One thing I have encountered recently is the conundrum on whether to swear or edit it out. This was while editing a YA and an adult novel in quick succession. Swears are such a handy tool to create tension when someone runs into trouble, interacts with less likable characters or is in mental or physical anguish. But I decided not to and here's why:

Why swearing enticed me to start with?

With swearing writers can make their novel realistic, gritty and fast paced, depending on which swears are used. I liked this idea, but didn't want to cut off a portion of my possible readership.

Advantages to not swear in your novel?

There are lots of reasons why a writer might wish not to swear in their novel, other than they themselves are inclined not to swear. The most notable reason is that if they have a younger audience for another one of their novels, e.g. if they have written YA and one of their other books is an adult book, they may end up alienating or losing some of their readers. This is especially the case if the reader's parents are the ones who buy the book. They may not wish their children to be reading such material.

If they want to appeal to a larger group of readers, choosing not to swear can give their book and their brand a clean clear message. This may also apply more readily to self-published novelists who can’t afford to lose readership.

What can I use instead swearing?

There are many alternatives to swearing outright. A writer could describe the profanity in a way readers might remember, using similes and metaphors .e.g. She/they/he swore as colourfully as a rainbow on ecstasy. Why not give it a try, we are writers after all.

Humour

A writer could use sarcasm to replace swears. Sarcastic comments like ‘Great!’ or ‘Brilliant!’ can be just as cutting as a good swear to convey how the character really feels. Some writers also like readers to 'read between the lines.' What is not said can be just as powerful at creating tension.

Expletives

Another choice is to replace the swear with forth wall narrative censorship. Either with the use of asterisks e.g. **** to replace the letters of a swear word, or writers could use grawlixes, more commonly seen in comic book speech marks. Grawlixes are a word and not one I'd heard before either. This is a mixture of symbols to replace swearing, and it isn’t the same each time a certain swear is used, but keeps the reader guessing e.g. !*$?

Replace with body language

Having a character give another character a rude gesture could also be used as a effective tool to replace swearing. Again though it could be considered mild, this kind of character behaviour may put off some readers or the parents of certain readers.

The reader’s narrative

Another tool to use is to simply expect the reader to insert their own narrative. A writer can suggest swearing, by writing ‘she/they/he swore’ ect. This is one way to leave it up to the reader’s imagination.

In world swearing

A writer could create new words or combinations of words that mean curses in that world. If you’ve ever seen any episodes of Farscape, you may remember that they used in world words such as Frell and Dren. Swearing in this format is a clever way to display your world building to their readers.

Reasons not to swear in world

A writer could create a reason in the world why their character may not swear. E.g. swearing has been banned in their district or they could face fines if they swear publicly.

Your Thoughts

Do you swear in your writing? If you've considered not to use it for the sake of your readers, which of these alternatives appeals to you? Why not give one of these a try the next time you're writing.