A string of comments in a post in ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
writers_lair on language (here, if you're curious about it, though the post itself was on language, not foul language) made me realize something about the use of heavy swearing in fanfic, something that, I thought, was just me but may not be. And now I'm wondering if it is just me or if there's something more to it.
writers_lair on language (here, if you're curious about it, though the post itself was on language, not foul language) made me realize something about the use of heavy swearing in fanfic, something that, I thought, was just me but may not be. And now I'm wondering if it is just me or if there's something more to it. Though I have the characters in fanfic swear, I don't use swear-words myself, and have a heavy dislike for the F-word (especially when it's used to refer to sex). But though I hate the word, it doesn't deter me from reading fanfic - doesn't make me dislike a story or quit reading - and for the most part I do a good job of ignoring it. However, there are some stories where the word will pop up, and it will completely throw me. For a while, I thought it was because of my dislike of the word combined with a moment of extreme intolerance for it. But after reading the comment thread and thinking it over, it made me consider that, perhaps, it was because the use of the word was completely out-of-place for that particular fic.
After thinking about it, I determined that there are two reasons why the use of the F-word would throw me.
1. The majority of the swearing in the story had been light, or the F-word avoided up until a certain point. Then, after that point, it might be used one or two more times, then never used again. Or, used only that one time.
2. The story (at least for me) was very canon to the point of it being a could-have-been-an-episode fic, and the use of the F-word was like splashing red paint on a white wall. I'm not saying that only stories that don't use the F-word can be considered episode-like. However, there is a kind of subconscious bais when reading (at least for me, I don't know about everyone else) that will accept certain stories as more episode-like than others. Stories that don't use heavy swearing are definitely one of them since the show itself doesn't use heavy swears.
It's usually a combination of both one and two when I get so totally thrown I'm actually left a little annoyed. I'm not trying to tell people how they should write, and am definitely not telling people that they shouldn't use heavy swearing - or any level of swearing - in fanfic. There are stories, though, which have left me wondering why the writer opted to use the F-word to begin with. In one story in particular, I felt the use of the word rather immature, as though the writer had put it in either a) in hopes of giving the story a little attitude or darker edge b) because they were going for realistic even though they'd been light about the swearing up until then or c) just put it in for the sake of putting it in. Whatever their reason, its use just didn't fit, and so bothered me.
Since I don't go for heavy swearing, it's not something I really think about in my own stories (except how to lessen the swearing as much as I can). So, for those who do use heavy swearing, is it something to consider more carefully? Yes, people do cuss up storms in real life, military especially. So, if going for realistic, then it doesn't really matter.
However, I feel it can be just as bad a stumbling block as a misspelled word, or the POV shifting from first person to third, or from character to character without warning. With some stories, it's like the author can't decide if they want to make the story episode-like or realistic, then opt for realistic at the last minute.
After thinking about it, I determined that there are two reasons why the use of the F-word would throw me.
1. The majority of the swearing in the story had been light, or the F-word avoided up until a certain point. Then, after that point, it might be used one or two more times, then never used again. Or, used only that one time.
2. The story (at least for me) was very canon to the point of it being a could-have-been-an-episode fic, and the use of the F-word was like splashing red paint on a white wall. I'm not saying that only stories that don't use the F-word can be considered episode-like. However, there is a kind of subconscious bais when reading (at least for me, I don't know about everyone else) that will accept certain stories as more episode-like than others. Stories that don't use heavy swearing are definitely one of them since the show itself doesn't use heavy swears.
It's usually a combination of both one and two when I get so totally thrown I'm actually left a little annoyed. I'm not trying to tell people how they should write, and am definitely not telling people that they shouldn't use heavy swearing - or any level of swearing - in fanfic. There are stories, though, which have left me wondering why the writer opted to use the F-word to begin with. In one story in particular, I felt the use of the word rather immature, as though the writer had put it in either a) in hopes of giving the story a little attitude or darker edge b) because they were going for realistic even though they'd been light about the swearing up until then or c) just put it in for the sake of putting it in. Whatever their reason, its use just didn't fit, and so bothered me.
Since I don't go for heavy swearing, it's not something I really think about in my own stories (except how to lessen the swearing as much as I can). So, for those who do use heavy swearing, is it something to consider more carefully? Yes, people do cuss up storms in real life, military especially. So, if going for realistic, then it doesn't really matter.
However, I feel it can be just as bad a stumbling block as a misspelled word, or the POV shifting from first person to third, or from character to character without warning. With some stories, it's like the author can't decide if they want to make the story episode-like or realistic, then opt for realistic at the last minute.
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Date: 2007-12-18 09:11 am (UTC)From:So it's about balance. The problem I had with the mentioned story (and other stories) is that the right balance wasn't achieved. I probably would have been less annoyed by the use of the F-word if they had either used it earlier on in the story, or included another heavy swear like sh*t. For the most part, as I recall, it was mostly just a lot of damn and hell, and not that often. Which, to me, is light swearing. So when the F-word popped up, it was a little like hearing it being said on a PG movie.
I've found myself being more aware of that, not just with how much swearing I use but also which swears I use. If I can get away with it in the quieter fics, I'll try to have no swearing. In the larger, action/adventure works then it all comes down to which swears to use and when. Since I don't use the F-word, B*st*rd and SOB are my bigger swears that I reserve for the more poignant, emotion-heavy scenes. And the more heavy scenes I have, the more I will use those words. So some stories will have more swearing than others, and some won't have any swearing since it isn't necessary for that particular fic.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-18 09:09 pm (UTC)From:The most effective use of cursing in a fictional scene that I can think of is in the YA book Watership Down. Throughout the book we're introduced to various words in the rabbit language, including their word for dung, but it's always used in a very matter-of-fact sort of way; there's no indication that rabbits even think of swearing. And then there's a scene near the end where the main bad guy offers one of the main characters (who's pretty much on his last legs at that point) an opportunity to switch sides and he tells him to "eat sh*t" (in their language) -- and it's so effective; it stops you in your tracks, without being actually vulgar at all, because it's the only time in the whole book that that particular word is used that way.