When Swearing Seems Forced or Obligatory or Not

A lot of Fanfiction has swearing and plenty of them have swearing that seems forced. Like a fic based on a kids series that adds swearing for the sake of it. I personally don't make my characters swear for the heck of it unless they're angry, stressed or if the mood calls for it.

Personally, I'd like to see a fanfic that has a character that doesn't swear on purpose as part of his/her personality.

What do you think?

Um, it's possible to write. You can have characters that just don't swear because that's how they were raised or something. There are people like that, so it would make sense that there would be characters like that. And yes, a lot of swearing in any kind of story might seem forced (not just in things based on children's shows).

It's just that (to borrow from Stephen King) sometimes characters have to swear because that's a good response to what they're going through, and a writer should tell the truth about their characters. Like you said, sometimes characters just have to let out a good curse when they're angry or under stress.

So yes, I do agree that some characters can be written not to swear. I'm doing it, because as was said earlier, that's the truth about the character. But there are characters who swear, and that's the truth about them. Even if the character's from a children's-based franchise because the fic might have them in those situations.

Yeah, I get that feeling sometimes. A lot of people do like adding swearing to their fic with the idea that swearing makes characters more realistic or mature, but it does get annoying at times. However, I wouldn't say that a character that doesn't swear would be realistic either. While it does depend on what company you keep, everyone swears these days. Some people may not use words like f**k or damn, but instead censoring themselves by using something harmless like 'Sugar Cookies' or simple like 'Argh'. Either way, the intention behind them is the same.

As said, a character swearing depends on who they hang out with. Like, people who spent a lot of time on the internet are more likely to pick up swear words from their peers and use them in regular conversation. Similarly, characters who hang out with the good crowd or professional people won't use those words, or if they do, never in a public situation. While children swearing does make me roll my eyes, it's very easy for children to come across swear words on the internet and add them to their vocabulary.