Earlier, I detailed why I’m not a huge fan of swear words [here]. In fairness, I do think there’s a time and place for vulgar language. Here are some situations where swearing seems appropriate:
-when you’re writing dialog for a character and you want to immediately convey a hardened, street-wise tough guy. A lexicon drenched with profanity will convey that stereotype.
-to exaggerate, for comedy. I think this technique is most effective when used sparingly. Decades ago, my brother’s friend made a prank phone call. It was about 11 o’clock on a weeknight in a small town. He dialed a random number, and a woman sleepily answered, “…hhullo?” “Jeanie!!!” the prankster yelled enthusiastically. “I just had to call and tell you! I wrote this new song and it f—ing RULES!!! It goes like this-” then he started singing in a death metal voice, but couldn’t help laughing, so he hung up. The key sentence (“I wrote this new song…”) without the swear word doesn’t have the same impact.
-when quoting someone. Wording can reveal a person’s attitude. I admit that swearing can add color and a je ne sais quoi to the story. While talking about a neighbor’s volunteer work, my dad set the scene with, “Let’s pretend she’s been doing this s— for ten years.”
-when people aren’t taking you seriously. In the previous post, I suggested that those who hear swearing all the time may become immune to it, but I might be wrong. I’ve been in situations where appeals to logic and sympathy went ignored, and I resorted to swearing. I honestly don’t remember if that got through or not, but it didn’t hurt to try.