This is a post which (I swear) I’ve been trying to write for a while.

What do you do with those ubiquitous cuss words which seem to seep out of every modern-day genre like the plague of locusts coming forth from Charlton Heston’s staff?

What is the purpose of swearing in writing?  When is it effective and necessary?  When is it gratuitous and utterly just ridiculous?

First of all, let’s face it – people swear. Some people swear all the time and use the most vulgar words available to them just to say something as benign as: Look at that _______ butterfly!  So why do people swear? I don’t know; I guess you would have to ask them.

I don’t swear. I never found the need to use profanity or vulgarity to communicate what I have wanted to communicate.

So as a writer, what am I to do with all of those swear words? How am I supposed to craft believable characters, (and believe me, having believable characters is unbelievably important to me), gruff characters, true villainous characters who don’t swear?

It’s not that difficult. In my view, only use profanity when the choice of a different word would lessen the impact and intent of the characters, because, there is, admittedly, an intensity in profanity that sometimes cannot be easily replicated with other words. However, in my opinion, a lot of swearing in today’s writing just isn’t necessary. It seems overbearing, redundant, stale, and uninteresting. I perused over some recent poor reviews of a well-known author and overwhelmingly, the poor reviews were because the reader didn’t like the vulgar language which was dispersed on ever page of this writer’s prose. I can’t see the point of that.

So when, in my opinion, should it be used?

In a book like Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the swearing is appropriate because it sets the mood, tone, and vulgar situation of war. It adds to the soldiers’ oppressive, mundane, and hopeless Vietnam situation. It wasn’t gratuitous. It wasn’t there to shock anyone or to sound cool or modern. Its purpose was very well played.

When I was writing my novel, Beauty Rising, I had to make decisions about how much profanity I wanted to add, and what purpose it served. In the opening scene with Martin’s dying father, I had him say a few mild curse words that gave his language a little salt and pepper, appropriate to his demeanor and background. I also commented how he “put his head back in his bed and swore” – the reader invited to insert their own words into the description if they like. I believe that through description and demeanor that it was easy to see that Martin’s father was a vulgar man, but he didn’t have an overly vulgar dialogue. In another scene, when My Phuong is confronted by the family of the man with whom she is having an affair, the girls call her a b—- and a few other harsh words. The words appropriately conveyed the tenseness of the situation.

A couple years back when I wrote the novella “Spy Blue”, the young, beautiful Chinese spy, Mei-ling, turns to Spy Blue and snaps, “D—- it, Blue. Will you listen to me?” Can you imagine if I wrote, “Dagnabit, Blue!”  Not quite the same ring. I needed a clean break in the action which would enable Blue to understand the gravity of the situation.

So in my own writing, I find them acceptable when they add to a scene in either a dramatic or even, sometimes, funny way. But if they are just littered all over the place, I believe the writer is being a little lazy. In my opinion, under-use of curse words is much better than over-use. In most cases, good writing can replace vulgar words and profanity.

I know not everyone will agree with me. There are some readers who like writing that doesn’t have any swear words and so even my tame language might offend. And that’s fine. Other writers just want to use whatever word they want whenever they want to and couldn’t care less if some readers don’t like. Hey, feel free! 

But for me, I don’t seek them out, nor do I prohibit them. I take the PG approach to profanity in writing, so MOST of my writing is profanity free. Honestly, I swear!

Do you have any opinions on this topic?