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I have been wondering about the use of swear words in my stories. As a Christian, is all swearing out of the question? Since I write primarily historical fiction, I want my dialog to reflect reality, but I also don’t want to go to far. (An example would be a roman swearing by Jupiter or some other god in his sentences.) Any ideas? Is there a “safe” area where I can give the idea without using too much or making someone stumble as a Believer?
@alia @rochellaine @kaya-young @jenwriter17 @devastate-lasting @seekjustice @catwing @valtmy @dekreel @sam-kowal"In a mask, was he?"
Hmm I’m not too sure about this myself.
I understand wanting to make sure that your dialogue reflects reality. I suppose one way to include such swearing without stumbling others is to make sure that you are simply portraying the swearing as part of the characterisation but not as a good or acceptable thing.
In actuality, I don’t think what are considered as ‘swear words’ or ‘bad words’ in today’s context are even the same as that of historical societies. I tend to write historical fiction myself and my characters don’t really swear to specific gods (usually it’s ‘on my family’s honour’ or ‘I swear to the heavens’ which is more in line with the Eastern culture I’m writing in) or use swear words (if they do, I just say that they ‘swore colourfully’ or ‘muttered some distasteful words’ without specifically detailing what they said since I have trouble with finding ancient curse words and translating them into modern English).
@ariel-ashira Xonos Darkgrate once made a topic about swear words. Maybe it has what you’re looking for, maybe not. . . See how it works for you! 🙂
You can pronounce it however you want.
@ariel-ashira Personally, curse words don’t bother me in books until they are misused or used too often. That being said, I don’t generally find curse words very offensive, as I’ve grown up around several people who cuss. This summer I visited Ireland, and they cuss constantly! If I were to describe that experience though, I don’t think I would say verbatim words they used but instead something like “I was cussed out on the streets”.
So yeah. I don’t think it’s a terrible thing. Curse words can convey emotion, conviction, and actually add to your story- if you don’t use them to much. Over used curse words seem like “filler” and you loose meaning. I hope that helps. 🙂
The Kingdom has been torn asunder...
http://www.encircledbygrace.com/I honestly think this is a matter for your conscience. Some Christians feel comfortable writing/reading books with swearing, others don’t. I personally choose not to add in curse words because I just don’t see the point. I think it also depends on who you’re writing for. Middle grade, for example, I don’t think should ever have swearing even though kids in middle grade do swear–a lot. You might be able to get away with more in teen fiction, but honestly I think this is something you need to pray about and decide for yourself.
INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
@ariel-ashira Everyone’s answers were good, but what Seekjustice said is true. We can give you a bunch of tips and our opinions, but really it’s a matter for your conscience and personal prayer. I hope the answer comes to you soon! 🙂
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Thank you! This is helpful. I also read an older article Reagan Ramm wrote about cussing in stories, which had some good thoughts.
"In a mask, was he?"
Well I’m late to the conversation, but whatever haha.
I asked the same question a while ago, and I think for the most part, my conclusion was this-
There’s a pretty fine line between characters cussing for the sake of having that type of language in the story and having them cussing for a more “realistic” quality. I mean, not every character is a lumberjack, but there can be, you know.
I think as long as it isn’t indulgent and isn’t one of “the big ones”, it can be reasonably OK to have in your story? I don’t know, that’s just my opinion.
@arieal-shira
Life's a cruel joke, so you have to laugh at it sometimes.
@ariel-ashira I’m not going to give you a cut and dried answer here, because, like everyone else said, I don’t know if there is a specific answer.
One thing I will say, is that you would probably want to stay away from the curse words which include God’s name. Other curse words can be debatable, and I know that it’s your character saying it and not you, but if you think about it, your fingers are the ones typing it, and your brain is thinking it, even if your mouth didn’t say it.
"Sylvester - Sylvester!"
@xonos-darkgrate Yeah, Dekreel gave me the link to that conversation and I read it.
@rochellaine Totally!Thank you both!
"In a mask, was he?"
@ariel-ashira Usually I would write something as, ‘So-and-so swore’ or ‘so-and-so cursed’. I have a character who swears constantly but for his dialogue it’s always something like, ‘He said something along the lines of…’ I never actually include a swear. If a character has to say something, however, I use very mild swear words, ones that aren’t really counted as swears.
I honestly don’t think that there’s any need for swear words, though, and that swearing in Christian literture often drives people away. still, though, it’s all up to personal preference, I think.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days
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