The reviews for all of my books—starting with Moonstone Beach and continuing right up to The Promise of Lightning—have been overwhelmingly positive. I continue to be touched by the generosity of everyone who chose to leave a review, and by the kind things you’ve said.
The occasional negative review has been posted, though. It’s an experience common to all writers, and one I accept as a natural part of doing what I do. When those one- or two-star reviews come in, I read them over carefully to see if there’s anything I should do differently in the future to improve my work.
As it turns out, most of those negative reviews have one thing in common: profanity.
No, I’m not saying that reviewers are hurling F-bombs at me. Quite the opposite. Most of them have been courteous and respectful even while they’re telling me why my books are not for them.
When I say the reviews have profanity in common, I mean that’s the thing most of those reviewers didn’t like. The F word. The G-D word. And a few other words that I won’t mention here, but that tend to come tripping off the tongues of some of my favorite characters.
As it happens, Loving the Storm, my new book that’s being released this month, has a little more profanity than some of the others. Considering that, I thought it was a good time to explain why I use profanity in some of my books and very little in others.
My books contain all different kinds of characters. As I write the books, those characters come to life for me a little at a time as the book progresses. At first, I’m forcing it—writing them into existence through a combination of will and persistence. But then, a bit at a time, they start talking to me.
I don’t mean that I literally think they’re talking to me, of course. But the more I get to know them, the more the story becomes like a movie in my head that’s doing what it wants to do without my input. I’m just transcribing it onto the page. When this happens, I know I’m on the right track. I know I’ve got something that feels real to me, and that, hopefully, will feel real to the readers as well.
Once a character presents himself to me in this way, he is who he is. He might love to throw profanity around, or he might not. I’ve got to listen to him and present him accurately, the way he really is. Otherwise, it’s all a lie; I’m just making things up, and you’re going to feel the difference.
Liam Delaney likes profanity. So does Jackson Graham. So does Rose Watkins. Will Bachman rarely swears, and Ryan Delaney does so only in the mildest forms.
As a writer, I have a responsibility to myself, and to my readers. But my biggest responsibility, I feel, is to the story and the characters. I have to tell who they really are, and what really happened.
I know that might sound absurd, since this is fiction, after all. But so much of what I do is flailing around until I stumble upon what feels true. Once I’ve found it, I have to relate it to you as faithfully as I can. And that might, sometimes, involve a little profanity.
I get that some readers aren’t comfortable with profanity, and I respect that. But I wanted to explain that I don’t use it just to appear edgy or angsty; I don’t do it to appeal to a particular category of readers; I don't use it, as some have suggested, because I need to invest in a thesaurus. I use profanity because that’s how some of my characters talk, and it’s my job to bring them to you as realistically, as in-the-flesh accurately, as I can.
I hope I’ve succeeded with Loving the Storm.
6 comments:
I've read all of your books, and as you know, dialogue is a very big sticking point with me. When the dialogue doesn't ring true to me, it can even distract me from the story.
The use of profanity in your books has never bothered me, because, as you note, the usage has less to do with needing a thesaurus (although I know a few people who could use that help) and more about a character's true nature. It's not there for shock value.
I can tell that you respect the views of your readers, and I appreciate your concerns, which is one of the many reasons I like and respect you (and love the books).
Actually, I read Moonstone for free and it was my first book of yours that I had read and I loved it! I love your characters and they do seem real. I will say that I recently took an English Comp 2 class for college and was instructed to never try to substitute a word due to profanity; if the correct word should be F**K that use it! Now obviously you wouldn't do that in a business journal but if you are telling a story, you need to stick to the story! Some of my authors have ventured into BDSM, which pushes me out of my comfort zone but swearing is pretty common these days and sometimes the only effective way to get a point across!! Thanks for creating enjoyable reading!
Thank you, Laurie and Janet. I appreciate your support on this. Authenticity is important to me, especially in dialogue. Sometimes it's just got to be the F-word!
Personally, I don't like profanity and don't use it, but it has never stopped me from reading a book. It has also never caused me to leave a bad review or even mention it in a review. It is what it is...part of the story, part of the characters and part of most people's language today. Not everyone is "old school" or older, like me, and I know that.
Linda, thank you for explaining your reason for some of the profanity. I will be honest, when I was reading the book where Jackson was featured, I was put off with all of the F**k. It seemed like every page contained the word. But as you explained, that is part of the character. I would not continue to associate continually with someone who used that word, in their everyday conversation, I will tolerate it in a characters makeup. Still anxiously waiting for the next gem. Currently sitting in Morro Bay, working on that house, so your books will have another home.
Ilse and Shirley, I'm glad you're both sticking with me despite the language. I appreciate your understanding.
Post a Comment