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Tips on Writing: Quick Fixes for Passive Voice
In order to be a good writer, you must avoid passive voice whenever possible.
Yawn.
This topic has all the excitement of a rainy day in January.
But, the thing is, it’s true. Passive voice can sink a sentence faster than the Titanic. Okay, okay, I’ll quit with the metaphors that are as dumb as a rock. Sorry, I’ll stop now. Really. Back to passive voice.
Because, if your writing is laden with passive sentences and phrases it will be boring. Dull. Flat. Lifeless. And you don’t want that, now, do you?
Many, many, many, many, many years ago I wanted to apply to journalism school at the University of Oregon (Go, Ducks!) and in order to do that one had to take an infamous class called J250. It was infamous because it was hard, purposely so, in order to weed out those who might not be completely, totally, one hundred per cent devoted to the journalistic ideal. One of the best things I got from that class was a book called The Lively Art of Writing by Lucile Vaughan Payne. Lucile absolutely rails on passive…
