Summary

The article provides guidance on how to effectively use profanity in writing to enhance emphasis and authenticity, while also discussing the trade-offs between adhering to content platform rules and engaging with a dedicated audience.

Abstract

The author of the article emphasizes the importance of using profanity correctly to add impact to one's writing. Despite the potential for reduced visibility on platforms like Medium due to the use of strong language, the author argues that writing with courage and authenticity can lead to a more engaged and dedicated readership. The article suggests that by understanding the rules of content platforms, writers can strategically break them to create more genuine connections with their audience. It also highlights the benefits of joining smaller, more niche publications that encourage freedom of expression over chasing curation in larger, less engaged publications.

Opinions

The author believes that writing is about brevity and courage, and that an algorithm's preference for content is less important than human connection and engagement.
There is a critique of larger publications like Better Marketing for having a large but unengaged subscriber base, and a recommendation to join more authentic and engaging publications like The Bad Influence.
The article suggests that swearing in writing, when done correctly, can add emphasis and make the content more enjoyable and relatable for the right audience.
The author expresses frustration with the rejection from the Writing Cooperative due to not adhering to their "imaginary rules," implying a disdain for overly strict content guidelines.
The author encourages writers to use profanity thoughtfully and meaningfully, ensuring that it adds value to the content and resonates with readers, rather than using it gratuitously.
The article concludes by encouraging writers to take calculated risks with their language choices, considering the potential benefits and drawbacks of swearing in their writing.

How To Fucking Swear Correctly

You won’t get curated but you will get followers

Photo by Konstantinos Papadopoulos on Unsplash

I wrote a post with the word fuck in the title and my god people seemed to enjoy it:

Fuck your ‘Tips and Tricks’

You know what fuck your content too

medium.com

I thought, why not teach people how to swear correctly, and brighten up everyone’s shitty days.

I recently learned if you use the “pg-13” tag here on Medium, you’ll get penalized in terms of views. There are several topics like that on Quora too, whereby an algorithm will mark you down.

Writing is about brevity, though.

It’s about fucking courage.

An algorithm isn’t turned on by your courage, but people are, so you need to ask yourself, who am I writing for, a website’s codebase that doesn’t give a shit about me, or my small but dedicated follower-base who do nice things like buy books and leave responses.

I’ve written about 100 posts now, and 3 of them were curated. I really couldn’t give a shit, because apart from my one curation in Fiction (The Men In The Snow — thanks for asking) my other posts perform miles better, because humans like them.

I fully recommend you embrace rule-breaking, by knowing what the rules are. Swearing and using the wrong tags won’t get you into Better Marketing, but their enormous subscriber-base is so unengaged you won’t get many views anyway, so join smaller more badass publications like The Bad Influence, swear as much as you fucking want, and enjoy these benefits:

Write exactly what you want
Feel, appear, and actually be more genuine and authentic
Connect with the audience you deserve and earn, not the one marketers built that you’re trying to leverage
Have way more fun writing without limits
Help people realise process is there for you until it isn’t

Ok, here’s how to swear.

Emphasis is key

I see a bunch of people swearing wrong because they think it’s cool to swear.

If you do it wrong, you’ll detract from your own emphasis.

If, however, you get it right: fuckin’ A.

I’m tempted to start a publication to celebrate swearing, grow it so large I get auto-curation rights, and never use them, just to shit on the Writing Cooperative who have had the audacity to reject me a million times because I don’t write to their imaginary rules.

I was trying to help other writers, guys, sorry I didn’t kiss your ass enough.

Now, when you deploy your swearwords to devastating effect, check that:

Your “wank” or “bastard” is thoughtful, meaningful, and genuinely adds emphasis
Your “shitarse” or “wankdolphin” will actually give someone that isn’t you a bit of a chuckle
Your calculated risk in swearing in the first place will be worth it. If you’re for sure going to get published by some crapshoot if you don’t swear, weigh up your options.

You’re fucking welcome.

Go swear with emphasis.