Do you ever swear when you write?

Lynne Level 1

October 18, 2016, 6:28 am

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I find this an interesting topic. There are some posts I read that drop the F-bomb left, right and center and then there are some people that say you must never ever swear when you write content.

I am just interested to know what everyone else feels about this topic.

My personal feeling is that swearing constantly will turn a lot of readers off my content but sometimes I just have to say fuck. Oops did I say that out loud?

And this is something that I felt so liberated by when I closed my online store. It was not just about being able to swear but I was blogging a bit when I had my online baby store and I felt constrained when I wrote… I felt like I had to be all professional and keep it “tidy” if you know what I mean?

When I closed my store and started blogging full time it felt awesome! I had previously done a Youtube video for my addiction blog which was titled “Fuck It The Ultimate Spiritual Way”.. which was actually a review on the book with that title.

So when I made the decision to close my store I wrote a blog post about why I wanted to close it and I embedded that Youtube video because it truly was fitting.

And then for my addiction blog I like to keep it raw and real so I do swear a bit on that (especially on the posts when I was quitting smoking and sharing my journey lol). I mean it’s not like everyone in a crack house minds their P’s and Q’s right?

So my personal feeling is that there is a time and a place. It depends on who you are, who your audience is and what your niche is….

Here is a quote from Stephen King on the topic of swearing in your content:

Make yourself a solemn promise right now that you’ll never use ‘emolument’ when you mean ‘tip’ and you’ll never say John stopped long enough to perform an act of excretion when you mean John stopped long enough to take a shit. If you believe ‘take a shit’ would be considered offensive or inappropriate by your audience, feel free to say John stopped long enough to move his bowels (or perhaps John stopped long enough to ‘push’). I’m not trying to get you to talk dirty, only plain and direct.

Comments

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hitmeasap

Well, there is a saying, at least in Sweden that goes something like this:

"You have a bad vocabulary if you swear regularly."

I personally swear in more or less every single sentence when I'm talking. I say things like "helvete", "hora" och "fitta". In Sweden, I'd say that those 3 words are more or less used frequently by everyone. However, the meaning of the words aren't really the same as they would be in English, but in English, if I translate them, they are:

"hell", "whore" and "cunt/twat".

That being said, I try to not use these sort of words in English when I'm writing. Mostly because I find it a bit odd, as the meaning of them doesn't match properly. - I don't mean that someone is a whore because I say "hora!" in Sweden. I would use that word when I hurt myself for instance. If I cut myself or whatever. Then I would say something like: "Helvetes jävla horjävel!" or whatever..

And that would mean: "Hell fucking whore-fucker" .. And that's doesn't fit at all. It's weird and it sounds ridiculous in English but it's used frequently in Sweden by literally everyone. That being said, I also try to stay away from such words in English, due to the fact that I want to act as a professional. Especially since English aren't my native language. - However, I do think that anyone and everyone should be allowed to use such words whenever they want to, without being judged.

10 years ago

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Lynne

OMG Andre I am giggling away here.

Yes I can't see that phrase being very appropriate.... in any situation in English.

Isn't it funny how when you change the language but use basically the same words it actually means something completely different. A lot of the people in South Africa are Afrikaans, like my husband. There are some very funny things he says which firstly you just can't say in English and if you can it just isn't the same.

10 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Yep me too although I only swear in writing when I feel deeply emotional about the topic. Or if it's a friendly online debate and my opponent launches some fighting words then I think it's only fair to swear.

8 years ago

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jeffreyjose48

No. I keep my mouth clean. I don't like to swear in writing. Its easy so not to do it. Just don't swear. Its not good to hear.

People needs to hear good words. They need encouraging words. Ourselves too needs to hear only good words. Bad words should not be in our vocabulary. Be clean in your words as much as possible.

8 years ago

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Cristian

Depends on the topic and the potential audience I'm targeting, I'm like a chameleon. It truth I would love to use swear words in any niche, but you simply can't do that, sometimes a professional attitude can save you a lot of trouble.

