Writing Curse Words
Society deems certain words to be profane, grossly insensitive, or offensive. Their purpose is to sting readers or listeners, achieving a similar effect to an exclamation point!!!
Curse words are used to express anger or to make a strong point. Ideally, such offensive speech should only be used in dire circumstances, but society has certainly slipped.
“Good” parents encourage their children not to cuss, and “bad” parents raise their kids in a sea of profanity. Society considers people who often curse to be crude, with limited employment and friend options. Yet, certain social groups expect rude language and the use of swear words.
In the past, mainstream media did not contain any swear words. Only rated-R movies and adult-themed books had offensive language. Now, the airwaves, books, magazines, and the internet spew profanity at every turn. Last night, I saw a broadcast commercial that vocalized the F-word, and recently saw a public billboard with the S-word.
My parents did not encourage foul language, and I choose not to use it in my present social interactions. Yet, I did some research for this article and found something that challenged my views.
Curse words are used to express anger or to make a strong point. Ideally, such offensive speech should only be used in dire circumstances, but society has certainly slipped.
“Good” parents encourage their children not to cuss, and “bad” parents raise their kids in a sea of profanity. Society considers people who often curse to be crude, with limited employment and friend options. Yet, certain social groups expect rude language and the use of swear words.
In the past, mainstream media did not contain any swear words. Only rated-R movies and adult-themed books had offensive language. Now, the airwaves, books, magazines, and the internet spew profanity at every turn. Last night, I saw a broadcast commercial that vocalized the F-word, and recently saw a public billboard with the S-word.
My parents did not encourage foul language, and I choose not to use it in my present social interactions. Yet, I did some research for this article and found something that challenged my views.
Cursing may be a sign of intelligence
Swearing may be a sign of honesty
Profanity improves pain tolerance
Cussing is a sign of creativity
A person may throw expletives instead of punches
The above article highlights some benefits of cursing, and I admit that some occasions require it. What about my books and articles?
It is not in my nature to offend my readers, and curse words certainly have tremendous power to enrage. Thus, I have written only one curse word in all my books and none in my articles. The reason I used one for that scene was for humorous impact, not to show crude behavior.
Yet, I understand that by not cussing, I limit my characters and the impact of my articles. People expect the villain to swear and the good guy to lose it in a tirade of obscenity. Plus, all anti-heroes must cuss up a storm. For my articles, not swearing certainly limits what I can say, write about, and provide for necessary impact.
I accept this limitation, but there is a way to address the problem partially. Instead of actual swear words, I can describe the activity. “Bill swore at James.” Readers certainly understand what is going on, and to me, this is a better result than an actual swear word, which means that the reader can fill in their blanks in a way that is suitable to them, as opposed to the writer’s choice of specific profanity. Still, the impact is missing, but I am fine with the tradeoff.
Perhaps I need to push the envelope. How about one cuss word per article? Hmm. I will try #*$%& harder to offend you.
You’re the best -Bill
February 10, 2021 Updated August 09, 2025
Swearing may be a sign of honesty
Profanity improves pain tolerance
Cussing is a sign of creativity
A person may throw expletives instead of punches
The above article highlights some benefits of cursing, and I admit that some occasions require it. What about my books and articles?
It is not in my nature to offend my readers, and curse words certainly have tremendous power to enrage. Thus, I have written only one curse word in all my books and none in my articles. The reason I used one for that scene was for humorous impact, not to show crude behavior.
Yet, I understand that by not cussing, I limit my characters and the impact of my articles. People expect the villain to swear and the good guy to lose it in a tirade of obscenity. Plus, all anti-heroes must cuss up a storm. For my articles, not swearing certainly limits what I can say, write about, and provide for necessary impact.
I accept this limitation, but there is a way to address the problem partially. Instead of actual swear words, I can describe the activity. “Bill swore at James.” Readers certainly understand what is going on, and to me, this is a better result than an actual swear word, which means that the reader can fill in their blanks in a way that is suitable to them, as opposed to the writer’s choice of specific profanity. Still, the impact is missing, but I am fine with the tradeoff.
Perhaps I need to push the envelope. How about one cuss word per article? Hmm. I will try #*$%& harder to offend you.
You’re the best -Bill
February 10, 2021 Updated August 09, 2025
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