[This is part of the series: 20 Writing Tips From John Erickson]

If you are trying to decide between using passive voice vs active voice – the answer is always active voice.

The best way to illustrate this is by example.

Passive: The painting was finished by the team in record time.
Active: The team finished the painting in record time.

Passive: The forms were emailed by Jill.
Active: Jill emailed the forms to her boss.

Passive: This blog post was written by Sterling.
Active: Sterling wrote this blog post.

With active voice – the subject (noun) comes before the action (verb).

In passive voice – the action come before the subject.

Get it?

Keep your thoughts clear, concise, and active and you will write better than 99% of people.

If you are looking to do better at this, the Hemingway App is a great free tool.

If you don’t agree with me on any of this, maybe you will believe it if Stephen King says it?

5. Good writing is active, not passive.

-John Erickson, Story Craft (Amazon)

Again, it is not that complex forms of writing are bad.

It is that simple and clear writing is more powerful – and more persuasive than erudition.

I mean, one can still write about science, philosophy, and poetry in a clear manner.

But academics frown on this.

Why?

See: Simplicity diminishes the need for all the academic pretension.

At this point, you might accuse me of having a bias against complex forms of writing, some of which might appeal to readers whose minds are more scientific, philosophical, or poetic than mine, and I have to agree. My opinions about writing are highly subjective and should be weighed against the opinions of others.

-John Erickson, Story Craft (Amazon)