Another Day another Bitch session!

Recently, when writing a creative piece for Helium, I became rather annoyed that I was forced to stifle reality to comply with their 'oh so dated' concepts of right and wrong.

I have had a few run ins with them. Mostly over the use of swear words. Swearing, whilst not maybe nice, is reality and heard daily. Why then stop a writer from using truth in a character?

In this universal world why haven't these Americans come into line with the rest of us? How dare they expect us to conform to their old fashioned out dated limitations?

Yes, I know I don't have to use their site, but in general I love the site. It is when my character has a mouthful of 'fuck this' or 'arsehole that', or even when the scene is too gory. I will get the inevitable email 'family site, inappropriate content...blah blah blah'.

In reality it is NOT a family site. It is a site for writers hoping to sell product. If ever a writers freedom to express shouldn't be limited it is on a paying writing site!

Where I live barely a conversation is conducted without the colourful flavouring of swear words.

It is a mining town and let me tell you the children of miners could give their parents a run for their money! My own eleven year old spits them out at the drop of a hat.

It is bad enough watching all those fancy dressed American tv shows in which a line of genuine speech is never heard. Here in Australia where these limitations do not exist we do not go overboard, it is kept in perspective, used only where deemed necessary. Some characters cannot be portrayed properly without using their normal pattern of speech.

Imagine: Drunk bloke stumbling up the street bumping into pedestrians as he goes, "Fuck off yer old bastard!" says the first guy he annoys.

"Piss off" says the second.

"mongrel cunt" says the girl whose coffee is knock out of her hand.

Can you picture it just from those few words? Now try to picture reality using curbed lines such as; "Go away old man", "get lost" & "rotten dog".

Even when we don't like the words used, they add the touch of reality needed to mentally picture the scene with ease. I personally hate the word 'cunt', feeling it is derogatory to the female of the species. However I still use it if the character warrants.

Many of my poems can't be submitted to Helium because I refuse to change them to conform. Once a piece is done there should be no changing it otherwise they weren't really 'done' were they?

Anyway rant over bugger it all anyway who gives a shit?