Question: profanity in dialog

[Dennis]

Reviews are coming in for our newest scifi thriller. Some are five star and no mention of the profanity. Some reviewers are put off by it, and focus on it and give it two stars. I would love to hear the opinions/experiences from readers, and from other writers, of using profanity with such characters as: navy seals, Russian thugs, and a foul mouthed lawyer.

[Micah]

Profanity in language is like salt in food. People have different tollerances to it. Too much will give you high blood pressure. Too little and it gets really f'ing bland.

[BenW]

As many of my writing mentors have used the salt analogy, I'll add that it entirely depends on the character its coming from, and the tone and atmosphere the rest of your writing conveys. If it fits, put it in, if it doesn't, don't. If it's a Very Special scene that have a profound impact on the characters or world, put it in with surgical precision.

[J.J.]

Depends on the audience you're going for. If you're trying to hook in younger readers, parents might not appreciate the salty language.

But you see the same thing with sexual scenes. Some people are put off by the slightest hint of sex, others see nothing wrong with a full-blown porno scene in an all-ages rated book...

[Brad]

It's always character and situation dependent. If it fits the characters or moves the story forward then its appropriate.

[David]

I have to admit to being a huge fan of profanity, particularly in the English language - we seem to make an artform of it.

In my opinion if readers are getting turned off by colourful language then they ought to go and read something else.

[Kevin]

I agree with the comments here. If it makes sense given the character and situation, I would consider it appropriate. I'd rather see realistic dialogue in books - People swear!