How to write cleanly even if my character uses expletive language?Using expletives in an essayHow to master literary American English as a second language?conversation language translationCan a foreign language novel have English character names?What font should I use to write alien language?How to write long extracts in a foreign language?What language should I write my programming blog post in?How to write dialogue for someone who is intelligent but barely speaks the language?How do I indicate that my character is speaking a different language than the one used for narration?How to interpret a language from a non-speaker's perspective?British / American language mishmash
Official degrees of earth’s rotation per day
Why are there 40 737 Max planes in flight when they have been grounded as not airworthy?
Old race car problem/puzzle
Why would a flight no longer considered airworthy be redirected like this?
Why did it take so long to abandon sail after steamships were demonstrated?
Meaning of "SEVERA INDEOVI VAS" from 3rd Century slab
How could a scammer know the apps on my phone / iTunes account?
What options are left, if Britain cannot decide?
Validating user input
Calculus II Professor will not accept my correct integral evaluation that uses a different method, should I bring this up further?
Did CPM support custom hardware using device drivers?
How to simplify this time periods definition interface?
Provisioning profile doesn't include the application-identifier and keychain-access-groups entitlements
Life insurance that covers only simultaneous/dual deaths
Is having access to past exams cheating and, if yes, could it be proven just by a good grade?
My adviser wants to be the first author
Pinhole Camera with Instant Film
It's a yearly task, alright
Does this AnyDice function accurately calculate the number of ogres you make unconcious with three 4th-level castings of Sleep?
Know when to turn notes upside-down(eighth notes, sixteen notes, etc.)
Employee lack of ownership
How to generate globally unique ids for different tables of the same database?
How to answer questions about my characters?
How to make healing in an exploration game interesting
How to write cleanly even if my character uses expletive language?
Using expletives in an essayHow to master literary American English as a second language?conversation language translationCan a foreign language novel have English character names?What font should I use to write alien language?How to write long extracts in a foreign language?What language should I write my programming blog post in?How to write dialogue for someone who is intelligent but barely speaks the language?How do I indicate that my character is speaking a different language than the one used for narration?How to interpret a language from a non-speaker's perspective?British / American language mishmash
I'm writing a story that I'd like younger readers to pick up. I and they know and understand that some situations are far better expressed with one f-word than a thousand milder ones. I'm keeping my narrative clean, but when I write the dialogue, I don't know what to do.
Should I:
- describe, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. Charlie exploded with profanity that pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
- or should I use made-up terms, such as
frak
from Battlestar Galactica:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "FRAK" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
also, I could use a milder word like
crap
,shoot
, and the likes.Alternatively, I could replace with a place holder, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "< EXPLETIVE >" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
Note
I've read answers like this one ("you have to eat before you [deficate]".) But that waters down the expression a lot for what I want.
technique language profanity
New contributor
add a comment |
I'm writing a story that I'd like younger readers to pick up. I and they know and understand that some situations are far better expressed with one f-word than a thousand milder ones. I'm keeping my narrative clean, but when I write the dialogue, I don't know what to do.
Should I:
- describe, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. Charlie exploded with profanity that pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
- or should I use made-up terms, such as
frak
from Battlestar Galactica:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "FRAK" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
also, I could use a milder word like
crap
,shoot
, and the likes.Alternatively, I could replace with a place holder, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "< EXPLETIVE >" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
Note
I've read answers like this one ("you have to eat before you [deficate]".) But that waters down the expression a lot for what I want.
technique language profanity
New contributor
2
Number one. Use your first choice.
– DPT
1 hour ago
In every situation? do you think I could work that in? The above is just an example. In fact, there is no door slamming in this story, yet.
– mbadawi23
1 hour ago
Write it, and keep looking around for additional ways to communicate it. "He yelled an expletive, and his mother said, "Grounded. no F-bombs under my roof." Keep at it. That's the nature of the game.