I use to use swear words a lot on my personal blog to develop funny stories or evidence certain facts in a fun and unique way but for some time now I try to keep away from swearing, especially at work where most people might find it offensive.

10 years ago

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Lynne

Cristian yes for sure, most niches swearing just doesn't fit at all does it? There is just one website where I swear at times and that is on my addiction blog... as I am sure you can imagine most crack houses the addicts don't exactly make an effort to mind their P's and Q's LOL.

10 years ago

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fishmonk

I would say that it depends on the type of content you are writing. I believe that we should be able to write swear words when writing fiction or even real live stories. It's best to keep it real but there is a need to put a disclaimer to please the readers. You never know who would be reading these stories so it's better to inform the reader before the introduction section.

9 years ago

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Tronia

I personally don't really like using the f-words or other swearing terms when I write. It doesn't matter what I write... whether it's an article or some short story. I do adjust the actual vocabulary and sentence structure based on what sort of thing I am writing but I never include the swear words. I was brought up with the idea that we shouldn't be swearing so it sort of stuck with me.

I think that it's better to simply put other terms such as ''damn'' instead of the f-bomb. But I guess it does depend on every individual writer because we all have our own styles and preferences ;)

Also, I love Stephen King!

9 years ago

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DenisP

When it comes to professional writing, swearing is absolutely a no-no for me. Even in blog posts and such, I would definitely prefer to refrain from swearing. It just seems very unprofessional to me. Take Buzz Feed for example. I know they're not some major news outlet or anything, but you'd imagine a site of their stature to hold themselves with dignity. However, more often than not many of their articles are littered with swearing. It just throws me off and doesn't feel very dignified. Don't get me wrong, I have zero problems with swearing in casual conversation, but doing so in online articles just feels wrong.

9 years ago

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Kakashi2020

I agree that swearing is a nono when it comes to writing. But as a writer, sometimes I do swear while writing, specially when I can't remember a specific word or whenever I get frustrated.

8 years ago

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DenisP

Haha, well I definitely can’t deny that I sometimes swear during the writing process. Writing can really be a frustrating activity sometimes, so if I’m in the middle of writing something and my brain gets stuck, I might slam my head on the desk a let out a loud “F**K!” You know which word I mean, haha.

Swearing definitely does have its place in writing as well, but I’d say it’s suited more to creative writing. The fact is that people often swear in casual conversation, so it would be weird to write dialogue for characters where their language is completely pristine.

8 years ago

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DarthHazard

When I owned my own forum, I allowed swearing as long as it wasn't offensive or racist. I would swear sometimes when I wrote topics or posts but only sometimes. I didn't want to swear too much because that might have put off some potential users. On the other hand, with blogging, I have never sworn in any of my posts. I just feel that you should be extremely professional when writing blog posts unless of course, it is a personal blog. Because of that, I think you really shouldn't swear in blog posts. You may have some young readers or readers that do not like swearing who you could lose

9 years ago

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TheArticulate

I think for a lot of people, you and myself included, professionalism is very important to our images, especially when we're dealing with people online. Swearing, while it can be effective in moderation, isn't particularly professional and doesn't give the best first impression if you come straight out of the gate using those words.

I have no problem with people swearing as long it's not directed toward me or overtly discriminatory or racist toward someone. But unless I'm in the presence of family or friends, I don't generally find myself swearing very often.

9 years ago

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galegatling

Interesting topic indeed! Do you ever swear when you write?

I wouldn't say that I swear, umm, a lot, Do you ever swear when you write?

probably once in a while. I found out that whenever you write, specially serious topics without swears and light curse words, some readers would tend to get bored probably because of the lack of emotion. Now take note that I said emotion - that is where those swear words come to play. Light cursive words such as damn, freaking (is that even a cursive word?) shitty, and the likes, would give aggressive emotions to the readers so they would eventually feel whatever they are reading. Although this probably doesn't work on product reviews. Do you ever swear when you write?

