Cursing in Romance

kuroisama · Sep 25, 2006

I'm not talking about that Victorian era stuff either. I'm talking the big ones (which I won't write out because we all know what they are). The spanking thread prompted me to ask this:

Do you think cursing in a romance is too harsh? I'm don't mean Def Comedy Jam, every other word cursing, but hero/heroine ticked off type of cursing. Or, one character with a potty mouth. I think I've only read one or two (not recently) romances that had any type of "harsh language" in them.

I'm sure this is probably one of those "when appropriate" type of questions, but I wanted a little feedback.

Susan Gable · Sep 25, 2006

kuroisama said:
I'm not talking about that Victorian era stuff either. I'm talking the big ones (which I won't write out because we all know what they are). The spanking thread prompted me to ask this:

Do you think cursing in a romance is too harsh? I'm don't mean Def Comedy Jam, every other word cursing, but hero/heroine ticked off type of cursing. Or, one character with a potty mouth. I think I've only read one or two (not recently) romances that had any type of "harsh language" in them.

I'm sure this is probably one of those "when appropriate" type of questions, but I wanted a little feedback.

Right. When appropriate. <G>

My characters curse sometimes. Now, at HQ, there are lines. And the line for one line <snicker> is different than the "line" for other lines.

At Super, my characters can use hell and damn without problem, as long as it's not too much. I've had a hero use sh*t without having it edited out. I don't know that I'd be allowed to drop the f-bomb.

But in single title, you could. So, yes, it depends on if it's approriate not only for your characters, but for your romance market. Obviously they don't even say damn in inspirationals.

Susan G.

Sonarbabe · Sep 25, 2006

It depends a lot on who you're targeting. If you were to send your story to Love Inspired, I would say no. Now, my preference is Harlequin's Blaze and I've seen them use the "F" word in a couple of there's. Now, in that case I would only use it once, but generally speaking, I believe their take is to keep language to what you would see on TV.

ETA: Darn it! Susan beat me to it!

JanDarby · Sep 25, 2006

Yeah, really depends on the market you're targeting. Jenny Crusie in single title uses the f-word fairly frequently, especially in the collaboration with Bob Mayer. All bets are off in erotic romance lines.

OTOH, Avalon (which markets almost exclusively to libraries) requires its romances to be "sweet" in the extreme -- no sex, no swearing, no thoughts of sex or swearing.

JD

Susan Gable · Sep 25, 2006

Sonarbabe said:
ETA: Darn it! Susan beat me to it!

BWAHAHAHAHA!

You can't catch me. I'm the cookie girl. :e2cookie:

(Gingerbread boy just didn't sound right. <G> Too cliche. <G>)

Susan G.

Akiahara · Sep 25, 2006

... I find it odd that there wouldn't be swearing in a modern romance.

I guess I just don't read enough "normal" romances to understand. :Shrug:

Sonarbabe · Sep 25, 2006

Susan Gable said:
BWAHAHAHAHA!

You can't catch me. I'm the cookie girl.

(Gingerbread boy just didn't sound right. <G> Too cliche. <G>)

Susan G.

They do swear more in modern romances, they just sprinkle it. In one of mine, I had my heroine think to herself, "How would she explain their relationship to his mother? Oh, Adam and I aren’t a couple, Mrs. Carlton. I’m teaching your son how to write romance and in return, he’s f***ing me six ways from Sunday. Oh yeah, that would go over real well." :ROFL:

I always did love that line. lol

kuroisama · Sep 25, 2006

JanDarby said:
OTOH, Avalon (which markets almost exclusively to libraries) requires its romances to be "sweet" in the extreme -- no sex, no swearing, no thoughts of sex or swearing.

JD

Good Lord, wouldn't that be considered a young adult romance? I remember reading those when I was a kid. The farthest anything went was a kiss. It was a real shocker when I graduated to normal romance. I couldn't believe my eyes.

It's the whole kids to adult menu all over again. It took forever for most fast food places to intro a "pre-teen" menu... not quite kid, but not an adult either. I wish I could have had a book like that to get me from just a kiss to full on sex.

Akiahara said:
... I find it odd that there wouldn't be swearing in a modern romance.

I'm with you on that one. So many things have changed in the romance genre over the years, I would think that would too. Not that I want to be dropping f-bombs left and right (it was only that one time and the hero is totally the type to use it in everyday speech like any other word).

I guess it's all about characterization and publisher.

dragonjax · Sep 25, 2006

There's quite a bit of profanity in my books. But then again, I'm writing about a former demon.

At least one potential blurber said no because I dropped the "f-bomb" one too many times for her taste. Alas.

JackieA · Sep 26, 2006

In my WIP I have a couple of scenes where 'major secondry players' lit rip with a couple of s**t's and Hell but nothing worse. In both these instances, for the characters to do anything else would, I feel, be totally unrealistic.

(As a reader of romance, I'm not keen on reading cussing that is littered, like conffetti, through the pages.)

As one of these characters will be a main character in the following ms I feel OK with this, and hope that when my baby is sent out into the big wide world it wont be held against me, or my babe.

Cursing in Romance

kuroisama

Susan Gable

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Sonarbabe

Working In A Coal Mine...

JanDarby

Susan Gable

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Akiahara

Sonarbabe

Working In A Coal Mine...

kuroisama

dragonjax

I write stuff and break boards.

JackieA