I do think many writers conflate whether they should use “bad words” with whether they have the RIGHT to use them. And they ought to be about more than an expression of free will.
I recently edited a manuscript in which the MC grew up in a fuck-dense environment, and he stands out for having a higher threshold for fuck dispersal. The tipping point between when he goes to “fuck” and when he doesn’t — under various degrees of duress — winds up saying something distinctive about him as a character, one that turns out to have some importance to how he handles extreme pressures. I liked that.
I just de-fucked my book after reading your post. There were 91 f-bombs in the 80K words. Now there's maybe 12. Then last night we showed In Bruges (one of my all-time faves) to my in-laws. Listening to Harry Waters swearing every other word in his hotel message was hysterical, but also perfectly in character. Everything in that film is so intentional. That's the key. Thanks for reminder.
This is an excellent post! Something I think about a lot. It is all about context and how the word lands. Your daughter with the crown story made me laugh out loud.
As with most things in writing, I’m looking for the fresh and unexpected. What in the Cincinnati fuck is gold.
I like phrases like Jesus in a rowboat. I’m not sure where I heard that but I loved using it… just once.
I’m also there with violence in storytelling. Some writers use it as a definite crutch… when there is nothing interesting to say. I find each of my subsequent books I’m trimming the violence because of the overuse, and how, as you said, it can become parody. Or worse, boring.
I do think many writers conflate whether they should use “bad words” with whether they have the RIGHT to use them. And they ought to be about more than an expression of free will.
I recently edited a manuscript in which the MC grew up in a fuck-dense environment, and he stands out for having a higher threshold for fuck dispersal. The tipping point between when he goes to “fuck” and when he doesn’t — under various degrees of duress — winds up saying something distinctive about him as a character, one that turns out to have some importance to how he handles extreme pressures. I liked that.
I just de-fucked my book after reading your post. There were 91 f-bombs in the 80K words. Now there's maybe 12. Then last night we showed In Bruges (one of my all-time faves) to my in-laws. Listening to Harry Waters swearing every other word in his hotel message was hysterical, but also perfectly in character. Everything in that film is so intentional. That's the key. Thanks for reminder.
This is an excellent post! Something I think about a lot. It is all about context and how the word lands. Your daughter with the crown story made me laugh out loud.
As with most things in writing, I’m looking for the fresh and unexpected. What in the Cincinnati fuck is gold.
I like phrases like Jesus in a rowboat. I’m not sure where I heard that but I loved using it… just once.
I’m also there with violence in storytelling. Some writers use it as a definite crutch… when there is nothing interesting to say. I find each of my subsequent books I’m trimming the violence because of the overuse, and how, as you said, it can become parody. Or worse, boring.
One of the reasons Martin Scorsese's movies annoy me ... they fuck me numb.