Active writing vs passive writing

 When I new submission comes to my desk, I look for various elements in the story as I read. One of the more important techniques is active writing.

So what’s the difference between active writing and passive writing? Passive writing does not necessarily mean using passive verbs, though overuse of passive verbs contributes to passive writing. Active writing moves forward with strong, lively, energetic verbs and eschews common, weak verbs.

For more discussion and examples of strong verbs and active writing, check out the following blog posts.

Weak Verbs

http://edittorrent.blogspot.ca/2008/06/redlines-twelve-had-and-was.html 

Weak Verbs

http://edittorrent.blogspot.ca/2008/04/bloggus-interruptus.html 

Smothered Verbs—turn nouns into verbs

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/5-ways-to-set-smothered-verbs-free/ 

Copulative Verbs—Not So Sexy

http://www.geist.com/articles/verbs-avoid-quiet-and-copulative 

Expletive Pronouns it and there

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/expletives/

Eilidh MacKenzie

Black Rose Editor