[A. S. Templeton Posts: 131 Status: Offline Good Stories for All Ages!]

[middle-schoolers] ... swear - a lot! (Still, not appropriate to put in an MG book, sure. Don't want to encourage it!)

That's all I'm saying. Descriptive becomes Prescriptive once it hits the eyeballs of a reader. Do juvies (or anybody else, ftm) really need to be taught to swear?

[Artemesia Posts: 3,817 Status: Offline WWW]

Putting on my admin hat for a second here: 

Let's please try to keep this conversation on topic (the OP was asking what words ARE appropriate for MG) and not get into the territory of name-calling or gratuitous argument with those who hold different opinions or have had different experiences. *admin hat off*

I think you can use what word you feel is age-appropriate and authentic for your character, (keeping in mind things like F-bombs and even some that are obviously a stand in for an F-bomb, are not going to go over well for MG) and if an agent or an editor has a problem with it, they will simply ask you to choose a different word. It happens all the time. Don't sweat it too much.

[andracill Posts: 5,847 Status: Offline Worlds within...screaming to get out! WWW]

To me, there's a difference between middle-grade readers (elementary school) and middle schoolers -- so if I'd heard an agent/editor say that middle-grade swearing was unrealistic, I'd probably agree (for most kids -- there are always a couple here and there). But yes, middle schoolers definitely swear (usually more than some high schoolers around here, but I think that's because they want to appear 'cool').

I think swearing in MG books is usually rare (though I will admit I don't read a ton of MG since I no longer teach those grades). Even heavy swearing in YA isn't that common, and S is pretty rare, though h*ll and d*mn are more common. For a 9 or 10 year old stepping on a snake, I think a scream would be pretty realistic. For a 13-year old...maybe a yell or a *crap*. I think either of my kids (12 and 13.5) would say either crap or OMG. I guess I'd say there's a fair amount of leeway, so perhaps your character's voice/personality can determine it.

[ron-estrada Posts: 10 Status: Offline No try...write!]

My kids grew up in a Christian household (yes, with me). They managed to be pretty creative. "Oh, fudgies" or "he's having a kitten" we're pretty common. Take any word and it can replace profanity. Sci-fi writers simply insert another language. Kids can sometimes do the same.