Does anyone else get tired of all the letters to the editor in a “certain romance publication” about how offensive today’s books are becoming? Too graphic, too mouthy… and oh man, the complaints about the use of the F- word. (And that’s exactly how it’s referenced, so we’ll carry it on here for giggles.)
A few of the letters didn’t bother me, but it seems to be a continuing subject now. Yes, they have a right to their opinions (you guys know how STRONGLY I feel about that subject) but let’s hear from the other side.
THE DARK SIDE.
Sometimes, I love the F- word.
It’s such a diverse and wonderfully descriptive word. It’s a verb, adjective, noun… and more! It says so much in one short, hard-edged syllable. Or two.
Say you have a wickedly strong heroine fighting a stinky demon and its blood just happens to burn human skin? That stuff splats on her arm or worse yet, face… is she going to jump back and say, “Poopy”?
Eh, no. (Okay, okay–I confess! One of my secondary characters would. 😉 )
So yes, the “F” word is in my manuscript. Guess I should warn all the sensitive readers ahead of time. I use it when another word just doesn’t fit the situation. But I use it sparingly so it doesn’t lose its magic.
Oh come on people, there’s not really any magic–it is just a word.
Four letters (or six, or seven or uh, five, if you’re my husband) strung together to form a sound and give meaning. There are worse things than having your peepers fall on a WORD. Way worse.
I had a fun convo with Sarah and Candy of the Smart Bitches while in Dallas at the RWA conference last year. A convo about… can you guess?
Yes, we were discussing the many uses of the word and I told them that my mother used to get all tight-lipped when I used the F-word. (Now she could make Dane Cook squirm…) But she used to say, “Don’t take something beautiful and make it ugly.”
This from a woman who actually considered naming me Winter Chalet Hinkle. :O
My poor mother just hadn’t quite grasped the meaning. I told her she’d obviously never had a good… uh, that convo should probably not be shared. LOL. (This was all in fun, btw. We have a great relationship.)
No, it’s not a word I use aloud often myself. I do have children and well, I take my life into my hands every single time I wear this shirt out into Oklahoma public. Yet… I do.
But in fiction, it can JUST FIT.
The romance novel world is a changing, folks. We no longer have quite so many er, forced seductions and virgin heroines. Spunky can mean more than she ran away from daddy to avoid an arranged marriage. And yes, some of our heroines, especially in the more forgiving-and-no-not-totally-a-romance Urban Fantasy genre, say exactly how they’re feeling.
And sometimes, they feel like using the F-Word.
And for your music pleasure, a singer-songwriter who will remind you a little of Sarah McLachlin and who is not afraid of today’s special word.
Sarah Fimm. Click on the music tab, scroll down to the CD A Perfect Dream and click on the uncensored version of Be Like Water.
And since I wouldn’t want to offend more than I probably already have…Do you need the warning? 😉