I've recently started writing a book for teenagers - a love story - but one of the characters is very troubled. I think it's in his character to swear and blaspheme, but I'm conflicted about when to use swearing in the book - pepper it in here or there? Or use it more often but not overly, like in real life? Or not at all? I am aware that I am writing for teenagers - somewhere in the 14 - 17 range - and that teenagers do swear and blaspheme daily (not myself but there you have it), but how much is too much in literature?
All answers are much appreciated,
Hamilton :)
Hi Hamilton. I asked this very question a few months ago and I was given good advice. I was told if I feel really uncomfortable writing strong swear words it's best to avoid them as the story wouldn't benefit by them. But if you're not uncomfortable and only a little bothered by it then use them if they are relevant to the story-line at the time. Whether they are used only once or twice, or all through, if it makes the story realistic then I don't think it should be avoided. Hope this helps. Elsie
The most common swear word in Bernard Cornwell's novels about English archers in France, is, 'Bastards'. It works well in his novels, however, too much swearing lessens the impact of swear words. Swear words should be used sparingly, or not at all.
I have this issue too, though maybe to a lesser degree. Writing 19th century military fiction means there's potentially a lot of swearing. The F-word has been the British Army's expletive of choice since before it was officially an army but I'm not a huge fan of it in most literature/film etc unless absolutely necessary. And I get the impression I'm not alone. Realism is fine but we're writing novels, not non-fiction, so we have some license.
So, rightly or wrongly, I tend to use milder swear words which might be less objectionable to the majority of readers. And they appear fairly sparingly, increasing in number only where circumstances warrant. Some characters swear more than others, some not at all, and that might be a ruse you could usefully employ if you decide use some obscenities rather than eliminating them altogether. There's no easy solution, though.