I'll confess, I swear a lot. It probably comes from adolescence when I figured I could sound all tough and macho and cool by swearing when I wasn't any one of those three things at all. I've tried to kick the habit from time to time, but not hard enough to be successful.
While I swear in speech, I detest it in writing. I think it's lazy and crude in a premeditated way. That is, if you have a swearing habit, the words just come out naturally. Writing isn't spontaneous and your prose is easy to clean up. Where I'm in the unconscious habit of trying to sound tough and cool, the written word takes that to a whole new level by forcibly trying to sound tough and cool. You know the author edited the words, if only to correct typos. Writing jams it in your face in an unnatural way.
This blog post really jumped out at me because of the swearing. I was interested in the topic, but I found the swearful writing utter rubbish and I lost interest long before the end.
3 comments:
KT: For that piece, your complaint is quite valid. However, I will direct you to a post in a blog in which curse words are used to good effect. http://www.badassoftheweek.com/krum.html
I usually enjoy the writing on this site immensely, precisely because of the spicy language. I think it depends on audience and topic.
Thought you might find this interesting. Specifically the community's reaction. http://www.salon.com/2012/03/30/sorry_gawker_my_42_point_plan_helped_job_seekers/singleton/#comments
Some use it effectively: Ace of Spades, for example, uses it like a fine paint brush.
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