--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the passage absolutely demands…" description: "\"“If the passage absolutely demands cursing, be moderate. A little of it goes a long way. I've seen beginning writers pepper curse words through sentenc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/david-morrell-15198_books_if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursin_1583956.jpg" --- # If the passage absolutely demands cursing, be moderate. A… ![“If the passage absolutely demands cursing, be moderate. A little of it goes a long way. I've seen beginning writers pepper curse words through sentence after sentence. 'If you don't -blanking- get your -blanking-blank-blank- in to this house this -blanking- minute, I'm going to -blank- your…” quote by David Morrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/david-morrell-15198_books_if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursin_1583956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/david-morrell-15198_books_if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursin_1583956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/david-morrell-15198_books_if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursin_1583956.jpg) > ““If the passage absolutely demands cursing, be moderate. A little of it goes a long way. I've seen beginning writers pepper curse words through sentence after sentence. 'If you don't -blanking- get your -blanking-blank-blank- in to this house this -blanking- minute, I'm going to -blank- your -blank- and nail it to the -blanking- door.' Two things happen when I read this junk: I get bored and I get angry. I didn't pick up your book to read garbage. If this is as clever as you can be, I don't want to read your prose. In life if you met someone who spoke like this, you'd want to flee. Then why put this stuff on the page? As near as I can determine, this abomination occurs because a writer is corrupted by the awful -blanking- dialog that movies inflict on us these days. It's also a sign of insecurity. The writer wonders if the dialog is strong enough and decides a lot of -blanking-blank- will do the trick. Someone might object that this kind of dialog is realistic in certain situations--intense scenes involving policemen or soldiers for example. I can only reply that in my research I spend considerable time with policemen and soldiers. Few of them curse any more than a normal person would. This garbage isn't realistic. It merely draws attention to itself and holds back the story. Use it sparingly.”” [David Morrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive profanity in dialogue distracts readers and signals writer insecurity; moderation preserves impact and realism. **In simple terms:** Too much swearing hurts storytelling. Key Takeaway Use curse words sparingly for effect. Themes writing dialogue authenticity reader engagement Mood critical reflective Type advice literary When to use this quote - novels - screenplays - character monologues - intense scenes - editing drafts Key Concepts literary style character voice tone management Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey intensity without profanity? - When is profanity essential to character? A Different Perspective Overuse can alienate audiences and feel forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Certain Situations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-situations/) [Curse words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse-words/) [Cursing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cursing/) [Profanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profanity/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-advice/) [Writing-craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-craft/) ## Related quotes > [The curse words, I have a problem with because that's not something you would say to me face to face. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If the passage absolutely demands cursing, be moderate. A little of it goes a long way. I've seen beginning writers pepper curse words through sentence after sentence. 'If you don't -blanking- get your -blanking-blank-blank- in to this house this -blanking- minute, I'm going to -blank- your -blank- and nail it to the -blanking- door.' Two things happen when I read this junk: I get bored and I get angry. I didn't pick up your book to read garbage. If this is as clever as you can be, I don't want to read your prose. In life if you met someone who spoke like this, you'd want to flee. Then why put this stuff on the page? As near as I can determine, this abomination occurs because a writer is corrupted by the awful -blanking- dialog that movies inflict on us these days. It's also a sign of insecurity. The writer wonders if the dialog is strong enough and decides a lot of -blanking-blank- will do the trick. Someone might object that this kind of dialog is realistic in certain situations--intense scenes involving policemen or soldiers for example. I can only reply that in my research I spend considerable time with policemen and soldiers. Few of them curse any more than a normal person would. This garbage isn't realistic. It merely draws attention to itself and holds back the story. Use it sparingly.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Morrell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrell/if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursing-be-moderate-a-little-of-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrell/if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursing-be-moderate-a-little-of-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/david-morrell-15198_books_if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursin_1583956.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/david-morrell-15198_books_if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursin_1583956.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/david-morrell-15198_books_if-the-passage-absolutely-demands-cursin_1583956.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the passage absolutely demands cursing, be moderate. A little of it goes a long way. 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