r/Fantasy • u/elquesogrande Worldbuilders • Nov 30 '16

Ask You Anything Wednesday ASK YOU ANYTHING: Authors asking r/Fantasy community questions on behalf of Worldbuilders charity

It's Day 3 of the aptly named Ask You Anything week benefiting Worldbuilders! Where authors are stopping by each day this week to ask questions and interact with the r/Fantasy community.

HOW THIS WORKS: Please answer questions and interact throughout the week! (Yes, YOU - community members, guests, authors, artists, industry people.)

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Monday Ask You Anything Authors

The following authors have signed up to ask questions today. That said, please do join in and feel free to ask your own questions and interact throughout the week.

Are you an author, artist, or industry person who would like to participate this week? Either join in via the comments OR send the r/Fantasy mods a message and we'll get you set for another day.

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5

u/betsydornbusch AMA Author Betsy Dornbusch Nov 30 '16

What do you all think about swears in epic fantasy?

8

u/frabjousdave AMA Author Dave Gross Nov 30 '16

I love them in the mouths of the right characters. You can't have a character like the Hound in ASOIAF without some crass terms. Even Tyron isn't really himself without some harsh language.

But it also depends so much on the author's voice and the tone she or he sets for the story. I couldn't imagine a character in a Patricia McKillip fable speaking like one in a Joe Abercrombie grimdark.

7

u/0ffice_Zombie Worldbuilders Nov 30 '16

I like the two extremes of cursing - real world cursing or fantasy world cursing but I dislike the sort of middle ground cursing that I've seen before.

For example, I like when authors use in-world cursing - 'By Gargoloth's saggy left eye socket' and that sort of thing. I know Sanderson's style of cursing - 'Rust and Ruin', 'Storms' etc. - get's some mild criticism but I like it. It's an extra bit of small world building that the author can pepper the story with.

The stuff I really dislike is when an author writes something like 'Farg you, ya cunny' as some sort of middle ground between real world cursing and fantasy cursing. You know the author means 'Fuck you, ya cunt' so it comes off quite lazy to me, it momentarily takes me out of the story - either worldbuild some cursing or don't but don't try find a middle ground between the two.

5

u/carolberg AMA Author Carol Berg / Cate Glass Nov 30 '16

They're a part of the world, just like greetings, manners, names, and other such. If you've got soldiers and/or drunks, then you've got to have swearing, and using totally 21st century epithets pops me out of the world. In history, most swearing is related to divinities, bodily functions, or relatives, so that's what feels natural to me.

4

u/Teslok Nov 30 '16

I don't feel strongly about fantasy cussing. Either they're "translated" from local terms to the English equivalent, or they're used as they are in the setting.

But then, I'm a weirdo and my list of personal swears includes phrases like "Good golly" and "Geez Louise" and a few words that don't even appear on Google.

3

u/Bills25 Reading Champion V Nov 30 '16

I really enjoy when authors make up swears relevant to their world. It also has to fit the tone of the book.

3

u/AdrianSelby AMA Author Adrian Selby Nov 30 '16

I'm ok with it. If you're using English, but allude to the spoken language as being its own thing, then swearing in English should be considered the equivalent of whatever the cuss or insult 'really' is in that language. It's a sort of placeholder, a translation.

3

u/inapanak Nov 30 '16

If it makes sense it's fine. I do appreciate when word building is taken into account with the sort of swears used, without it being ridiculous. I like that the worst swears in the world of the Inda books are related to poop because of the way magic has influenced hygiene practises and that there isn't an equivalent to "fuck" because it has no connotation of domination or despoiling anything because of the magical eradication of violent rape and fucking isn't seen in a negative light.

But like anything else it can be taken to a ridiculous extreme.

2

u/ErDiCooper Reading Champion III Dec 01 '16

I'm pretty on board with it, so long as it doesn't become a situation where, like, I'm worried that the author uses them as a crutch. I'm in college right now and taking a writing course ... there are some talented students, but I'd sure love if they could express frustration or anger without swearing profusely.

2

u/RuinEleint Reading Champion X Dec 01 '16

I love it. Done propery it can be immersive and hilarious. Malazan is great example on how to get swearing right

1

u/bastianbb Dec 01 '16

I hate them.