I have been told to find my 'writing voice'.
I have been angry for most of my life, about what happened to me as a teenager. I am also definitely working class and I must admit I swear a lot. I have got a labourers language. I very rarely swear at people, my swearing generally follows something going wrong. I swear in my inner voice. I often swear to illustrate a point. "What the f' do they know?"
I have been told that I should edit out the swear words in my writing, or only use it in dialogue. I did a Times interview by phone in 2005 about my teenage experience,. the lady doing the interview said at the end "You do swear a lot don't you?"
I answered "Yes, because I am f'ing angry about what f'ing happened to me."
Isn't this my voice? or must I tone it down in the writing and only illustrate my language in dialogue?
Hi Jeremy, I think what happened to you is what hell is for, think about how the belief of their faith will make these vile excuse for humans suffer.
I think what Penny has suggested is an excellent idea. You can see where the swear words fit well and where they would feel like a pot hole to a bike rider. I can see and appreciate how anger will make a person swear (that isn't meant to be patronising it is an observation) but when the anger subsides your mind works much better, clearer. Your experience is explained better with well chosen words, which is of course the point of the exercise Penny has suggested.
I hope you find the right balance for it to make the impact it deserves.
Regards Paul
Thanks for the replies
In my teens I was abused by catholic priests.
The people who suggest I cut out the swearing objected in particular to one sentence
in my memoir where I write about making sure a priest got a good f........
I want the reader to know just how angry I felt towards priests.
Don't worry Penny, I have now calmed down a lot. After suffering post traumatic stress disorder for over forty years, I have just finished five years of therapy to help me understand and accept my past. Writing the book helped greatly in my persuance of sanity.
Your fairground idea is good. I live my life now as much I can by being in the now. I try to feel the five senses and their corresponding elements, earth,air,water, fire and spirit.
A 'writer's voice' has a rather particular meaning. It is the choice of vocabulary, sentence structure, and indeed all the elements that make up that person's writing. It's something that develops the more you write. You need to experiment to find out what works best for you.
I don't expect that you want to continue feeling and expressing anger, because it's terribly self-destructive. And not much fun. Writing, on the other hand, can be great fun.
One exercise you might try is this. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a funfair. Walk around. Look at what's around you. Possibly go on one of the rides. Imagine it in detail - sights, sounds, smells, feelings, both sensory and emotional. Do this for five minutes. Then write down as many of your perceptions as you can in five minutes. Then write five separate pieces about your imaginings, one a factual report like a newspaper article, a second as though you were a pickpocket looking for marks, a third as though you were a spy who had to rendezvous there, a fourth like a travel guide for someone who'd never been to a funfair, and a fifth as though you were a stall-holder at the funfair. In some of these swearing would add to the effect, while in others it would detract from it. Find out what works for you - that's what matters!
Good luck!