Dancing around swear words? (In a clean novel)

starrystorm

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I guess it's both.

Interesting that this thread should pop back up because I just read a book that had an interesting way of dancing around cursing. It went something like

"I didn't give a rat's about what Mr. Smith was doing now."

I just thought it was interesting.
 

Ed_in_Bed

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This is where 'feck' comes to the rescue. Good old Father Ted!
 

veinglory

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In my experience many people that don't believe in swearing just don't use 'explosive annoyance" words at all. They might just raised their hands, or huff, or nothing.
 

Dan Rhys

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Something to consider...if you make one or two of your characters English-Second-Language, as I have for some of mine, it's neat to make them swear in different langauges, which would still carry a sense of realism but not put off a sensitive writer. As a Welsh speaker, I like "Blumin strach!!" :)
 

Danalynn

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I TOTALLY get this concern! I was raised VERY strict Southern Baptist, and my mother hated swearing to the point that when we were growing up, we couldn't even say the word "Fart." We had to say "Stinker."

In my published novel, Big Mouth Blues, my MC's alcoholic father loves to swear. It's in his character. However, I ONLY used swear words when the situation absolutely called for it. Otherwise, I danced around them and found creative ways to say that he swore without actually writing the swear words. It was fun, and I pulled it off nicely.

My mother read my novel. She said she was going to "spank my butt" for using the swear words, but otherwise, she really enjoyed the book. LOL!

In my WIP, there is minimal swearing, but my MC's nemesis swears regularly. It's who she is. I did the same thing... only used the cuss words where necessary, and danced around them otherwise.


NO MATTER WHAT, you HAVE to be true to the STORY. Even if your mom wouldn't like it. :tongue:Shrug::ROFL:
 

Barbara R.

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I feel guilty writing this post since swearing is not something I do. I was never around anyone that swore growing up, by parents don't swear, and nobody I know does. I was always taught it was a bad thing, a sin at most. However, sometimes there are moments in my story that my characters get upset and they are the type of person that would swear.

My question is does words like heck, dang, and crap sound awkward when used in a YA book? Used lightly of course.

Another thing I like to do is just say "he cursed, she cursed, I cursed"

Sometimes I "dance" around swear words like. "Dang it!" Lewis punched the wall and proceeded to say worse things.

Are these methods acceptable in YA? I always use these methods lightly since I want to write clean books.

I hate to tell anyone to use language they feel uncomfortable using. OTOH, you are putting words into your characters' mouths, and those words help define the character. If they are kids who would swear, then changing their natural language to have them say "Dang" and "crap" instead misrepresents the character and may well strike readers as unrealistic. It would strike me that way. I've never heard a kid say "Dang," or anyone under the age of 80 for that matter. But then, I'm a New Yorker.

I would use their language, or give them some reason why they wouldn't swear.
 

B.D. Skunkworks

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My MC drops the F bomb on exactly two occasions. Taking into account that alot of YA's I've come into contact with are filthy mouthed little things, I think they actually might be dissapointed with the relative lack of swearing!
 

Biffington

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If you've ever read the flying sorcerers, it offers a creative alternative, if you have a character that doesn't know how swearing works. It's not a great book, but the protagonist is a great pun "as a shade of purple-grey," and his swearing as translated by aliens is fun.

"Copulate copulate, parent copulate. Copulating excrement."
 

KTC

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I honestly cannot even imagine a world where cursing is unnatural. (-: But I know it's out there.

I would say that the words you used as examples work fine. I would prefer dang and heck, etc...to the telling...he swore, he cursed, etc.

Am I mistaken, or is Becky Albertalli's work peppered with non-swear swear words? It's been a while since I've read a new work by her.