Waging a War with Passive Voice ( a writers nightmare ).
The blogosphere
When it comes to writing in the blogosphere, we can end up second-guessing our writing capacity and style in that never-ending search for engagement.
I think that writing is something that takes a long time to perfect, yet again does the writer ever feel comfortable with what they produce. The normal could be a state of always being challenged.
The first challenge can be the simple task of claiming the writer's mantle.
" Who me no way, I wouldn't make a writer's, you know what "
The WA Flow
No matter how you try to paint the picture, the WA flow is about; shall we say creative writing, or should we say purposeful creative writing or review writing, on a website.
There are not many things that will cause a person to leave their online journey, once started. The belief in your ability to create content ranks right up there, it can be for some an impossible bridge to cross.
I know this because I have asked many that have given up and left. The hardest thing can be to bridge the gap from being a non writer yesterday to becoming a writer today.
The technical side of things can trip us up, in a place like WA, it is so good because we can look around, ask questions and think if they can do it and be successful then, I can learn to do the same.
When we think in terms of writing content, we are creating for ourselves, a client, a potential customer, or a larger general audience.
Intent writing.
We are writing for a purpose, intent writing is crafted so that a human can understand it; in that case, a machine can also understand it. It is all about readability, and that is what Google is looking for today.
Writings Primary Function
If we strip writing down, the primary function is to communicate ideas and to share patterns of thought. The critical aspect of that is that humans and machines have to be able to understand the text, in order to form a connection.
The best advice ever was to try to make your writing conversational, and that has been such good advice, although, on read back, we can miss the mark.
A New Journey.
Recently I have started a journey of trying to improve my writing skills; you can not but help to look sideways. I was an all thumbs typist for years, so content creation took forever, recently I have patted myself on the back; I am speeding up not the fastest. Well, on the way to becoming acceptable.
Once we get into it, you have this urge to drill down. You start to feel comfortable with the way you write. This stage can be a double-edged sword because, at that point, we can begin to stagnate.
I have been using Grammarly for quite some time, recently upgraded to the premium version, felt guilty using the free version for so long, another story altogether.
I came across this thing called passive voice. I remember when I first encountered it, a few adult words were floating around.
I couldn't get my head around it; it was new to me!
"It threw me. "
Active and passive voices defined;
There are two voices, passive and active. Writing in the active voice adds impact to your writing.
It is a small thing, yet it can have an impact on your writing.
Here goes;
With the active voice, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb.
We have; The saltwater corroded the metal beams.
Conversely, with the passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed by the verb.
We have; The metal beams were corroded by the saltwater.
My Reaction;
So what, I know my reaction to it; " give the dog a bone mate. "
When I understood the difference and reflected on it, a lot of swirling stuff started to fall into place. For me, " it is the difference between jumping into a car and driving it and knowing what is under the bonnet."
That adds so much value and understanding.
Is it big in the scheme of things, will it bring more engagement,and create more conversions?
Time will tell.
For my journey, coming from a position of not being able to write, having a foot in the; " doesn't matter about spelling, grammar and the likes, to a state where developing a writer's eye, is hugely important.
An evolving process.
I am not a writer's writer, just somebody that is starting to enjoy writing.
Alex Evans.
Recent Comments
22
When I was working everything professional leaving my desk had to be in the active voice. Drove me crazy. I'd write and rewrite because I always seem to use the passive voice. To me (and it might be just me), the active voice sound so formal and commanding. I'm happy if something is written without any spelling errors and the proper use of seen, saw, you, you're, their, there, to, too, two.
~Debbi
Hi, Debbi thank you for sharing your experience, your time in Washington would have been challenging. I can see the active voice being promoted within that culture.
The use of the correct word placement and spelling would be a benchmark, for many.
As for active and passive, being aware can one of those cases where it is in the eye of the reader, although having said that understanding could add value to the text.
Alex
I teach my students to touch type with several websites. One is useful for self-directed learning and working at your own pace. It's called typing.com and it's all free and pretty self-explanatory.
If you set up a free account, it tracks your progress and offers you a series of lessons to help you memorize the keyboard. Five to ten minutes a day is all you need to practice and memorize the keyboard with the correct finger placement.
Writing coherent, engaging content is enough of a challenge without worrying about typing with two fingers. ;-)
If I couldn't type without looking at the keyboard I would go crazy.
Thank you so much, Wendy, for sharing that resource, still at the stage of staring at the keyboard, although I must admit the letters are being worn off some keys, so for a few it is by feel.
Really appreciate your chiming in, game on, thank you.
Alex
I have not come across 'passive and active voices' before. It is something that is worth exploring, so thank you for that.
Going slightly askew with my thoughts, it reminded me of something my son said, whilst a captive audience, on a long car journey.
I has expressed the view that, in my eyes, much of my writing was 'boring' to read. This was specifically aimed at my very first site, which was 'semi-autobiographical'.
He thought I was probably wrong in my assertions, backing this up by saying that I 'knew' what was coming and had already explored all the variables, whereas a reader did not.
His point has certainly made me less crtitcal in some areas.
Hi Twack, good to see you, they are something that wasn't on my radar as well. One of those cases where we stumble across things on our travels.
much of the online journey is about creating content, the level that we explore the possibilities when it comes to expressing ideas and soliciting a call to action can be the defining point in any online career.
Working on the crafty is an ongoing equation that we need to be continually focused on.
In the mind of the writer the possibilities can be set, in the mind of the novice, there are endless possibilities.
We can view our words in a certain vein, sometimes it can be that extra pair of eyes that can shake us from our slumber.
Your son made an observation that was on the money.
As always thank you for sharing your thoughts, they are appreciated.
Alex
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When the automatic SEO platforms are applied to posts and pages, like Yoast, they try to eliminate the passive voice. I am not sure the percentage, but there is a prompt in these programs until the passive voice is reduced to the desired percentage of phrases in a piece. I couldn't begin to tell you why.
Hi, Jim chasing those green lights can become an obsession, for sure.
I am building a picture that will help my writing, finding a balance will I feel benefit the content created.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, they are so helpful.
Alex