If you aren't true to your characters, then you aren't true to your story. Readers will see right through that and will miss your main message. The bible doesn't declare swearing a sin, so use the words effectively. People get angry and swear and flip the bird and think all kinds of nasty thoughts. It is part of the human experience. I would urge you to use these words as matches your character.
Swearing appropriately in stories.
- Thread starter Annath
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cc.slim
Moderator
I agree with Tj, just to stay true to reality, but shoot fire, can the message of the moment be reached without cussing? I grew up with cowboy's, indians, roughnecks, and bikers that cussed like sailors or told it like it is, which is cussing to some. God want's sinners broken and cussed so I think if, as a writer one should express truth! Aka hipshot! Truth is true and a lie is a lie!
Phaide Tu Blacke
New Member
In my humble opinion it comes down to two things: who you are targeting your story too and your personal views; let me explain.
1st: if you are going for realism and plan on pushing your book out to the general public at large then you will want to make sure it feels and sounds authentic because if it does not sound true to life than people will not believe the characters. Case in point, I have written a few short stories which I plan on targeting the 14 to 22 male markets which has a ton of violence in it; will it be everyone’s cup of tea? No. Will it be slammed for being too violent for the Christian market, most likely but I tend not to care about the Christian market; after all God has given all of us different “voices” and we should stay true to our own voices and believe that we are all destined to reach different people in society. Plus, even though I have been published twice by Zonderkidz I have never even attempted to market any of my material to the “Christian Market”; God just opened those doors. Needless to say, if you are targeting your materials for the Christian Market than chances are you will not want to use foul language at all. The best example I can give you of how to handle language is do what you feel is right for the character; is he/she a low level criminal? Then chances are their language usage will be full of “color metaphors” as Spock put it in ST4; but if your character is a 13 year old tween then chances are their usage of color metaphors will be limited. In short, keep it real.
Plus, always keep in mind the “law of diminishing return” the more you use something the less impact it will have and to bring in another Star Trek reference which is why when Data uttered a curse word in one of the ST movies the entire audience busted out in laughter because no one saw it coming; which in my humble opinion is one of the best uses of a curse word ever in a movie.
2nd: your personal view is a big point; if you do not like to cuss then please do not bring it into your stories and do not subject yourself to it; as it is all a matter of what you are comfortable with. On a personal note, I do not cuss as I lead my boys by example and they are only allowed to use words in the house I use; but if I slip then they now have the right to use that same word in the house in front of me and their mother that I just used in front of them. Needless to say, their language in the house is still very clean.
Final note: write what you want to write and do not let anyone tell you differently; because honestly a real writer writes for no one but themselves and if they show it to someone and they like it then good for you. Then, if enough people see it and like it congratulations as people like your work; and finally if by some small chance it ends up getting published and you actually make money, woot! You are one in a million. My point is write what is in you, as a real writer has to put words to paper because they must to get them out or they will explode and if it goes places after that; all the better, but your goal should never be to get published: it should be being the best writer you are called to be. Sorry, for the long winded post; but I believe we have enough “cant’s” in this world and we need more “do’s”. Plus, lifting up your bother and reaching the lost is what we as writers should do in some way with every poem, short story, or script we produce whether it is "Christian" based or not. I hope my two yen helped someone.
Thank you.
Phaide Tu Blacke
1st: if you are going for realism and plan on pushing your book out to the general public at large then you will want to make sure it feels and sounds authentic because if it does not sound true to life than people will not believe the characters. Case in point, I have written a few short stories which I plan on targeting the 14 to 22 male markets which has a ton of violence in it; will it be everyone’s cup of tea? No. Will it be slammed for being too violent for the Christian market, most likely but I tend not to care about the Christian market; after all God has given all of us different “voices” and we should stay true to our own voices and believe that we are all destined to reach different people in society. Plus, even though I have been published twice by Zonderkidz I have never even attempted to market any of my material to the “Christian Market”; God just opened those doors. Needless to say, if you are targeting your materials for the Christian Market than chances are you will not want to use foul language at all. The best example I can give you of how to handle language is do what you feel is right for the character; is he/she a low level criminal? Then chances are their language usage will be full of “color metaphors” as Spock put it in ST4; but if your character is a 13 year old tween then chances are their usage of color metaphors will be limited. In short, keep it real.
