"My best advice is not to read books by other writers, because they are writers, not necessarily analytical regarding the craft of writing. Though I am still struggling and far from financially successful, what helped me the most was…"
William G. Davis's Discussions
Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i
29 Replies
I’d appreciate your opinions concerning ‘blue language’ in novels. In the final edit of my forthcoming novel, Black Karma, I notice that my main character has a very ‘blue’ exchange using the ‘F’…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Susan Jan 19.
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"I guess I wrote a thriller."
"I classify mine as mystery/thrillers written in a hard core style. Don't know if that makes sense, but I think if you simply classify your stuff as mysteries it's possible readers might place you in the…"
"Boy, you are really surveying the swamp before you sitck your toe in. And rightly so. There are those who realize that writers are so desperate to be accepted that they'll spend tons of money in an attempt to get published and…"
Susan replied to William G. Davis's discussion Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i"I just finished the first novel written by Chuck Hogan (whose novel Prince of Thieves was made into The Town by Ben Affleck). In it, he does an amazing job of individualizing many characters. One uses the f word in almost every passage of dialogue.…"
Tom Vater replied to William G. Davis's discussion Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i"Fuck yeah!!!
Am currently writing my second Detective Maier novel (for Exhibit A in the UK and US). My detective swears moderately, rarely in fact, but other characters are more vociferous with their 'blue' outbursts. I take a cue from…"
Debbie Bennett replied to William G. Davis's discussion Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i"I have a street-kid character. It took me ages to understand that he was talking with my words and not his. When I started restricting the range of his vocabulary and letting him swear, he started coming to life. A lack of education means he…"
"Dexter has obviously been enormously successful and the character started as a novel. But Dexter does have some redeeming qualities (he only kills those who deserve it). As you describe your character he sounds like the BTK…"
Eileen Schuh replied to William G. Davis's discussion Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i"No worries. It made me laugh and reminded me that I, too, mention #1. In FATAL ERROR, while relating how my young heroine lapsed into a stupor for several days after the gang murder, her biker body guard says, "I don't think she even…"
"Didn't mean to be 'in you face' about that. Just thought it was ironic that you mentioned it and I caught my character in the act."
Eileen Schuh replied to William G. Davis's discussion Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i"Ha ha! I didn't mean characters couldn't or shouldn't do that. It was just something I picked out of the air to illustrate my point that authors get to choose which aspects of their characters and their lives to include. If we…"
S. Eric Wachtel replied to William G. Davis's discussion Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i" As long as the dialogue flows naturally, there is no problem with using profanity in a novel."
"I appreciate your thoughts. Toward the climax of my novel, my protagonist did go to the john
(#1), but it did seem logical and humanly "in character." "
"Obscene language is class-related, age-related, macho-related, and a badge of brotherhood. The military, and hence all males who have served, tend to be comfortable with the f-word etc., especially when with each other. As for use of…"
"That's hilarious, :)"
Eileen Schuh replied to William G. Davis's discussion Profanity in novels. What's your opinion?i"My novels are about a biker gang and as the stories are dialogue driven, there's a lot of swearing, including the F-word. I've grown up exposed to cultures where such language is common and I generally don't even notice swearing in…"
Profile Information
- Hometown:
- Crown Point, Indiana
- About Me:
- Hi! I’m Bill Davis, author of Pagan Moon, a Mystery/Thriller with an occult/supernatural undercurrent.
I started writing Pagan Moon some years ago. With the encouragement of some amateur writers who met every week to share their works, my story developed. To survive I became a casino dealer. That’s where I met my wife. We’ve been happily married for fourteen years.
I acquired an agent, but after about eighteen months of proposing Pagan Moon to every major publisher, he was unable to sell it. Then I managed to get a contract with a small publisher, but the firm went out of business. (How lucky could I be?) I decided to put it out myself, and though it received a number of 5 Star reviews, I didn't have enough resources to properly market it. While this was going on, I completed two additional novels in the series.
Then Pagan Moon sat in my closet for several years while I dealt with some health issues—nearly three years of kidney dialysis and then a kidney transplant. During this time I was still working full time as a casino supervisor. Unfortunately, all this left little time for writing.
With Kindle technology now available, I' m making it available to a much wider audience and at an extremely attractive price.
I hope to have the next two novels in the Mike Gage Thrillers series published within the next 12 to 18 months.
- I Am A:
- Writer
- Website:
- http://www.mikegagethrillers.com
- Books And Authors I Like:
- James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, Andrew Vaachs, James M. Cain, Robert Crais, Jonathan Kellerman
- Movies And TV Shows I Like:
- Law and Order (all versions), Fringe, Person of Interest, Major Crimes, Blue Bloods
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 10:44pm on January 12, 2013,
pamilar said… Hello, Am Pamilar, I really want to have a good friendship with you. i have something special i want to discuses with you. You can get back to me, directly to my e-mail. frpamilar@yahoo.co.uk
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