Making Connections discussion

Reviews are coming in for our newest scifi thriller. Some are five star and no mention of the profanity. Some reviewers are put off by it, and focus on it and give it two stars. I would love to hear the opinions/experiences from readers, and from other writers, of using profanity with such characters as: navy seals, Russian thugs, and a foul mouthed lawyer.

if it's porn I don't usually read it

I'm very educated, most educated PPL cuss, now I don't want to hear the F word every other word like U see on the news media, or others

I think language should be authentic - I read a thriller recently where a marine used the word 'Gosh'. It completely turned me off the book as it felt so out of character.
As a writer, I don't use profanity, but many of my characters do - I write what I want, but of course readers have every right to criticise...

Gangsters, military personnel, law enforcement officers, etc. occasionally use language that some consider inappropriate, vulgar, and unnecessary. The dialogue of such characters in fictional or non-fictional work must sometimes utilize profanity in order to sustain a realistic portrayal of the character. However, to insert such language in a work just for shock value or when totally out of character is neither professional nor necessary.

Regardless of one's opinion regarding any literary subject, it is important to remember that, when a reader elects to post a rating or review, it is merely the reader's personal and therefore, subjective, opinion. One reader's 4-star rating and positive review may very well be another's 1-star rating and negative review regarding the same exact book.

Annalisa wrote: "I think language should be authentic - I read a thriller recently where a marine used the word 'Gosh'. It completely turned me off the book as it felt so out of character.
As a writer, I don't use ..."

I'm sure a military guy would not say gosh, I know I didnt nor did my fellow soldiers we were all pretty foul mouth & most still are

Annalisa wrote: "I think language should be authentic - I read a thriller recently where a marine used the word 'Gosh'. It completely turned me off the book as it felt so out of character.
As a writer, I don't use ..."

Ooh, blame the ‘characters’—love that! Mine also use profanity and quite often. But my colourful language isn’t contrived, and it’s not there for shock value. It comes naturally. As a reader myself, I find an orchestrated use of foul language off-putting. But when it’s natural, the word feels like it should be there, and the sentence would be poorer for its omission.

"Natural" is the key word. I read an excellent book "The Zen of Writing" years ago, almost 800 pages, but every word of advice golden. He stated on the subject of foul language is it's placement. If used too many times, the reader becomes desensitized (just like in real life). Every word we write should be purposeful. Just like in this book that I REMEMBER VIVIDLY years later, as an example for purpose, he only used foul language in his entire "F-*ing" book once. LOL, he made a strong point.

Thank you all so much for your comments. This is how Norman Mailer once handled profanity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nak...

In a previous novel I added a thick accent to the dialog of a foul mouthed Russian hacker. Got no complaints about the profanity in that book.

It depends on the characters your writing, but also the audience you're writing for. Obviously a book directed at a younger audience wouldn't include much profanity, or would skirt around it with phrases like, "Bob muttered a curse."

Profanity can definitely be used to make characters feel more jaded or rough around the edges, or - in the case of characters who normally don't swear - can heighten the emotion of a moment. But I've also definitely seen profanity in novels abused. By that, I mean that some books will throw in a lot of profanity for shock value or "maturity", but it isn't actually used in a way that enhances the narrative.

I'm fine with it if it's true to the character using it. Let's face it, like it or not, a lot of people swear. But not everyone does. If it's realistic for a specific character to use profanity, then I think it's okay. I wouldn't put it in the mouth of 90 year old nun (unless she's not who the reader thinks she is!).

I remember several years ago watching the movie Young Guns on a pay channel. For those who haven't seen it, it's about Billy the Kid and his gang. Several of the characters used profanity. It seemed appropiate given the characters and setting.

A little later I saw the same movie on network TV. They dubbed in less offensive words in place of the profanity. It sounded completely ridiculous! I couldn't stand to watch it. It was pathetic to listen to old west outlaws saying, "gosh" or "darn" rather than the more colorful words they undoubtedly uttered.

I do agree with Rachael, that it should probably not be used or used in a roundabout way when writing for younger readers. I also agree with others in this discussion who have expressed a dislike of overuse of profanity or using it just for shock value. If an author is doing that, they need to improve their writing skills.

In my adult novels, I use profanity not only as parts of dialogue as what most of the comments here are about so far, but also in the prose. The stories are about gangsters and mobsters in New York around the 70's and 80's, a time when political correctness wasn't even a concept. In New York people say F You as hello. So my Killer Series reads like something out of New York. Very graphic and not for children or the easily offended.