I don't cuss. At all. I'm more like the church lady who says, "Isn't that special?" Recently my critique partners called me out on language. I had written shoot, darn, and heck when my character would say...um, something else. Writing bad language makes me uneasy, but stepping out of our comfort zone is part of the journey. I've learned that I shouldn't write what I would say, but what my character would say. And my character would use *gasp* bad words. I had to erase myself from the picture, leaving only my character and his salty language.
Once I let go of the goodie goodie, I had fun with it. After all, isn't that part of the fun of being a writer? We experience a different life within the pages. We can write about the dark and evil, even if we're good people. It's fun.
Agent Vickie Motter wrote a great post about Language. She reminds us that "Language has a lot to do with voice. What is it about your characters (in whatever world they are in -- this world, a Dystopian world, another world, etc), and how they talk that make them unique?"
While cussing isn't unique, and I wouldn't use bad words unless they were necessary, that type of language is part of my character. So this church lady used some bad words. Sorry, Mom!
Do you sometimes insert your own language in lieu of your character's? Did your critique partners catch you in the act?