Just the other day, I was scrolling through a new author's website. I came upon an area where folks could leave comments. Now, normally, I don't bother with others comments, but having read her new book, I wanted to see what the chatter was. For the most part, people were happy with the novel and gave much praise to this young, new author. But one particular commenter chapped my ass. The woman's issue (let's call her Priggish) was the use of foul language.
Without giving away the author's name, the book was a coming-of-age read. The young characters were bright and witty; they reminded me of some teenagers I know personally. One particular character used a fair amount of profanity, which you might expect in a clique of friends. There's always that one. There were words like: fuck, shit, dickhead, cocksucker...you get the picture.
Priggish, sanctimoniously, ripped into this new, young author, like a Christmas turkey, for creating characters that would speak this way. Now, I'm not going into every detail she found offensive, with the exception of calling a ban for this novel. Really!
What a crock of shit!
If we listen to young people today, foul words are a commonality. If we write novels about young people in today's society, their character must be believable. This is not the 40's or 50's. (not that cussing didn't exist then) Has it gotten so bad that warnings of foul language should be included on book covers, in blurbs or descriptions? Get over it Priggish!
Should we make all our characters without personalities, emotionless zombie types? Should all of our characters be pristine, without depth? That would be so fucking boring. In my opinion, a vast amount of human beings have grown so politically correct that their assholes have become inverted, and they are shitting themselves.
Keep it real, believable. I've read many novels without the use profanity, and most were great, dear to my heart even, but I will not judge a book by use of profanity alone.
What do you think?
Without giving away the author's name, the book was a coming-of-age read. The young characters were bright and witty; they reminded me of some teenagers I know personally. One particular character used a fair amount of profanity, which you might expect in a clique of friends. There's always that one. There were words like: fuck, shit, dickhead, cocksucker...you get the picture.
Priggish, sanctimoniously, ripped into this new, young author, like a Christmas turkey, for creating characters that would speak this way. Now, I'm not going into every detail she found offensive, with the exception of calling a ban for this novel. Really!
What a crock of shit!
If we listen to young people today, foul words are a commonality. If we write novels about young people in today's society, their character must be believable. This is not the 40's or 50's. (not that cussing didn't exist then) Has it gotten so bad that warnings of foul language should be included on book covers, in blurbs or descriptions? Get over it Priggish!
Should we make all our characters without personalities, emotionless zombie types? Should all of our characters be pristine, without depth? That would be so fucking boring. In my opinion, a vast amount of human beings have grown so politically correct that their assholes have become inverted, and they are shitting themselves.
Keep it real, believable. I've read many novels without the use profanity, and most were great, dear to my heart even, but I will not judge a book by use of profanity alone.
What do you think?
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