Monday, April 2, 2012

B is for B**tard, B**ch, and other "Bad" words

To include or not to include, that is the question.
People swear.
So the question is, should your characters? In the beginning I struggled with this, because I don’t swear (much), so it felt strange to write the words. But that was only in the beginning. Because as time went on and I grew as a writer, I realized it doesn’t matter if  I swear or not. What matters is if my characters do. And it turns out that some of them do. In fact one in particular has quite the potty mouth. It’s rather contagious. After spending hours and hours last week with her, I found myself saying things I normally never would have to people who looked at me strange (Sorry Mom). What could I say? One of my best friends is rubbing off on me.
What are your thoughts on swearing in our writing?

2 comments:

  1. LOL. I wrote about swearing today too. Awesome! I wonder the same thing about how much my characters should use those potty words. Some do. Some don't. Some do things I would NEVER do. Then again, sometimes I do things I would never dare make a character do. Heehee

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also believe you have to think of your readers. My readers trust me that I won't slip in a swear word. I think you can still be true to your characters and deliver a believable story while honoring the trust of your fans.

    Good to meet you on the challenge.

    ReplyDelete