More on writing

Okay so after a little bit of a hiatus while I learned to be a stay at home dad I have finally got back to this.  This week’s post (and hopefully I can get back on a weekly schedule for this) is about cursing in writing.  And I don’t mean whether or not there should be cursing in books.  What I’m addressing today is the lack of originality on the part of some authors when it comes to oaths/curses primarily in fantasy, but also to a lesser extent in science fiction.

First off why do we curse?  What’s the point of swearing?  There are a number of reasons.  Usually the most basic is because of some strong emotion.  Anger, fear, hatred, jealousy, happiness (yes people swear when they are happy), sadness, all emotions can cause people to let loose a swear word or two, (or ten in the case of some people…). 

So now that we’ve established a basic reason for curse words, now it’s time to consider where they come from.  From my observation curse words are established usually by society/religion.  This is usually by unconscious or unspoken agreement.  Sometimes it’s by declaration as has happened in our own past. 

And this is where the problem comes in for me.  There are too many authors out there who just take the easy way out.  Instead of examining the world/culture/society/religion they have created and figuring out what words their people would use as oaths/curses they just use what they are used to.  To me that takes away from the world that they’ve established.  It always seems to me like they just want to shock their readers by using words they are already used to.

I know that’s probably not always the case.  And I know that some writer’s don’t even think along those lines.  There are some that are probably just using what’s familiar to the reader so the reader understands the insult/oath/curse.  Even still I think that we as writers have a responsibility to add this element to our worlds.  I’m not saying it’s easy, from experience I know it’s not, but in the end it makes our writing that much better.

This trend also applies to science fiction.  I’m talking about those stories set far enough in to the future that language, by its very nature would have evolved different curses.  Especially those that have decided that religion no longer exists in their society.  If that’s the case the words people found offensive would change drastically.

Now instead of just spouting off my opinion on the matter I’m going to offer some help.  How do we establish oaths/cursing/insults in a fantasy world?

I’m going to use one of the society’s I’ve created in my world of the Seven Swords.  The nation is called Garrison.  They have a strict military society where from the age of majority (11 years in this case) you are a part of the army.  You are expected to train in arms, strategy, and also pursue a trade of some sort.  They have no nobility and until recently rejected all forms of religion.  Men and women are considered equal in all things, though women who are pregnant or raising young children receive preferential treatment.

The most respected trades/crafts in Garrison are metal working.  Blacksmiths are treated with more respect than most.  Guards are used, but they are considered redundant in a society where most everyone is a skilled fighter.  The lowest trade is that of farmer, because one of the punishments in Garrison is having to work the fields of the “home farms”.

In this society invoking the name of deity would not be offensive because for most of their history religion wasn’t part of their society.  So taking the name of a god/goddess in vain would mean little to them.  Also damning someone would have no meaning.

One of the primary oaths the people of Garrison use is “peace and tranquility”.  To them these are two very important ideas.  Their army is used the keep the peace across multiple national boundaries and as a result they are in a constant state of war.  So they never really know true peace.

Another factor to consider is honor.  Honor to a Garrisonite means following orders, fighting to their utmost, helping others, defending their homeland, defending their families.  To be called honorless is one of the gravest insults.  Same with coward, or weakling.

Garrison actually has very few curse words.  If something is useless it might be used as a curse, i.e. scrap, or broken.

Well that’s that for this week.  Now to feed my son.