Active vs Passive Writing
It’s been a while since I caught up on some good reading so when the opportunity presented itself on the weekend I grabbed it.
My “library” hasn’t been stocked up in ages and I don’t have any recent bestsellers but instead own a collection of travel narratives, cookbooks and crime novels that I rotate every couple of years. On Sunday, I chose one of Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta novels. Never boring, always exciting (although at times gruesome) I settled into the sofa and started reading.
One of the things I like about Cornwell is her active and engaging writing style. Her narratives move at a good pace yet she doesn’t skip detail instead including it with descriptions that are compelling and captivating.
This active style of writing is something I enjoy in a number of travel narratives. English author Stephen Clarke is one of my favourites along with Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux (although I find some of Theroux’s descriptions can be a bit boring…)
When studying non-fiction writing as part of my Masters Degree, I learnt about the importance of active writing and how important it is to write as actively as possible.
Active writing engages. Passive writing is boring and can be clumsy.
Consider the following:-
Active: The player smashed the shuttle over the net.
Passive: The shuttle was smashed over the net by the player.
In the active sentence, the player is the subject, smash is the verb and the shuttle is the object.
In the passive sentence, the shuttle becomes the subject, smash remains the verb but the player becomes the object. This sentence is passive because the object, not the subject, is performing the action described by the verb.
When you next do some writing, try and make it as active as possible. And keep your writing engaging by showing, not telling. This way you won’t turn your readers off, you’ll be engaging them with something interesting.
Showing enables you to paint a picture with words so that your reader can see, feel and smell the things you have seen, felt and smelt. It’s a good technique to use in all types of writing. If you have any questions about how to make your writing active, not passive, send me an email ruth@purplechameleon.com.au.
Until next time…