5 Reasons to Cuss (In Your WIP)
1) Cussing is a normal part of life, and though I do know people who don't like it in their fiction and refuse to say any "bad" words it's not today's normal.
2) To make a point. "Scarlett, my dear..." you know how the phrase goes. A bit controversial when it was first published, but it made the point effectively.
3) To tell the reader what kind of character they are encountering. Cussing, in all of it's various forms, says something about the style, mannerisms and culture of the character. Think to yourself, is a clean spoken drug dealer likely? Maybe not, and in the end perhaps not all of that realistic.
4) It says something about the culture of your setting. Londoners cuss differently than New Yorkers, and both cuss differently than Southerners. (Southerners cuss far less often in every day life and rarely, if ever, use the f word if they are over a certain age, they may not cuss at all.)
5) It says something about you as a writer. Are you going for realism? Then you need to cuss. Even in fantasy worlds, cussing is normal. So stop asking "What the frell is all of that about?"
2) To make a point. "Scarlett, my dear..." you know how the phrase goes. A bit controversial when it was first published, but it made the point effectively.
3) To tell the reader what kind of character they are encountering. Cussing, in all of it's various forms, says something about the style, mannerisms and culture of the character. Think to yourself, is a clean spoken drug dealer likely? Maybe not, and in the end perhaps not all of that realistic.
4) It says something about the culture of your setting. Londoners cuss differently than New Yorkers, and both cuss differently than Southerners. (Southerners cuss far less often in every day life and rarely, if ever, use the f word if they are over a certain age, they may not cuss at all.)
5) It says something about you as a writer. Are you going for realism? Then you need to cuss. Even in fantasy worlds, cussing is normal. So stop asking "What the frell is all of that about?"
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