English 101 - Passive vs Active Voice

Using the Active voice is usually the best choice when writing your stories. Some writers seem confused with how to employ the active or passive voice. If you study the below examples closely, you will see that when the verb is in the active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action.

When the verb is in the passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action.

It's quite simple really. Here are some examples:

ACTIVE: Ernest Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises.
PASSIVE: The Sun Also Rises was written by Ernest Hemingway.

ACTIVE: The fury of the wind uprooted a dozen gigantic trees.
PASSIVE: A dozen gigantic trees were uprooted by the fury of the wind.

Which Voice to use? Usually the active voice is the one you should use when writing your sentences. The active voice gives power to your sentence - it is direct, it is vigorous. It's better to say "Carol slugged the intruder,"
than to say "The intruder was slugged by Carol."

As you can see, the passive voice is weak. It dawdles and dwindles and comes out as if it were an afterthought.

Writers block? I personally think that's an excuse. There are seasons in my life that I don't write, not because I can't think of anything to write about but sometimes life gets stressful or complicated. As a writer, my creative mind usually suffers when life throws me a curve. If that happens to you, don't panic! Take your "down" time to jot down ideas. Where does one get ideas? Everything within a writer's orbit can be a potential story: a newspaper clipping, a face, a trip, sights along your way to work, a sports match, junk mail topics, etc.

The professional writer will usually use and actual life event only as a springboard. She or he will change names, physical appearance of their characters, and location in the story. They will dramatize the events and give truth a push here and a shove there, so that the story they put on paper really bears little resemblance to the original and is more convincing than what actually happened. I might also add that it's wise to do so to avoid legal involvement.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Don't forget we are having a workshop this month on our meeting date - March 25th, at the Lady Lake Library Community Bldg. Marcia Glatt will be hosting the workshop. It will focus on Networking and how to work a room. Email me at cocowriter@yahoo.com for info. or questions.

Oxford Writers will meet on March 18 at the Oxford Community Bldg. from 6 to 8 p.m. Email WGL Chris Coward at chriscoward@comcast.net if you have any questions or need more info.

Quote on being a writer: "I get up in the morning, torture a typewriter until it screams, then stop". Clarence B. Kelland.