– DPT
39 mins ago
add a comment |
I'm writing a story that I'd like younger readers to pick up. I and they know and understand that some situations are far better expressed with one f-word than a thousand milder ones. I'm keeping my narrative clean, but when I write the dialogue, I don't know what to do.
Should I:
- describe, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. Charlie exploded with profanity that pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
- or should I use made-up terms, such as
frak
from Battlestar Galactica:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "FRAK" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
also, I could use a milder word like
crap
,shoot
, and the likes.Alternatively, I could replace with a place holder, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "< EXPLETIVE >" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
Note
I've read answers like this one ("you have to eat before you [deficate]".) But that waters down the expression a lot for what I want.
technique language profanity
New contributor
I'm writing a story that I'd like younger readers to pick up. I and they know and understand that some situations are far better expressed with one f-word than a thousand milder ones. I'm keeping my narrative clean, but when I write the dialogue, I don't know what to do.
Should I:
- describe, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. Charlie exploded with profanity that pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
- or should I use made-up terms, such as
frak
from Battlestar Galactica:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "FRAK" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
also, I could use a milder word like
crap
,shoot
, and the likes.Alternatively, I could replace with a place holder, as in:
Tommy slammed the door on Charlie's fingers. "< EXPLETIVE >" Charlie exploded. The eruption pierced their mother's ears downstairs.
Note
I've read answers like this one ("you have to eat before you [deficate]".) But that waters down the expression a lot for what I want.
technique language profanity
technique language profanity
New contributor
New contributor
edited 59 mins ago
mbadawi23
New contributor
asked 1 hour ago
mbadawi23mbadawi23
2867
2867
New contributor
New contributor
2
Number one. Use your first choice.
– DPT
1 hour ago
In every situation? do you think I could work that in? The above is just an example. In fact, there is no door slamming in this story, yet.
– mbadawi23
1 hour ago
Write it, and keep looking around for additional ways to communicate it. "He yelled an expletive, and his mother said, "Grounded. no F-bombs under my roof." Keep at it. That's the nature of the game.
– DPT
39 mins ago
add a comment |
2
Number one. Use your first choice.
– DPT
1 hour ago
In every situation? do you think I could work that in? The above is just an example. In fact, there is no door slamming in this story, yet.
– mbadawi23
1 hour ago
Write it, and keep looking around for additional ways to communicate it. "He yelled an expletive, and his mother said, "Grounded. no F-bombs under my roof." Keep at it. That's the nature of the game.
– DPT
39 mins ago
2
2
Number one. Use your first choice.
– DPT
1 hour ago
Number one. Use your first choice.
– DPT
1 hour ago
In every situation? do you think I could work that in? The above is just an example. In fact, there is no door slamming in this story, yet.
– mbadawi23
1 hour ago
In every situation? do you think I could work that in? The above is just an example. In fact, there is no door slamming in this story, yet.
– mbadawi23
1 hour ago
Write it, and keep looking around for additional ways to communicate it. "He yelled an expletive, and his mother said, "Grounded. no F-bombs under my roof." Keep at it. That's the nature of the game.
– DPT
39 mins ago
Write it, and keep looking around for additional ways to communicate it. "He yelled an expletive, and his mother said, "Grounded. no F-bombs under my roof." Keep at it. That's the nature of the game.
– DPT
39 mins ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
Each usage has its place.
#1 is most commonly used in such situations. Even if you're not writing for children, you don't necessarily want every bit of cursing. Sometimes telling that the character used a strong word is enough, or even more effective, than actually spelling out what exactly he said.
#2 has place when you're writing for adults, who would know what you're hiding, but you still wish to keep a cleaner tongue. This solution only makes sense in speculative fiction - not in a story set in our here-and-now.
#3 might be in character for the person doing the cursing. Some people automatically resort to the milder words - that's how they've been raised, that's their natural vocabulary. If that is the case for the particular character, feel free to use it. Make sure it matches the rest of the characterisation though.