9 years ago

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TheArticulate

This is a very interesting topic. I swear pretty regularly in real life, especially if I'm in the company of friends. But my professional side does not swear, especially when I'm working with clients. I think that this professional side of me shines through stronger in my writing than my personal side, so I don't tend to swear when I write very often.

Even if I'm writing my own personal social media, I don't swear. And it's not that you shouldn't swear when you write, I think you just shouldn't overdo it. I think there's a time and place for swear words, and they work to make your point more entertaining and your articles interesting, but only if used in a tasteful way.

9 years ago

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TheInsaneSakif

Just like you, I swear a lot especially when I'm talking to my friends. I just can't help it! But when it comes writing in blogs or articles, I limit my swearing to a minimum. I mean I have to, otherwise, people would think I'm a jerk! But I do sometimes use swear words to invoke a sense of humor.

9 years ago

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peachpurple

I do not swear or curse anyone or anything when I write or comment in forum, blogs or Facebook. It is very impolite and uncultured to do so. Some people find it funny or a trend to swear to show "cool" side but I do not think so. It is down grading oneself.

9 years ago

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Krisleen

I never swear when I write. You have mentioned about being professional so you have to keep it "tidy". I agree on that. I practice professionalism all the time especially when I do my write ups for my freelance job. I make it look professional thru formal writing. I also practice professionalism when I post my opinions in forums. It might be just an opinion but I still make it decent and respectful. I understand that the site owners would not be so happy seeing people swear in forums. Besides, swearing provokes hate and attacks, which is not my main purpose for doing my freelance job. I really intend to make it professional as I pay my respect to the people involved with my tasks.

9 years ago

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ballyhara

Swearing comes out of me when I'm speaking, if you make me drop those words. Now, when I write, swearing is a big no no. Bad words come out when you're angry, lazy for words, or don't know what to say. And when you write, you are not in any of those previous positions. Writing needs you to be focused, so you're not lazy, you know exactly what you want to say, and usually you're not angry while writing (exceptions may apply). The only way I can swear while writing, is when I'm sending a text on my cellphone, or at social media, and that's only with closer friends or relatives, otherwise, I do take care of language.

9 years ago

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iamawriter

Sadly most sites do not allow swearing or using bad language. myLot is one good example. They do not even allow expressions like Tom, Dick and Harry and many such expressions that are innocent but contain words that have different meanings in different contexts Personally I do not like to use such language even if it was allowed.

9 years ago

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Judas2018

Swearing imo is only appropriate when writing a screenplay or book. In which the characters are going to undoubtedly swear at times when showing emotion. Writing a blog, editorial or piece for your site or someone else's? It's never appropriate to swear. Some readers don't like to read profanity in articles where they're there to soak up information. Other times, the writer can come off as angry. Most readers don't want info from an angry person, as they feel the person might not be in the right frame of mind to be a useful source of information. While we live in a society where everyone 'feels', common etiquette is for people to not display anger in public or online during a write-up. I think good writers can project emotions without swearing.

9 years ago

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mildredtabitha

I find this topic to be very interesting and some responses here are hilarious.

I never swear when writing content. It is something I never thought of doing and it also doesn't appear to be decent.

9 years ago

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peachpurple

I never use swearing words in my blog nor comments, it brings bad impression and bad image towards our readers and low traffic. Not funny either

9 years ago

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Pixie06

I don't like to use swear words in my articles too. I feel that it is disrespectful. I include some jokes in my content at times and I think that this is what makes it interesting. If you use too much swear words then this may annoy some people and they may stop handing you work or stop visiting your blog. Ultimately, you are the one who will lose.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

This is not being prude but I don’t get the idea why a writer has to use bad words or curses when they write. There are other ways to express your emotion but I don’t think it is ethical to use bad words. What if there are children who happen to read your content? That would be a disaster. Instead of spreading goodwill and peace, you are spreading evil and negative words. Pardon me for this comment but I’m just being honest about swearing and cursing when you write. I really don’t think it is appropriate to do.

9 years ago

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