To swear or not to swear in fiction, that is my question?

by Suzanne Hoyle
17th February 2018

Hi everyone! What do you think about using swearing in novels/short stories? Is it necessary to make certain characters more real (as in dialogue) or should we try harder to paint that character though description and let the reader infer their foul language?

Replies

Thank you for your reply Renee. I tend to agree, as a reader it also has the same effect and puts me off reading when used excessively. Yet, as a writer, I discover that some of my characters do indeed swear. Maybe I should be more in control of my characters or create even better ones?

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Suzanne
Hoyle
270 points
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Suzanne Hoyle
19/02/2018

This is such a subjective question. Personally, I don't like it and stop reading. Others love it. :)

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Renee
Paule
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Renee Paule
18/02/2018