#4 if you use that, you are throwing the reader out of the immersion in your story. You are presenting the reader with a meta element - an in-story word has been visibly blacked-out outside. Terry Pratchett used this for comedic effect, with a hardened criminal who was literally saying '--ing' all the time. This is a tool you'd want to apply very carefully though, while being aware that you are throwing the reader out of the story - only do it if this is the deliberate effect you're seeking.
add a comment |
Maybe you can use a spoonerism?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism
However, I am not sure if there's any unintended effect it may have (it could make the excerpt unintentionally funny).
For example:
Instead of saying "F**k this!", your character could say: "Tuck
fhis!".
Check this example as a reference:
Similarly to the above example, "Buck Fama" is a popular slogan in the
(often contentious) rivalry between Louisiana State University and the
University of Alabama (commonly shortened to Bama). This slogan can be
heard very often from LSU fans.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "166"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
mbadawi23 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f43540%2fhow-to-write-cleanly-even-if-my-character-uses-expletive-language%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Each usage has its place.
#1 is most commonly used in such situations. Even if you're not writing for children, you don't necessarily want every bit of cursing. Sometimes telling that the character used a strong word is enough, or even more effective, than actually spelling out what exactly he said.
#2 has place when you're writing for adults, who would know what you're hiding, but you still wish to keep a cleaner tongue. This solution only makes sense in speculative fiction - not in a story set in our here-and-now.
#3 might be in character for the person doing the cursing. Some people automatically resort to the milder words - that's how they've been raised, that's their natural vocabulary. If that is the case for the particular character, feel free to use it. Make sure it matches the rest of the characterisation though.
#4 if you use that, you are throwing the reader out of the immersion in your story. You are presenting the reader with a meta element - an in-story word has been visibly blacked-out outside. Terry Pratchett used this for comedic effect, with a hardened criminal who was literally saying '--ing' all the time. This is a tool you'd want to apply very carefully though, while being aware that you are throwing the reader out of the story - only do it if this is the deliberate effect you're seeking.
add a comment |
Each usage has its place.
#1 is most commonly used in such situations. Even if you're not writing for children, you don't necessarily want every bit of cursing. Sometimes telling that the character used a strong word is enough, or even more effective, than actually spelling out what exactly he said.
#2 has place when you're writing for adults, who would know what you're hiding, but you still wish to keep a cleaner tongue. This solution only makes sense in speculative fiction - not in a story set in our here-and-now.
#3 might be in character for the person doing the cursing. Some people automatically resort to the milder words - that's how they've been raised, that's their natural vocabulary. If that is the case for the particular character, feel free to use it. Make sure it matches the rest of the characterisation though.
#4 if you use that, you are throwing the reader out of the immersion in your story. You are presenting the reader with a meta element - an in-story word has been visibly blacked-out outside. Terry Pratchett used this for comedic effect, with a hardened criminal who was literally saying '--ing' all the time. This is a tool you'd want to apply very carefully though, while being aware that you are throwing the reader out of the story - only do it if this is the deliberate effect you're seeking.
add a comment |
Each usage has its place.
#1 is most commonly used in such situations. Even if you're not writing for children, you don't necessarily want every bit of cursing. Sometimes telling that the character used a strong word is enough, or even more effective, than actually spelling out what exactly he said.
#2 has place when you're writing for adults, who would know what you're hiding, but you still wish to keep a cleaner tongue. This solution only makes sense in speculative fiction - not in a story set in our here-and-now.
#3 might be in character for the person doing the cursing. Some people automatically resort to the milder words - that's how they've been raised, that's their natural vocabulary. If that is the case for the particular character, feel free to use it. Make sure it matches the rest of the characterisation though.
#4 if you use that, you are throwing the reader out of the immersion in your story. You are presenting the reader with a meta element - an in-story word has been visibly blacked-out outside. Terry Pratchett used this for comedic effect, with a hardened criminal who was literally saying '--ing' all the time. This is a tool you'd want to apply very carefully though, while being aware that you are throwing the reader out of the story - only do it if this is the deliberate effect you're seeking.