Plus, always keep in mind the “law of diminishing return” the more you use something the less impact it will have and to bring in another Star Trek reference which is why when Data uttered a curse word in one of the ST movies the entire audience busted out in laughter because no one saw it coming; which in my humble opinion is one of the best uses of a curse word ever in a movie.
2nd: your personal view is a big point; if you do not like to cuss then please do not bring it into your stories and do not subject yourself to it; as it is all a matter of what you are comfortable with. On a personal note, I do not cuss as I lead my boys by example and they are only allowed to use words in the house I use; but if I slip then they now have the right to use that same word in the house in front of me and their mother that I just used in front of them. Needless to say, their language in the house is still very clean.
Final note: write what you want to write and do not let anyone tell you differently; because honestly a real writer writes for no one but themselves and if they show it to someone and they like it then good for you. Then, if enough people see it and like it congratulations as people like your work; and finally if by some small chance it ends up getting published and you actually make money, woot! You are one in a million. My point is write what is in you, as a real writer has to put words to paper because they must to get them out or they will explode and if it goes places after that; all the better, but your goal should never be to get published: it should be being the best writer you are called to be. Sorry, for the long winded post; but I believe we have enough “cant’s” in this world and we need more “do’s”. Plus, lifting up your bother and reaching the lost is what we as writers should do in some way with every poem, short story, or script we produce whether it is "Christian" based or not. I hope my two yen helped someone.
Thank you.
Phaide Tu Blacke
cc.slim
Moderator
A heart can over ride the tongue if we believe it so! Well put phaide! I wants can and will change to his needs.
Swearing doesn't really need to be in writing, though I've seen some with heck and/or !@$!#$@#$ (Q-bert) in substitute of the real thing.
We should not as christians speak vulgar.
For the "other" scriptures, have it look at this:
http://www.bible-topics.com/Swearing-Profane.html
The bible has quite a bit to say about profanity.
You can throw on a pretty epic plot without using swear words, I've seen it in christian novels.
We should not as christians speak vulgar.
For the "other" scriptures, have it look at this:
http://www.bible-topics.com/Swearing-Profane.html
The bible has quite a bit to say about profanity.
You can throw on a pretty epic plot without using swear words, I've seen it in christian novels.
Hi! I'm new here. I'm also a writer who is a Christian.
I haven't had the chance to read the previous posts, so please bear with me if this has been mentioned before. In my opinion -
The language of a character should be true to the character and the setting:
1) Context plays a huge role - if offensive language is used gratuitously, then the writer is using poor language as a crutch, rather than portraying his character's emotional state in more creative ways. You aren't writing characters who are all based on you, you're writing characters who are (hopefully) completely different, whole, well-rounded individuals. It stands to reason that some will be more crass than others.
2) Words only have power and meaning because we allow them power and meaning. In my daily life, I hear swearing all the time when I'm out in public, yet I don't get offended by it. The reason, is because I am a writer - someone who understands and uses language as a tool, and I refuse to allow society to corrupt words. In the end, a curse word is just another word. The power of a word is something that you, as a listener or reader, give it.
3) Writers need to understand that curse words and crass words are culturally bound (for the most part). A word that might be considered extremely offensive here may have a completely harmless meaning on the other side of the globe.
4) The entomology of some words shows that they weren't/aren't in fact swear words at all, but rather have become offensive to some by contextual use.
That said, the only one I absolutely refuse to do is take the Lord's name in vain. Even my characters won't do that.
Also, while I have written dialogue where the characters swear, it has been mostly when I have written for the screen, and even at that, only for feature films. For my other creative writing (short films, tv shows, short stories, novels, etc...) I tend to avoid the swearing because I aim to be a better writer than that. As I said, I consider the use of swear words to be not a big deal to me personally, but I see them as a crutch for lazy writers... and I don't wanna be a lazy writer.
The one exception I make is for the feature films, and that is for the simple reason that screenplays offer you such a limited amount of time to get the emotive content across that it might be necessary. (But I still won't allow the characters to take the Lord's name in vain.)
My novels will most certainly avoid it.
