Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Your opinion:
When a female character swears, what does it convey about her character?

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I don't think swearing is a make it/break it character definer. I can create a MC who swears constantly and using other attributes paint her as someone who has moxie, a survivor who refuses to let anyone push her around. A writer could use the same constant swearing, change a few attributes and create a female character who is an ignorant hick that seems morally lacking.

By the same token, you could create a MC with a super-squeaky personna and toss in one swear word to show her humanity. Make her uncomfortable when she uses that one swear word and her image shifts to ultra-uptight.

In the end, I believe your character's actions tend to speak louder than her swear words.

hey, I swear. Doesn't everyone at times?

I'm not really sure why the gender of the character makes a difference. . .

But the way I think of it, if a character uses "rougher" words on a regular basis, they are probably a "rougher" character. If that makes sense! Also, well-timed four-letter words could be the result of a strong emotion - anger would be most likely, I would think.

I don't think it matters as long as its true to your character. For instance, if you female MC (lets call her Jane) stubs her toe, what would she really say? If you'd prefer she not use swear words, maybe you can give her a little quirk- Diana Gabaldon did this in her Outlander (LOVE THIS) novels with the main character Claire. She would always say, "Jesus H. Roosevelt".

Best!