> I really don't agree with this part of the argument.
Gratuitous
> obscenties (or gratuitous anything) is usually not a
good idea,
but
> appropriate cursing never stands out for me. In
fact, it's the
total
> opposite. If a character in a book is in a situation
where he's
> pissed off and isn't cursing but should be, it seems
artificial to
> me...In my own writing, I try to never hold back or
censor myself.
If
> my characters want to curse, they curse.
> J
> http://www.jasonstarr.com
As a writer this is something I struggle with. I agree that
you want the dialogue and the character's actions to be
natural, but if Hammett, Jim Thompson, James M. Cain, and
many other could write hard-hitting realistic scenes/dialogue
without profanities, then we all should be able to. My first
book, Fast Lane, which is a very harsh and violent book, I
use "fuck" 3 times, that's it, and I don't think the dialogue
or characters come across as unnatural. Since then I've taken
the easier way out - I just write the dialogue as naturally
as I can, and then go back and take out as much of the
profantities as I can without making the dialogue sound
unnatural. As least to my ear. But I still struggle with the
fact that we should be able to do what Hammett and Thompson
did - write with 0 profanities. I just can't help but feel
all I'm doing is displaying a lack of skill.
-Dave Z.
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