______________________
www.ajking.ca
I haven't had the chance to read the previous posts, so please bear with me if this has been mentioned before. In my opinion -
The language of a character should be true to the character and the setting:
1) Context plays a huge role - if offensive language is used gratuitously, then the writer is using poor language as a crutch, rather than portraying his character's emotional state in more creative ways. You aren't writing characters who are all based on you, you're writing characters who are (hopefully) completely different, whole, well-rounded individuals. It stands to reason that some will be more crass than others.
2) Words only have power and meaning because we allow them power and meaning. In my daily life, I hear swearing all the time when I'm out in public, yet I don't get offended by it. The reason, is because I am a writer - someone who understands and uses language as a tool, and I refuse to allow society to corrupt words. In the end, a curse word is just another word. The power of a word is something that you, as a listener or reader, give it.
3) Writers need to understand that curse words and crass words are culturally bound (for the most part). A word that might be considered extremely offensive here may have a completely harmless meaning on the other side of the globe.
4) The entomology of some words shows that they weren't/aren't in fact swear words at all, but rather have become offensive to some by contextual use.
That said, the only one I absolutely refuse to do is take the Lord's name in vain. Even my characters won't do that.
Also, while I have written dialogue where the characters swear, it has been mostly when I have written for the screen, and even at that, only for feature films. For my other creative writing (short films, tv shows, short stories, novels, etc...) I tend to avoid the swearing because I aim to be a better writer than that. As I said, I consider the use of swear words to be not a big deal to me personally, but I see them as a crutch for lazy writers... and I don't wanna be a lazy writer.
The one exception I make is for the feature films, and that is for the simple reason that screenplays offer you such a limited amount of time to get the emotive content across that it might be necessary. (But I still won't allow the characters to take the Lord's name in vain.)
My novels will most certainly avoid it.
______________________
www.ajking.ca
Swearing doesn't really need to be in writing, though I've seen some with heck and/or !@$!#$@#$ (Q-bert) in substitute of the real thing.
We should not as christians speak vulgar.
For the "other" scriptures, have it look at this:
http://www.bible-topics.com/Swearing-Profane.html
The bible has quite a bit to say about profanity.
You can throw on a pretty epic plot without using swear words, I've seen it in christian novels.
Not necessarily disagreeing with you, just pointing out that the use of 'swear' and 'swearing' at that link is in reference to 'swearing' as in 'swear on a Bible', not so much as swearing as in 'curse words'.
But the 'don't take the Lord's name in vain' is pretty definitive... Lol
___________________
http://www.ajking.ca
DannyMeister
Tribe of Judah Unreal Tournament 3 Server Operator
A book I have been reading lately made me think of this thread. In Ringworld, by Larry Niven, there is a very neat solution to the quandary discussed here. Whenever any of the characters in his book swear, they do so by using a new word that apparently conveys an intense feeling in their culture, but is not shocking to ours. The word "tanj" is short for "there ain't no justice", and is used in the same context that many of our different profane expletives would be used. This doesn't help out the original poster, of course, because this works well in a science fiction universe set in the distant future where we can reasonably assume that the usage of language has changed, but wouldn't fit into a present-time narrative.
Also a note to anyone interested in Ringworld... it has had high entertainment value so far (I'm about 2/3rds of the way through it) and the lack of bad language has been refreshing, but many view points are obviously not those of a Christian, from an evolutionary presumption to topics like casual sex.
Also a note to anyone interested in Ringworld... it has had high entertainment value so far (I'm about 2/3rds of the way through it) and the lack of bad language has been refreshing, but many view points are obviously not those of a Christian, from an evolutionary presumption to topics like casual sex.
I would say everything in moderation. Don't get excessive with it, and adding the verbiage that they used profanity is probably a better way. I had an english teacher who said if you have to swear, you are not a good writer. I disagree in that if its a dark setting, and that is what people do, then... When in Rome
Neirai the Forgiven
Christian Guilds List Manager
Haha, I've been waiting for this thread to start back up again -- it has been off and on for years
Edit: actually, this probably happened because Lulandi was interested in this thread section. We really need to get it rolling again!!
Edit: actually, this probably happened because Lulandi was interested in this thread section. We really need to get it rolling again!!
TDWfan
Member
I've read books and using "darn" serves the same purpose as (words that shall not be named). Darn can work, and it isn't as sudden and almost foreign as cursing.
IMO
IMO