Each usage has its place.
#1 is most commonly used in such situations. Even if you're not writing for children, you don't necessarily want every bit of cursing. Sometimes telling that the character used a strong word is enough, or even more effective, than actually spelling out what exactly he said.
#2 has place when you're writing for adults, who would know what you're hiding, but you still wish to keep a cleaner tongue. This solution only makes sense in speculative fiction - not in a story set in our here-and-now.
#3 might be in character for the person doing the cursing. Some people automatically resort to the milder words - that's how they've been raised, that's their natural vocabulary. If that is the case for the particular character, feel free to use it. Make sure it matches the rest of the characterisation though.
#4 if you use that, you are throwing the reader out of the immersion in your story. You are presenting the reader with a meta element - an in-story word has been visibly blacked-out outside. Terry Pratchett used this for comedic effect, with a hardened criminal who was literally saying '--ing' all the time. This is a tool you'd want to apply very carefully though, while being aware that you are throwing the reader out of the story - only do it if this is the deliberate effect you're seeking.
answered 48 mins ago
GalastelGalastel
35.8k6107191
35.8k6107191
add a comment |
add a comment |
Maybe you can use a spoonerism?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism
However, I am not sure if there's any unintended effect it may have (it could make the excerpt unintentionally funny).
For example:
Instead of saying "F**k this!", your character could say: "Tuck
fhis!".
Check this example as a reference:
Similarly to the above example, "Buck Fama" is a popular slogan in the
(often contentious) rivalry between Louisiana State University and the
University of Alabama (commonly shortened to Bama). This slogan can be
heard very often from LSU fans.
add a comment |
Maybe you can use a spoonerism?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism
However, I am not sure if there's any unintended effect it may have (it could make the excerpt unintentionally funny).
For example:
Instead of saying "F**k this!", your character could say: "Tuck
fhis!".
Check this example as a reference:
Similarly to the above example, "Buck Fama" is a popular slogan in the
(often contentious) rivalry between Louisiana State University and the
University of Alabama (commonly shortened to Bama). This slogan can be
heard very often from LSU fans.
add a comment |
Maybe you can use a spoonerism?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism
However, I am not sure if there's any unintended effect it may have (it could make the excerpt unintentionally funny).
For example:
Instead of saying "F**k this!", your character could say: "Tuck
fhis!".
Check this example as a reference:
Similarly to the above example, "Buck Fama" is a popular slogan in the
(often contentious) rivalry between Louisiana State University and the
University of Alabama (commonly shortened to Bama). This slogan can be
heard very often from LSU fans.
Maybe you can use a spoonerism?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism
However, I am not sure if there's any unintended effect it may have (it could make the excerpt unintentionally funny).
For example:
Instead of saying "F**k this!", your character could say: "Tuck
fhis!".
Check this example as a reference:
Similarly to the above example, "Buck Fama" is a popular slogan in the
(often contentious) rivalry between Louisiana State University and the
University of Alabama (commonly shortened to Bama). This slogan can be
heard very often from LSU fans.
answered 38 mins ago
repomonsterrepomonster
2,0741135
2,0741135
add a comment |
add a comment |
mbadawi23 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
mbadawi23 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
mbadawi23 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
mbadawi23 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to Writing Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f43540%2fhow-to-write-cleanly-even-if-my-character-uses-expletive-language%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
2
Number one. Use your first choice.
– DPT
1 hour ago
In every situation? do you think I could work that in? The above is just an example. In fact, there is no door slamming in this story, yet.
– mbadawi23
1 hour ago
Write it, and keep looking around for additional ways to communicate it. "He yelled an expletive, and his mother said, "Grounded. no F-bombs under my roof." Keep at it. That's the nature of the game.
– DPT
39 mins ago