Warning adult language.
I try to make my characters as real as possible. I want my readers to see them as real people, to care about them. To care about who they are, what they feel, how they face life. A large part of each character is how they speak.
However, I face two problems in using adult language; I limit my potential audience, and violate my personal religious values. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I can cuss the wallpaper off the wall in three languages. It’s, not can I? It’s, I do. I once broke a little toe on my right foot, my wife said she knew I was in pain, because I started out in English, switched to Thai, then Lao, and back to English, without repeating myself. No, I didn’t teach her either of the other two languages, but we’ve been married three decades.
I also limit my audience if I stick to even PG rated language.
Language is a map showing who each character is. Some concepts work in one language, but not in others. The cliché, “Something is lost in translation,” is true, even within the language the reader speaks, and thinks in.
Doctor Sheldon Cooper, saying in frustration, “Dagnabit,” is who the character is, and everyone who watches the show, expects this kind of backwoods East Texas, charm. That cannot be said, if the other regulars were to use the expression, it would be seen as pointed sarcasm, aimed at Dr. Cooper.
So, the days of gosh darn, dagnabit, and golly, are gone, with the exception of their use in books and stories of 1965 and earlier. To be sure some of our favorite stories of the past used those words, but the stories are classics, written when such was the accepted norm. I love Robert Heinlein’s Tunnel in the Sky, one of his juvenile series, it’s one of my top ten, and the first of his books I ever read, but the dialogue in spots is stilted. What made it great, is the story’s telling, and the fact the reader knows the settings where it’s stilted are 1950s family. More Father Knows Best, than NYPD Blue.
The word I grew up with, was Hockey Poot. My grandfather had 40 acres, and 160 head of cattle. From as far back as I remember, we were told to avoid stepping in ‘hockey poot.’ Later the term was a substitute for calling something bull shit, or for saying someone was full bull shit. However, when writing a story, using ‘inside jokes,’ takes care in setting up, otherwise you risk yanking the reader out of your story.
Some words are interchangeable; a well set up use of the word crap, can hit as hard as the use of the word shit. But is that who the character is? A teacher in class, may say crap, but an angry biker using the word crap, would pull the reader out of story, as it is not a believable context for its use.
Context plays a huge role. When is the story taking place? An F-Bomb used in a story of the 1940’s, by a 15-year-old, is unbelievable. But in a story taking place in in the 1990s, and beyond, the F-Bomb might be frowned upon, but fits the period. But, again, it matters who is using it, why are they using it, and where.
Some phrases I, to date have not used, and do not intend to in the future;
Exodus 20:7; You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. (NLT).
Religion in writing? No, though both of my published books touch on the subject of Christianity, and what it means to some of the characters. In White Hot Skies, one of the main characters is a lay preacher, who, before the story begins, has his own flock. His actions, and language are guided by his faith, as is his wife. Damn is used a lot, as is shit and the F-bomb. It is the situation and the character’s map.
In Time’s Crossroads, the language is milder, not because of religion, but more the main character’s upbringing.
But in both, using the Lord’s name in vain is, well, not necessary to convey anger or frustration at an individual or situation.
When I sell a book directly, I avoid the subject of “adult language” unless asked. I have been asked twice, and in both cases, a young person was interested in my books. One did buy Time’s Crossroads, as the language was not hardcore. The other person is a young writer; one I have blogged about earlier. I have gotten to know her better, and know what her parents would object too. We were discussing how characters can do things the writer did not intend, for reason we don’t know at the time, but discover as the story unfolds. Later she came to my booth, and asked if I was talking about my book, White Hot Skies, then she asked if it was appropriate for her age? She is 15 maybe 16, and knowing her, and her mom, I told her the language was not for her. She is the reason for this blog post.
I think as a writer, or I should say, we, as writers, and readers, need to keep this debate going, if only with ourselves in our head. Though it would be better to discuss with everyone.
The map guides the character, and as a writer, we have some control over where the map takes our creation. Keeping true to the character is life and death to the story, yet one has to keep in mind who their readers are.