SquarePeg Books

In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?

Well, in real life I use the word “fuck” like it’s a comma.

I’m actually not that bad, but as my children have gotten older, my use of profanity has slowly scaled up. There are days where I manage to use my replacement words (sugarsticks, mother-pus-bucket, and so on) and there are days I’m pretty certain I’ve at least singed somebody’s ears.

As for writing, it really depends on the material. Some stories everyone uses euphemisms with an occasional profanity for emphasis. In others, my characters defy such niceties and spew words that I’m shocked at, at age 45.

Topics follow much the same pattern, though with more thought to the story than how the character wants to talk about it. Does the character have an opinion about abortion, or gender-change operations, or religion or whatever? Maybe.

But the more important question in regards to writing about a topic that may or may not be controversial is: does it forward the plot? If it does, how much do I need to write about it? Is it enough to show there’s opinion and just leave it, or is it a huge plot point in which there is conflict I want to explore in a reasonable number of pages? Better yet, does my resolution of said conflict follow through to a plausible end?

Not the end my reader may have an opinion on, an end that makes sense to the story and to me. Which may or may not be a sign of good writing, since it very well could piss off my reader and make me lose a fan/customer for life.

Check out the Insecure Writer’s Support Group to see more writers dish about their concerns, their solutions to various problems, or how to question all of your life choices at 2:23am while researching hummingbirds.