Clean chapter for Welsh as he asks new writers not to swear

Published on Saturday 6 September 2008 19:36

HE made his name as the angriest man in Scottish writing, peppering every page with enough expletives to make a Leith docker blush.

But now, as he approaches his 50th birthday, it seems Irvine Welsh may finally be mellowing with age.

The Trainspotting writer has urged budding authors to tone down their language.

Welsh has become a celebrity supporter of a writing competition organised by the Scottish Book Trust. As part of his role the Edinburgh-born novelist has published a list of "top tips" for story writing.

He states: "Everyone has a story to tell. Yours is as interesting as anyone else's. Feel free to use Scots language if you feel more comfortable writing in it – or just use it in dialogues if you want. But please don't use offensive language."

The idea of using watered-down terms would have been anathema to Welsh in his earlier career. In his short story 'The Granton Star Cause' God is portrayed as a "swearing p*sshead", while his most celebrated work Trainspotting contains the often-quoted monologue:

"It's shite being Scottish! We're the lowest of the low, the scum of the f****** earth, the most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilisation. Some people hate the English, I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are colonised by wankers. We can't even find a decent culture to be colonised by. We are ruled by effete arseholes. It's a shite state of affairs to be in, Tommy! And all the fresh air in the world won't make any f****** difference!"

Welsh has participated – with no bad language – in the contest, entitled A Special Day, where people are invited to write about a memorable time. His contribution, an account of Hibs winning the League Cup, contains no swear words.