The use of racist and offensive language in fiction is a touchy subject.

Two distinctions that must be made at first are market, and dialogue versus narration.

Certain hard-boiled markets accept harsh language and gruesome situations and descriptions. If I write a story aimed at a noir/hard-boiled market, I would pull fewer punches than if I was aiming at mainstream (EQMM, etc.)

Also, there is the issue of dialogue versus narration. If I am quoting a racist/scumbag character, I will use racist/scumbag language, although I might dance around the more explicit language. But narration is a different issue. If it’s not first person, what are the restrictions? If I’m using third person limited viewpoint, writing from the racists point of view, can I use racist language?

Several years ago, I sold a short story with a racist slur in the opening dialogue. It fit the tone of the story and the character, but I’m not sure how I would handle the situation now. Explicit language? Or more subtle wording?

What brought this self-analysis on was a recent editor rejecting a story without reading it because of a term, deemed racially offensive, in the opening sentence. The opening sentence was not dialogue, but it was from the lead character’s point of view and clearly, hopefully, identified him as a racist, which was an integral part of the story. In fact, the title of the story makes it clear that it is about a racist flaunting his racism.

How does one handle insensitive language in fiction?

I don’t know, and I still fumble along, story by story.