Characters who like to curse

[dragonfly_kites]

Hey guys! So what are your opinions on characters who use profanity. Personally it's not that big of a deal to me if it's used here or there but if a character uses it a lot it can take away from the story in my opinion. I'm wondering about this because one of my characters tends to lean toward swear words and I don't want him to be defined by that or turn readers off because he has a potty mouth.

Edit: pretty much what I'm asking is how do you balance the use of swears.

[shazzbaa]

It depends, to me!

if a character uses it a lot it can take away from the story in my opinion

I think I don't agree with this exactly! I do think "does this level of profanity add something to my story that's worth keeping?" is a good question to ask, and I think extraneous swearing can feel weirdly ... off --- but to me it's not the quantity of swears, but whether or not they sound natural, and whether or not it fits the established world. I've known people who drop f-bombs every other word in real life -- but I've seen characters who do that in a way that rings true and sounds like real people, and other characters who do that in a way that sounds like the author thought that the way to make dialogue realistic was to just pack it with expletives. That second one is the one you wanna avoid imo!!

I think, if you have a sweary character, it's most important to swear in a way that feels natural -- whether that's natural to you, or you're channelling the speaking style of someone you know for this character. If you feel like it would be in-character for this guy to drop f-bombs constantly, but you've never heard anyone talk like that, it might be best to tone it back to a level that feels non-weird to you.

After all, this is gonna be a lil subjective. Before I started public school, I had basically never heard swearing -- like, hearing people use "ass" as a casual word sounded incredibly weird to me for a few years. It'd be impossible for me to write a character who swore believably at that point because it all sounded off to me.... but I also would take notes, writing down snippets of conversation that struck me and trying to capture the way these people talked.

pretty much what I'm asking is how do you balance the use of swears.

If your major concern is not wanting the swearing to be distracting, then I think the big thing is to think about what you establish as the "norm" for that world. For instance, dropping f-bombs casually just to show that what you're saying is heartfelt is kinda normal in my circle of friends -- but if any of my characters in Runewriters were to start talking like that, it would feel weirdly intense and out-of-place, because my world has established the more toothless swears (damn, hell) as the thing people use to swear -- in that context, dropping an f-bomb feels like it should be a bigger deal. On the other hand, if you've built a world where most people drop a "shit!!" when they mess up, it won't be as weird to have a more intensely sweary character.

[AnnaLandin]

It depends on context and character!

Some characters swear a lot, because it's part of their personality and their background - just as there are people who swear like sailors in real life, while there are others who don't. And there are different levels of profanity, obviously - someone frequently saying "shit" or "damn" is something different from someone unleashing torrents of f-bombs on every page.

Also, there's the general tone of your comic to consider. If it's an all-ages, kid-friendly kind of comic, having a character who swears a lot is probably going to stick out like a sore thumb. If it's a comic that's geared for older readers, or simply one in which swearing has been established to not be a big deal, having a character who swears won't be a big deal. Context matters.

Personally it's not that big of a deal to me if it's used here or there but if a character uses it a lot it can take away from the story in my opinion.

As far as I'm concerned, it's pretty easy to tell whether a character swearing is simply part of their personality and fits them, or whether the author is just putting profanity in the comic to shock people. The former is good character writing - the latter is pointless and kind of silly.

"Does it make sense for this character to swear in this moment?" is an important question to ask, because it makes you think about them from a point of view of personality and character development and so on. For some characters, it DOES make sense to swear a lot - but that also means that when they're really shocked or upset abut something, you need to find some other way to express that. For characters who don't swear, having them suddenly curse will be a good way to show off their shock and/or anger.

one of my characters tends to lean toward swear words and I don't want him to be defined by that or turn readers off because he has a potty mouth.

Give him a personality that consists of more than a tendency to swear, and your readers probably won't be bothered by his swearing. Unless he goes on hateful rants regularly, I don't think it's going to be a problem.

[kirahaydenyin]

Personally I think it depends on context and the type of personality of the character. Like how does your character use profanity? Does he use it in a offensive way? Or a comedic way like many people actually do? From the way you wrote how you don't want your character to turn off readers, I take it that he swears casually. Perhaps you can look to your friends and observe how they swear, or how you swear (if you do). The "intent" and "context" on how swear words are used is what's important, it gives meaning as to why they are used. If this helps, maybe you could read your dialog and ask yourself, do the swear words add to anything, do they help convey what I'm trying to convey? If not, then it may come off as gratuitous, but that's ultimately for you to decide.

[mariusthered]

As said before context and character are the main thing here. personally I don't like swearing and I myself only swear when i'm getting angry.
I do have some bad language in my comic but mostly from adults due to the nature of the society swipe city has created, ( kids and teens caught swearing would be in big trouble). As a rule i keep swearing to bad people and people getting cross.

[Shanny8]

I dont knock any creator who uses profanity- I use it myself, but I try to keep the list of words I use to the minimal effect words, like "damn", "hell", "ass", & occasionally- "bitch". Not gonna use "shit" or the f-bomb in my story...

[dragonfly_kites]

Thanks for the advice guys! I think I'm going to keep him as he is. It just makes sense with his character. ^_^

[punkarsenic]

hmm. i think the concept of a sweary character taking away from the story inherently is selling the psychology of swearing cheap. if its badly done? fuck yes its annoying as hell and makes the dialogue a little shit tbh. but right there, i used three swears in one sentence, talking like i do.

if used naturalistically and with nuance, swearing can be a great way to diversify the way your characters speak. people that swear a lot are thought to be more sincere, due to swearing coming from the emotional side of the brain as opposed to the linguistic side (dont quote me on that, though). either way, the swearing a character uses, from time to amount, says a lot about them - and in a fantasy/scifi setting, it also says a lot abt the culture &/ language.

the only problem i find is using swearing thats inappropriate for the medium - in print comics, swearing tends to only occur if theyre decidedly adult, usually edgy types, otherwise they find a way to censor it (yknow like %$#@.) however, in web comics, its far more varied, and really doesnt matter unless youre aiming your comic at children.

[ratique]

As mentioned before, it depends on the character. If they have a tendency to curse, you should let them curse. Taking that away from them does not necessarily help your story.

On another hand I do tend to censor my characters a bit. Even though my comic is definitely not for children, as it is somewhat of a murder mystery, I do avoid certain words like "Bitch" when male characters talk about female characters. Since I find it extremely offensive, the use of this word is saved for a real big butthead or a scene that needs to have it in it to make a point.

So that is another thing to consider: Do you want a character to be likable? If you do, they should stay away from certain curse words when speaking to or about other characters. Just like in real life.

[Pyomatic]

As everyone's said, context and character! For example, in my comic the only really big swearer is a kid whose trying to be really edgy so drops in swears left right and centre just to show how much of an edgelord they are. It can come down to just how much your character would do so and what tone you want to have.

Buuut I think another thing is how you present them. EG if you don't use swears until a scene where a character breaks down, it can draw more weight and emotion to the scene since it shows how desperate the character is. Or, if you ""overuse"" swears, it show how desensitised characters are, and even imply they're emotionally exhausted? It makes the swears seem less powerful and personally I quite like using that to almost show desperation with characters who now don't have powerful enough words to express powerful emotions? But I wouldn't be surprised if people find it off putting, its just a personal preference.

Basically, swears are words already loaded with a punch, and you can use it really effectively, but it will almost always draw attention to it since they are emotionally powerful words so be wary!