A Word on Passive Voice

A Word about Passive Voice in Creative Writing

I have always found it helps me best to understand something when I try to explain it to another. So after hundreds of interviews, books, clicks, videos, and classes, the following is my lame comprehension of Passive voice in English creative writing.

With simplicity as my goal, sentence structure is labeled Passive when the verb acts upon the subject of the sentence. In other words, the subject receives the action instead of performing it.

For example, consider the sentence, "The mouse was chased by the cat." Here, "The mouse" is the subject and is being acted upon by the verb chased. However, rewritten as "The cat chased the mouse." Our furry feline, "The cat," becomes the subject, actively doing the chasing. Hence "The cat chased the mouse." becomes the standard structural order in English sentences, Subject, Verb, Object. So, if we know how to identify the subject of a sentence, we can look for the verb and determine whether the subject is using the verb or the verb is being used on the subject.

Have you ever heard this one? "Passive voice should not be used in creative writing!" Well, it is categorically False! False! Completely False! (hehe, I understand redundant statements are considered acceptable when used for dramatic effect.)

Passive voice is frequently used when the focus is wanted on the action, not on who or what is performing the action. For example, in scientific writing, it's common to say, "The experiment was conducted" instead of specifying who conducted it. Passive voice can also be used very effectively to control story pace and timing. Nothing allows a reader to catch their breath and recover from a lightning-paced heroic battle scene like a paragraph of passive "After-Action Report or a bit of backstory setting up the next scene.

One way to help spot passive verbs in your writing is to look for "Be" verbs. Which include be, am, are, is, been, being, was, and were. Often, but not always, a "be" verb signals a passive sentence. Another clue that sometimes helps you identify passive verbs is the "by" phrase after the verb. You might have noticed already that it is possible to show the person or thing that does the action at the end of most passive sentences by adding a "by" phrase. Example: Many forest fires are started by lightning. The "by" phrase tells us who or what causes the action. So if you are self-editing a page (CTRL-F), see what you get with the "Be" verbs.

Also, active and passive voices are not about Tense. Active voice can occur in the past, present, or future tense, depending on the described action.

Passive voice is often criticized as weak and indirect and often labeled boring. But Passive sentences have their place in creative writing, especially when the performer of the action is unknown or irrelevant or when the writer wishes to emphasize the action rather than the actor.
Understanding how and when to use passive sentences can significantly enhance your writing versatility. Okay, one might be asked, "When do we use or not use passive sentences?" Ha, that's the million-dollar bestselling answer. Mixing the author's muse and experience accomplishes finding the right balance.

Having spoken and listened to many experienced, some even well-known, best-selling authors, I have gleaned a few tips for using Passive voice in creative writing.

By no means are these tips all-inclusive. But listed as commonly used guides by Brandon Sanderson, Elmore Lenord, Steven King, Susan Clark, James Patterson, Robert Ludlum, and scores of other authors you know and love.

The Antagonist and Protagonist should have an active voice. (Exceptions are standard in the Mystery and Intrigue genres), this last notwithstanding, in a recent review, by an astute WDC newbie, (new at the time of this edit,) Amethyst Angel 🍁🙏 ) noticed my WDC handle was written in passive voice. "Life's a Beach, says Joey C" Alas, as I and my grandsons consider me a leading character in their stories, after many years of improper voice I must change my WDC handle to Joey says "Life's a Beach."

Ancillary and supporting characters with names should use active voice unless the information conveyed relates to a backstory.
Information of importance is more often expressed in an active voice.

Using passive voice with people, places, or things without a name is acceptable and suggested by many of today's publishing editors.

Passive is excellent when you want to be vague about who is responsible: "Mistakes were made. "the bloody sheets were changed by somebody." these are typical examples in bureaucratic settings! So, is your speaking character of the moment; a politician, housekeeper, postman, or another character whose name is their profession? Then, by all means, use Passive voice.

If you are talking about a general truth: "Rules are made to be broken, (okay, for passive here too)

If you are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally relies on passive voice. Often preferred in reports and scientific research information where the "What" is the critical information, rather than the "Why," "Who," "When," or "Where": This doesn't mean you let Capt. Kirk or Khan banter away with passive voices. But it would be okay for Spock to relay the origins of the indigenous folks on the planet currently seen on the view screen…or if Scotty used passive language to explain why he can't give the Captian warp nine. (Unless the information is essential to the story.)

It is common for second and third-person narrators to speak in passive voice, while first-person narrators most often use active voice.

A side benefit to having and using your own guild when you allow Passive voice is that if you are consistent, your readers soon subconsciously learn your style. Which almost always helps them identify characters and lessens the need for dialog tags. Check your favorite authors, those you never have trouble knowing who is who in their stories. Test the guide for yourself.

If you Google this subject ("Passive voice," not "The Cat." ), you might get upward of a thousand sites to look at, but here is one I like a lot if you have trouble understanding my dribble. I recommend below.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/active_and_passive_v...