What every author should know about the F word

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QAMuMSCnuc&feature=player_embedded

Dave,
I forgot to issue a warning before posting this, but assumed I was dealing with adults.

I found it interesting. A good English lesson by an Indian teacher that knows how to make the subject interesting.

Well, guys, I made it far enough through the tape to get the point. It reminds me of a situation I found myself involved in back in the late 70's while I was back in school, finishing my degree. I was sitting in a linguistics and grammar classroom, and the professor was saying that using slang was detrimental to the clarity of speech or writing. Being me, I interjected with a comment about the word for female dog having the ability to put across a meaning that no proper word could quite meet. He smiled broadly and said that the word in question was not slang at all, and the proof of that was it's multiple uses as different parts of speech. He then began the same demonstration in the tape - just substituting the B word.

There is an odd synchronicity going on here. Yesterday I was working on several scenarios involving the main 21st century character for my books, a man named Joshua Stone, who goes through a period of extreme disillusionment and grief. As I was putting his dialogue on paper, I found him using that word, and decided that, this morning, I should ask you guys if it would be inappropriate or not, based on the bits of the books that I have posted here. It would not be quite so frequent as used in Abe's tape, just enough for the reader to see the extent of his feelings.

Ann

You must watch this to the end, Ann!

Ann,
I don't like the word used too frequently in books, however if it adds color and reflects the language of the character then use it. Sometimes a vulgar expression can make the desired point. Over use of any word is not good writing.

Shelagh wrote:

You must watch this to the end, Ann!

I would give this a thumb's up, but....

Ann

Abe F. March wrote:

Ann,
I don't like the word used too frequently in books, however if it adds color and reflects the language of the character then use it. Sometimes a vulgar expression can make the desired point. Over use of any word is not good writing.

This character is a cop in a big East coast city - not sure yet which city - whose wife is killed in a freeway pile-up caused by a high-speed perp chase. The man moves his two children to Sandy Creek, Texas and takes on a deputy sheriff's job, in this very quiet small town, wanting to get as far away from his old life as possible. When he first arrives, he is very bitter. It takes some time, as well as getting involved with the people and some mysterious goings-on for him to find himself again. In the meantime, there needs to be some way to show the extent of his grief and anger.

Ann

alj wrote:

I would give this a thumb's up, but....

Ann

Has anyone on this forum ever gone out into the woods or to a place where no one can hear, and just let it all hang out? Screaming or whatever?
I think a character in a story who has to get rid of frustration could be made to yell at will, using whatever language or vulgarity he/she pleases to vent the frustration. That's where those words are effective and make the point.

... as in the King's Speech?

That was confined to three spots and could be easily overlooked.

I have a problem with foul language.
My mother complained if I said "Yah" instead of "Yes."

alj wrote:

This character is a cop in a big East coast city - not sure yet which city - whose wife is killed in a freeway pile-up caused by a high-speed perp chase. The man moves his two children to Sandy Creek, Texas and takes on a deputy sheriff's job, in this very quiet small town, wanting to get as far away from his old life as possible. When he first arrives, he is very bitter. It takes some time, as well as getting involved with the people and some mysterious goings-on for him to find himself again. In the meantime, there needs to be some way to show the extent of his grief and anger.

Your character is similar to Robert B Parker's Jesse Stone character. You might read a couple of those novels to see how he handled it.

Same last name? Definitely synchronistic. I will give them a try.

Ann

http://www.robertbparker.net/jesse_stone.asp

That really does sound similar, Al. I had never heard of this author or series. I'm almost freaked by the similarity of the name. I chose Stone because it was close to Redstone, and Joshua because of its relationship to Yeshua, or Jesus. (and because Lynn pointed out that there is a Joshua Creek that runs through the hill country; we crossed it on the way - I had been looking for a good name for the fictional small town that became Sandy Creek, but the Joshua part stuck with me.) His romantic interest is named Maggie (for Magdalena) - It will bring the sacred marriage concept into the story, hopefully without making a big thing of it.

Ann

Since I met my wife in 1959, I have heard her swear exactly twice. Once she said "shit" when her mother left the room after disapproving of our marriage intentions. Once she said "damn" when a check bounced that she had accepted at a yard sale. (It was so out of character that our daughters were shocked.) Yet she agrees that language in a novel should reflect the speech of a character and the scene and not pander to the sensibilites of some segment of the author's readership. Anything less would lack believability.

If you are unwilling to write the F-word, don't write about characters who would say the F-word.

alj wrote:

That really does sound similar, Al. I had never heard of this author or series.

He is better known for his Spencer character.

I watched the Zappa video. I wonder if now, 20+ years later, he'd still argue on a national program that it's all just "words" and there should be no censorship. And if that's the case, how he feels about the laws against hate speech. It's all just "words," you know.


Al -accepting checks at a yard sale? Tsk, tsk. That's up there with letting them use your bathroom.

Al,

If we wish to get technical--your wife swore once. The S word is a vulgarity.

alice wrote:

Al,

If we wish to get technical--your wife swore once. The S word is a vulgarity.

For Judy so is the D word.

LC wrote:

I watched the Zappa video. I wonder if now, 20+ years later, he'd still argue on a national program that it's all just "words" and there should be no censorship. And if that's the case, how he feels about the laws against hate speech. It's all just "words," you know.

I am certain that Zappa would oppose laws against hate speech as would I. Freedom of speech cannot be freedom of only that speech with which we agree. Hate speech is incitement only when it results in illegal activities, in which case the crime is one of conspiracy, not one of inappropriate speech.

LC wrote:

Al -accepting checks at a yard sale? Tsk, tsk. That's up there with letting them use your bathroom.

I agree. It was her yard sale, the item sold was a ratty old sofa that I'd have given away, and the paper hanger was one of those airhead ladies who thinks that checks in the checkbook means there must be money in the account.

I watched the Zappa video and agree with him. They're just words. I think videos send a powerful message. Movies glorifying war or action gangster movies carry a stronger message than words. Kids play "killer" video games. Are they influenced by that. When they break into their Dad's gun closet and grab his guns, are they influenced to use it based on the video games or from movies?
Moral values are taught in the home. Growing up means taking responsibility for ones actions. Censorship is not a form of growth, and what is denied is what the kid wants. The word Nazi comes up often when convenient as seen in the Zappa video. We see modern-day Nazi behavior. Burning books is just one of them. Censorship to me means that we don't trust the ability or capability of a person to deal with something. We must protect them from themselves. We still have a long way to go before we grow up. Looking in the mirror may be a good place to start when we feel the need to condemn someone.

I don't condemn people because of their choice of words.
Some words are just more appealing to me than others.

Abe, I found the video funny! Especially with his Indian accent. I think I may have used most of his examples in my new book, Sins of the Abused.