In a recent poll on Twitter, all respondents I asked said they used swearing in their writing.
I ran this survey out of genuine interest. I’ve had conflicting feedback in the past on my own writing regarding the use of swear words. One beta reader said my first novel (coming July 2022!) had too much of it, while another said that one character should swear more often when they spoke.
Outside of fiction and literature, swearing is a curious human behaviour. It’s not for everyone. Some people only do it when they react to pain or shock. Others swear for comedic effect.
It’s probably fair to say that swearing remains negatively perceived in social contexts – often considered in terms of a ‘poverty of vocabulary.’ However, research suggests the use of swearing is anything but a negative trait. Studies have shown that those more fluent in swearing have greater fluency in the English language. Additionally, swearing has been linked to intelligence and trustworthiness. Beyond, mental effects, swearing may also be a source of pain relief, and letting out a few choice words during a workout can even improve strength and endurance.
When it comes to writing, for me, the key is in using it as part of character dialogue or for a narrator that has a distinct voice. The tendency is to use swearing more frequently when writing dialogue for characters with a certain background, culture, or history. However, given the evidence that swearing is far more multifaceted than just a reflection of one’s lexicon, perhaps swearing can be used more subtlety to reflect more nuanced and complex attributes of people? How sound is the judgement of character A, or how wise is character B perceived by others?
Whether we like it or not, swearing is a real human trait and many of us do it frequently – perhaps because we are trustworthy, clever, or because we stubbed our toe. As such, characters and writers alike will always need these words when striving to create realistic worlds.
As this is my last post of 2021, let me wish you all a happy f*%#ing new year!
