GameSkinny Guide To Success: Profanity

Alright, you’re writing now and you may even have a few articles under your belt. You’re using your own (active) voice, you’re offering your opinions and making your audience pee their pants with your wonderful sense of humor.

So, what about those damn curse words?

Obscenities are generally frowned upon in writing, or they have been in the past. With the coming generations (ours included) however, foul language has become a part of every day life. My daily schedule rarely goes without some colorful language.So what’s allowed in your writing? My answer/s is/are this.

• Profanity should never be excessive. One or two words in an article for humor is acceptable, but anything beyond that may be deemed unnecessary and edited out. Don’t worry, you won’t offend my virgin eyes as your editor, but you may scare off some of your more timid readers.
• Never use profanity in titles. If you’re going to use it in your body, that’s fine, and you may even want to offer up a warning in your skinny for those who may be sensitive to language. If you do feel the need for strong words, use asterisks like “f*ck” and “sh*t.” Otherwise, simply avoid it. On that note, I would not use asterisks in articles.
• Another way to express profanity is through vague references such as “bleep,” “effing,” etc. People will still know what you mean without being offended.