don't think you should sacrifice that.

To be honest, I'd never really thought about it until seeing this thread.

I don't mind it, but I do mind when it's used in a way that's not fitting for the story. I have a story set in Australia and down here, a good majority of the teenagers swear like no other. In fact, I tend to edit a lot of swear words out when I'm writing - particularly if there's dialogue between girls or when a character is angry. For example, when I stub my toe, I go on a rampage and so when I try to reflect that in a story, it comes off as too swear-y/rude and I have to edit down.

I don't see anything wrong with using profanities in stories. I'll toss the occasional hell or damn in a story, but only when I think it flows right. When done well, I think profanity can add a little bit of flavor and personality to a story.