Vulgar language can be a sticky subject. If you swear, it may turn some people off. If you don't, it may sound unrealistic--depending on the circumstances.
My very first novel--a deer hunting horror story--was about five guys who went off hunting together each November, and boy oh boy did they swear. Fuck this and fuck that, with a few shits and goddamns thrown in for good measure. And, of course, can't forget the (ironic) mother of all vulgarity: motherfucker.
By the time I had five novels under my belt, the amount of swearing went down. Dramatically. Why? It wasn't that I was a prude. I'm not. I can use profanity like a sailor, and in many cases I'm not proud of it--especially when it's been pointed out. But in my writing nowadays, I only put it in if it fits the circumstances.
When I edited Beholder's Eye, a thriller about a police investigator who's daughter is kidnapped by a serial killer, I noticed that when I have dialogue between the two main characters--both investigators for the Minneapolis PD--they don't swear very much. Do they need to? I decided not to. I worked as a cop for roughly a dozen years, and trust me not all cops swear. Some do. And some do a lot! But not all.
It has nothing to do with vulgarity lacking nobility--I believe this was a line taken from the movie Misery. If it fits, put it in. If it doesn't . . . then don't force it.
But, by God, if you really need a character to say "Fuck!" don't substitute "Fudge-muffin!" or, worse yet, "F%#@!" You'll just make yourself look stupid.
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