Passive Voice and it's hinderance

byAOsmand

521 followers

5 years ago

Why does it plague me?

I was pretty good at English in school, I should be I am English after all. Well I thought I was good at it. That is until I started writing posts for my websites and getting told off by the computer.

Nope! That won't help your SEO, passive writing is too much. I know I shouldn't let it bother so much and just write naturally, but I'm somewhat of a perfectionist.

Educate, re-Educate, and Educate Again

So after many attempts at re-living my schooldays and trying to figure out what I was doing that made my writing so passive voice, I decided it was time to invest in a short course to help me.

I found a helpful little course on Udemy which explained the differences between passive and active voice. I couldn't believe how much I'd forgotten.

It was like I'd never heard of this before, but I must have been taught it School right? Well yeah I guess but did I really pay attention?

Lost, Confused and Frustrated

As I was working my way through the course I realized I was getting more confused as it went on. My brain just wouldn't let it sink in.

It felt like the more I tried to think about it the worse it got. It got to the point where I couldn't even think of basic words anymore. My thought process was blocked and my brain had crashed. T'was time for a reboot.

Brain Mash and a Critical Error

Two cups of strong coffee later and I was ready to go again. Thank you caffeine. Probably not the best choice of drink when you're struggling to think.

Anyways, I had to start from scratch, then, like a light bulb it came to me. Ah, OK I got it!

Active voice is more direct. The subject is doing the action. NOT - the action is being done by the subject.

It's such a simple concept when you think about it, however, it's surprising how easy it is to slip back into passive voice.

It's Still a Work In Progress

I'm still working on writing my posts with an active voice, but I'm getting better at spotting passive voice. In all honesty There's probably a lot of passive voice in this blog post. But I'm not checking it, I'll be here all night correcting it.

I was so happy when I put into practice what I had learned. I finally finished a post using active voice! woohoo! It felt like an achievement of biblical proportions.

There was going to be a point to this blog, but for life of me I can't remember it, so for now it's just me getting it all out.

I do think though, we are all learning something new every day. So when you feel like you can't do something or you don't understand, don't be afraid to reach out. Whether that's here to the community, or investing in education.

After all, we are all taking this journey to make a better life, and what can be more rewarding than investing in you?!

Everyone take care and thank you for taking the time to read my offloading.

Have you ever struggled with the way you write? If you've had a similar situation or have any tips on how write in an active voice, share your opinions and experiences in the comments.