> Go ahead, use the words. But try to use them
well.
>
> The use of these terms, in fiction or even
real-life, doesn't
> automatically make characters hard-boiled. It does,
however, often
> suggest they're desperately trying to be, or that
their vocabulary
> isn't very big.
Very true. In talking to my partner in writing scripts (we've
just tried one, no big deal), I told him our second one
should do a couple of things differently: 1)Less cursing.
Just heard too much of it. Limiting that forces one to become
more creative, inventive, and it helps push the boundaries of
language; 2) Less bang-bang shoot em up. Hails of bullets?
Seen that. So, change the focus, and put the intensity
elsewhere. Adhering to what Kevin says, then, use the cursing
and guns, but use them well.
Too many cliches and too much unbridled profanity (the
typical profanity. We need new, more horrible curse words!)
is what bores us at PWG with the submissions we turn away. We
accept the stuff that surprises us.
Neil Smith
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