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Profanity Or Not?
How to not use profanity in your fiction
Author: Dennis E. Hensley, Ph.D
Get into any serious discussion about “realism” in fiction and you’ll soon be part of a debate about the appropriateness, or lack thereof, of off-color language. Fans of screenwriter David Mamet feel that a four-letter word must be used in every sentence of dialogue. Other writers will point out that Hollywood has made six Jane Austin novels into mega-hit movies during the past ten years, and none has contained graphic violence, gratuitous sex, or cussing and swearing.
Let’s sidestep this debate by changing the question from “Should off-color language be used in fiction?” to “How can I write realistic fiction if I choose not to use off-color language?” After all, no one will deny that sailors, dockworkers, drill sergeants, and radio/TV shock jocks use salty language. Yes, that is realistic dialogue. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t offensive to many people.
So, the question becomes, is it possible to portray such people in fiction, not have them use objectionable language, and still make them believable? I believe the answer is, yes, but it takes skill.
Past Techniques Used By Successful Authors
In days when censorship was strong in publishing, writers could only use a generic reference when indicating that a character was swearing. For example, in Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, the mountain rebels would say things such as, “I obscenity in your mother’s milk.” You, the reader, had to fill in whatever “obscenity” you felt was appropriate.
Sometimes Hemingway would write lines like this: “The man, Agustin, spoke so obscenely, coupling an obscenity to every noun as an adjective, using the same obscenity as a verb, that Robert Jordan wondered if he could speak a straight sentence” (Tolls, chapter 3). This tells the reader that, yes, these people are crude and foul-mouthed; so, just take that as a given and move on with the story. Since that novel has never gone out of print, most readers must be comfortable with that.
Herman Wouk made a note to his readers in the preface of The Caine Mutiny that he was fully aware that sailors use raw language, but he purposely was choosing not to replicate such dialogue in his novel. It must have worked, since the book became a phenomenal best-seller and was developed into a successful TV mini-series with Robert Mitchum.
We’ve all seen cartoon characters who have symbols such as #@**/! above their heads to indicate they are cussing a blue streak. There is also the gimmick that was used in movies years ago when a character would say, “You son of a ….” and just as the last word was coming out, a loud train whistle or boat blast or truck horn would drown it out.
Other times, writers would let you figure out what was said by explaining it to you in a parallel way.
For example, Woody Allen has a stand-up comedy routine in which he explains that he prepares for parts in movies by becoming a method actor; that is, he becomes the character in real life (bus driver, policeman, short order cook) for several weeks before he actually starts work on the movie. One time, he had to play the part of God, so he went around New York both blessing and smiting people. One man got irritated by this and punched him in the mouth. Woody said, “At that point, I told the man to go forth and reproduce himself. Well…I didn’t phrase it quite that way.”
But What About Today's Lingo?
Writers in the 21st century will point out that most television programs and movies use profanity--even blasphemy against the deity--quite routinely. Some novelists who profess to be Christians, such as John Grisham, use profanity in their novels. Many journalists who never use profanity themselves will write verbatim dialogue in their columns and features, even if it contains offensive language, because they feel an ethical obligation to give readers “the whole truth.”
I have written four dozen fiction and nonfiction books and thousands of articles, and I have never once used an off-color word. On the other hand, I am a voracious reader, including numerous contemporary books that contain vast amounts of questionable language. As a writer, I cannot bury my head in the sand and still stay current with today’s readers—occupational hazard, perhaps.
How Can I Avoid Profanity?
The point is: I’m not here to judge you, but I can teach you a few techniques for avoiding the use of profanity while keeping your writing believable.
First, realize that there are a lot of characters you can insert in your stories.
Characters whom readers will not expect to use profanity: missionaries, chaplains, pastors, aged grandmothers, nursery school workers, librarians, school crossing guards, nannies…well, you get the point. Many, many people have no place for profanity in their lives, and the rest of the population is fully accepting of this. If you populate your stories with these folks, profanity becomes a moot point.Second, the time period you choose to write about can reduce the need to use profanity.
When I was an elementary school student in the 1950s, kids could get spanked or expelled for using “dirty” words. There was no profanity on TV, in comic books, in movies (except war movies that dared to use the word Hell), in church, or in polite society. Thus, if you write about that era or others like it, readers will not expect to hear profanity.Third, the genre you elect to write for may eliminate the need for strong language.
Romance novels are not enhanced by profanity. Children’s picture books don’t need it. Comedy can be done without getting crude. Skits, devotions, testimonies, interviews, profiles, history lessons, and travel pieces have no need for profanity. The field you focus your writing career on will have a lot to do with your choice of language.Fourth, consider creating a world where there is no profanity.
Fiction writers, such as J. R. R. Tolkein with The Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis with The Chronicles of Narnia and J. M. Barrie with Peter Pan, created fantasy universes that were filled with adventure, drama, villains, heroes, quests, and ethical dilemmas, but no cussing. And Hollywood has gone stark raving berserk about making blockbuster movies based on these books. Even Star Wars has little or no crude language.Fifth, create a venue in which a character who normally would use profanity is now motivated not to do so.
When Whoopi Goldberg’s character as a crassy, brassy casino singer is forced to live in a convent with 100 nuns in the movie Sister Act, she does not swear in their company. When Harrison Ford’s character, detective John Book of the Philadelphia Police Department, in Witness, must live with the Amish, he gives up his handgun and he never uses profanity. It’s totally believable and realistic.Sixth, create characters whose dialogue are so unusual, it makes the reader forget that no profanity is being used.
In the movie The Sandlot, the young shortstop is called “Ya-ya,” because every time he talks, he says, “Ya-ya, I will” or “Ya-ya, that’s right.” It’s cute, and more enjoyable than profanity. Officer Toody in Car 54, Where Are You? would always say, “Oou! Oou!” every time he got excited. People listened for it.
Don Adams made, “You really know how to hurt a guy,” a regular part of his stand-up comedy routines, and as Maxwell Smart on Get Smart, he would say, “Well…would you believe…?” Mork of Ork said, “Nah-nu, nah-nu” each week. Audiences prefer these clever and familiar expressions over something shocking or offensive or crass.
The end result is that each writer must be true to his or her own ethics and natural expressions. Writers who feel profanity is a natural part of creative writing are going to use it. However, writers who do not feel comfortable using profanity in their writing should realize that there are plenty of ways to avoid using it. Really. I swear it’s true.
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