When is it okay to write cuss words in a fictional story if ever?

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When is it okay to write cuss words in a fictional story if ever?
 
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I’m not sure when or if it’s ok, but Flannery O’Connor seemed comfortable with it.
 
When you’re Norman Mailer and the book is The Naked and the Dead.

Seriously, when it’s artistically appropriate and not done for a bunch of shock value and also the cussing is not overused and nothing blasphemous at all.
 
What do you mean by a “cuss word”?

Crude/obscene language - words that describe bodily functions or parts in a crass way - are impolite and should not be used in polite company. If you are writing a story about people who use such language it would make sense to use the language they use to add reality. You would want to have an editor or reading crit group who can help you keep the language realistic but not gratuitous.

I read a book by a popular women’s lit writer and the language in it rang about as true as a 13 year old using a “bad word” in a story simply to shock her parents. Don’t do that.
 
As a writer/author myself, unless I am writing something non-fiction about how people speak, there is no necessity of using obscene or vulgar language (unless you are compiling a dictionary 😉) in nonfiction. (Creative non-fiction might be an exception.)
In a fiction work, there is nothing wrong with crude language as long as it is part of a dialogue and it is an accurate representation of the words people use in the context of the story. Language that is a violation of either the 2nd or the 8th commandment, is, IMHO, never proper or permissible unless the story is about those committing sins against those two commandments.
My 2 cents.
 
Say you’re writing a villain for example. He might not have too pleasant opinions of others hence the cussing. 😜. but I understand about nothing using Jesus in it or God kinda cuss words.

But say you’re for example writing non original fiction like as in fan fiction.
 
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As a working editor, here is what happens when I get a manuscript. First, slang terms for the butt and other normally covered body parts are straight out. Slang words for bodily functions are right out. Calling someone a slang word that falls under profanity is right out. Using God’s name in vain is out. I either cross out the word, write in a substitute word or phrase, or otherwise partially rewrite the sentence. Art is not a get out of jail free card.

Prior to 1970, you had crime dramas, police/detective shows, science-fiction and plenty of villains on TV. Most of it was good to very good, and zero profanity/cussing and swearing.

The company I work for has been producing mostly fiction for a long time now. We understand who our audience is and we do not want to add to the “freedom” some people wanted in the late 1960s. Silly me. At the time, I thought they had some high-minded goal. Nope, we get sexual situations, “adult” language, and other immoral behaviors and bad behaviors acted out as good, normal or average. No need for any of that. We chose to be family friendly. We chose to produce work that would appeal to a wide age group without offending most people.

I also have a visual arts background. I associated with real artists for a time. I took art classes in college. And I work with writers and artists now. Things were pushed in a wrong direction regarding fiction, followed by non-fiction. I never thought I’d see the day when I would throw out a non-fiction book, but I did. Some author decided to do a book about the work of an attorney regarding a subject that interested me. This author used up 15% of the book to mention the sexual antics of various people. Totally irrelevant in the context of the entire book. I would have cut that 15% but I was amazed that a “real” publishing company left it in. Not in my library.

Fan fiction, most of it, has been described this way: it has all the sex scenes that were never part of the original. It is called a “derivative work.” Now, some well-known authors and studios are against it, others are for it and others are neutral. In other words, they know it’s out there, but they do not take a position. On the other hand, a few actively pursue those who distort/pervert their copyrights.
 
Correct me if I’m wrong but not all fanfiction though is under the romance genre or has sexual filth.

I can write a fan fiction where Chewbacca becomes a Jedi for example.

Ah. I see you said most of it.
 
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I would understand someone having a character use cuss words if it is part of there character. But, if you have a third person narrator using obscene language to tell the story, it would make it hard to take the writer seriously. It would make it seem like an adolescent wrote it.
 
If I recall correctly, Mark Twain in “Life on the Mississippi” writes about some river boat pilots who cussed loudly and with great abandon and intensity. He managed to convey their character and their speech without actually using any of the offensive words.
 
That wasn’t very nice. We publish science-fiction, fantasy (a la Lord of the Rings/Middle Ages), supernatural, horror, superhero and a bit of other. We aim to engage the imagination. We are not a Christian publisher in the sense that we don’t aim for Christian bookstores but our work is based on Christian principles. Don’t offend, don’t follow the crowd, family friendly. No politics as in real-world politics. Nothing anti-American, and our fans in the military will back me up on that.
 
Cath13 said:
Do a lot of characters get killed in interesting or unusual ways?
Click to expand...
Woo hoo this thread escalated quickly!
Best weird deaths was on the TV show Pushing Daisies. I think the writers got paid OT hahaha
 
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