Saturday 29 June 2013

May Contain Abusive Language


One of the most common questions I’m asked by newbie writers is whether or not to use sexual swear words in their fiction.

I didn’t give this much thought pre-publication, but I have since learned that lots of people do care about the use of this sort of language. It seems a bizarre double standard that you can portray any number of violent acts without comment, but have your character use the F word and you will receive all kinds of opprobrium. (I have all these big words in my head. Got to use them sometime.)

My first lesson on this was when I was doing an event with Alex Gray and Craig Robertson last year in Dundee. A lady approached us at the signing table after the event and said she only had enough money to buy one of our books and to help her decide, she needed to know if we used swear words in our books.

My thought was, that’s me screwed and I pointed to Alex.

A mate of mine, Tony Black had a review on Amazon where the “reviewer” said that as a Christian she really objected to the foul language used by the characters. Presumably, as a Christian she didn’t mind the violence that befell the characters, because she didn’t mention any of that. Then she went on to question whether our fine officers in blue would use such language.

Re-arrange this sentence, missus.  Get to out you need more.

In any case who am I to say that you should get over it? I’m not the arbiter of all that is fine and wholesome and acceptable. But neither are they.

So, why does this language offend so much?  It’s just words, innit? Why does that syllable crash on to peoples’ ears with such impact? Words are a writer’s tool. Every word we use while communicating is part of that tool-kit and has a place in writing surely? It’s part of writer’s contract with the reader that you display with honesty the interaction between humans.  If a certain character would speak like that in the real world then by fuck, he’s going to speak like that in my book.

I remember meeting my agent for the first time. She was a small, polite lady of a certain age.  A gentlelady, if I can use the term. We were in a restaurant in an art gallery. We had been talking for about ten minutes when she pointed to a part of the text and said, “There’s too much fucking.”

I nearly spat out my mineral water.

She wasn’t referring to it as an action. (That would be a totally different book.) She was talking about my characters’ use of the word.  So we decided that it was fine if it was a verbal tic for McBain, but that the other characters should desist, in the main, so that people didn’t think that it was all me. Thing is, I don’t tend to swear much in everyday life, it’s just that when I started to write Blood Tears the swearie words flowed. What’s that all about?

I reckon it was because I was going through a divorce at the time. ‘Nuff said.

Anywho, the follow up is out now details  HERE– and my feeling – not that I’ve done a f-word count – is that there’s less of it this time around. Maybe I’m a lot calmer now? The ex and I are good pals. AND  in the book that comes out next spring only contains one f-bomb.

So, aspiring writers? Your question to swear or not to swear?  Fucked if I know.







11 comments:

  1. Ha! This was JUST on my mind, as I JUST had another character drop the f-bomb in a bit of dialogue. My characters are mostly military types so, yes, they occasionally let loose. I myself used to work in law enforcement, and I can tell you that the F word was used as noun, verb, and adjective in almost every sentence uttered by the fine men and women I worked with.

    I do find when I'm reading, however, that it can be overdone. Real life speech is different than fictional dialogue. An occasional F bomb can sometimes be the exact right word for the moment, but even I get tired of seeing it in every reaction from a character.

    Oh, and here's a fun take on the subject.

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    1. Hey LG - you hit the nail on the head. Real speech is different from dialogue. And I loved the Stephen Fry clip, thank you.

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  2. Interesting question, Michael. I don't mind the use of any language (as you say, they are only words), but too much of any swear word dilutes the effect somewhat for me. Must say I'm glad to hear there's a little less in the new book so it's not so distracting to the story and character! And I don't like too much overt violence either (not talking about your book/s here).

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    1. Yup, dilution of the impact. Spot on, Rosemary.

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  3. If it fits the book, I don't mind. Or fits the character.
    There's no harsh language in my books, though. Not necessary for my genre, nor does it fit. And I wanted to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

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    1. You raise a good point there, Alex. Widening your appeal. And certainly, in your genre you don't have this as an issue. can't ever remember coming across an f-bomb in a sci-fi or fantasy novel.

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  4. Interesting post today, Michael. I may be a Christian but I read secular mysteries and expect to see real life reflected in them, including language. So I can't complain if I encounter profanity in them. But like any word choice, swear words that appear repeatedly draw attention to themselves rather than to the character and/or accompanying action. They take me out of the story, which isn't a good thing.

    A teacher once said that people who swear generally do so because they don't have a wide enough vocabulary to express themselves with better word choices. Somehow I don't think that's true of you, but she has a point.

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    1. Hi Carol, good to hear from you. Hope life is treating you well?

      And as for a limited vocab, never been an issue for me. Thankfully.

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  5. I think one or two very strategically placed curses are effective. But a lot in one novel makes it seem as if the author is being lazy--not trying to really stretch and find the right description of feeling, but instead, just dropping bombs.

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  6. Well! What an interesting post. I can't day I've noticed myself swearing any more during my divorce but perhaps that's to come. Thanks for the tip-off!

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    1. I'll be listening - and taking notes when I see you in Harrogate, Sarah. There will be a swear box.

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