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We see the final battle between the new gods and the old gods, and Kate and Daniel are trying to keep their secrets hidden, or they risk losing all their allies.
My latest Suicide Girls column is live. It’s rather NSFW if you worry about your boss looking over your shoulder and being offended. The title: F*** Me Gently With A Chainsaw:
But people haven’t told me there’s too much murder in [Playing For Keeps]. Or too much torture. Or too much dismemberment (actually one person said there wasn’t enough dismemberment, but we won’t talk about him). People are immune to violence, but if you throw in some swearing, nudity, or (gasp) a gay character and they’ll get their panties in a wad.
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4 Responses to New Suicide Girls Column
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The Latest from I Should Be Writing- ISBW #231 – Jeff VanderMeer Interview February 8, 2012
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- Fun website stuff February 1, 2012
- A different writing challenge January 31, 2012
I actually have to deal with this at work. The game I am working on decide to switch from M rating to T rating as their target. It means we had to cut a lot of language. We still have a lot of missions where you go kill people, but we can’t have them say fuck.
Great article, Mur! This is one of those things I’ve been complaining about for years: people in books need to talk like real people, and sometimes that involves swearing. Not to mention there are much worse things in the world than a few naughty words.
I’m reminded of the South Park movie. If you haven’t seen it, I actually recommend it. It ended up being a surprisingly moral, intelligent film (fart jokes aside). Toward the end, Kyle’s mom sums up the point while standing in the middle of a literal hell on earth (I’m going from memory here): “This is what we wanted! We wanted our kids to know that horrible, deplorable violence is okay, as long as they don’t use any bad words.”
Swearing (like sex and nudity) is a normal part of life. Like anything, you can have too much of it, sure. But I’d much prefer that my kids (when I have them) see the occasional boobie or hear a well-placed f-bomb than watch scenes of bloody massacre and dismemberment.
On a completely different note, I think I’d pay cash money to hear you say “F*** me gently with a chain saw,” Mur. Though if such a recording existed, I wonder how many of your friends would have it as your ringtone?
– Jason
I have less problem when the words are used appropriately
- when hitting your hand with a hammer, or dropping an anvil on your foot
- shucks, darn, fiddlesticks or even fudge convey the immediate response and release of profanity. Plus it’s a great release.
My two examples are from the Holiday Classic ” A Christmas Story”
“I have since heard of people under extreme duress speaking in strange tongues. I became conscious that a steady torrent of obscenities and swearing of all kinds was pouring out of me as I screamed. ” and In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.” -Jean Shepherd
After reading your column on swearing, I thought about my daily life. I’m not embarrassed by cursing, but I must admit that I hear it more on TV than I ever hear it in real life. The only four-letter words I’ve heard around here lately have come out of my own mouth
. So the idea that swearing is part of real life depends on WHOSE life you are referring to, I guess.