Yikes and Other Swear Words

Swearing is so common these days that we hardly notice anymore. It’s in our homes (the colourful words coming from my neighbour’s place is proof enough of that), it’s in the school yards, it’s in the office, it’s in our movies and tv shows, and it’s in our books.

Does it have to be? No.

Stephen King justifies his use of cussing in his novels by claiming it’s a realistic trait for the type of characters he writes. That’s fair enough. However, I won’t write about those kinds of characters.

Sure, many teenagers use expletives like punctuation. It might be ‘realistic’ to write them that way, but I choose not to. Just because everyone swears, doesn’t make it right. Because I write for young adults, I feel I have a certain responsibility towards them. I don’t like to hear the f-bomb on young tongues so I won’t encourage it by writing it. Even if I wrote for adults, I still wouldn’t use those rough, raw words. The most I’ll use are words such as yikes (well, maybe not but it was the only Y word I could think of), crikies, darn.

I came across a problem when I started writing my High Seas fantasy adventure. My Main Character grows up on a ship full of rough sailors. Of course they swore, but how did I write that into the book without using the words we know today? The advantage of writing fantasy and science fiction is that we can make up words. For example, Battlestar Galactica used frak, the Firefly universe used pigeon Chinese I think.

What are your thoughts on swearing in writing? If you also have issues, what do you do to get around it?

Note: This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. To learn more about the challenge click the image on my sidebar.

The Dos and Don'ts of Dumbing Down

I’ve had a number of writers ask me if they should dumb down their writing for their readers. Though these writers generally write for small children and teenagers, the question is relevant for all writers.

To answer this question, I could easily say, no don’t ever dumb down, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. So, I’ve compiled a short list of dos and don’ts:

DO treat your readers as you would yourself: with respect. Dumbing down your writing can across as condescending and patronising.

DON’T use words that show how smart you are. Use ones that are right. This will sometimes mean the simpler words are more fitting.

DO give your readers some credit. They are intelligent human beings. They don’t need everything explained to them.

DON’T go for simplicity for simplicity’s sake.

DO try to keep your writing consistent. If your style is simple, then throwing in a big word will only draw attention to that big word.

DON’T dumb down your language so far that you lose the essence of your meaning.

DO know your audience, your market. Use words your audience will relate and respond to.

Can you think of other dos and don’ts? Do you change your writing style for a target readership?

6 Tips for Writing for Young Adults

As some of you know, I went to a Writer’s Festival on the weekend. The second speaker was a Young Adult writer,
William Kostakis. He wrote Loathing Lola when he was only 17. The story is about the ups and downs of being Australia’s newest teenage reality TV star. Sixteen-year-old Courtney Marlow struggles with friends, fame, love, loss and... Lola.

Below are some writing tips he offered for writing for young adults:

1. Write with passion. When William first started writing he often heard the advice, “find your audience”. But William suggested that “You are your own audience.” There is little point writing what you think will be popular. Many writers write what they think will sell but they aren’t necessarily writing from the heart. When we write with passion, we find our voice.

2. Try to capture the joy of youth. The appeal of youth is the joy of life, so even if you are writing a sad story, try to find the joy of life.

3. Write with honesty. When you write, don’t try to emulate someone else’s writing. Be confident enough to find your own voice. This will resonate with your readers.

4. Avoid being called an imposter. Sometimes it’s clear an older writer has written for a younger audience. William used the example of reading someone’s work where the author had described Facebook as the Facebook. Get at least one young adult reader to proof read your manuscript.

5. Not every character needs to be 3 dimensional. He suggested that sometimes stereotypes are true and gave the example of his grandmother who is “crazy, old and ethnic”. Also, we don’t have to spell out a character’s history all the time.

6. Write how you speak and keep it simple. You want people to understand you so write small words to reflect big ideas.

Do you have any other tips for writing for the Young Adult market? What's your favourite YA book at the moment and why?