Let’s talk about how to write.<\/p>\n
My writing has really improved over the last few years. \u00a0Part of this\u00a0improvement comes\u00a0from writing more. \u00a0Another part comes from\u00a0putting my ego aside long enough to listen to meaningful critique. \u00a0One of the things I’ve learned from critique is that I fall into the passive voice when I’m not paying attention. \u00a0Many writers do this, and the passive voice is fine once in a while. \u00a0But like any seasoning, too much ruins the broth.<\/p>\n
Adverbs are in the same boat. \u00a0Adverbs are not your friend, and should be used with care and intention. \u00a0If you’re not paying attention when you use an adverb, you run the risk of telling something that you should be showing.<\/p>\n
Most adverbs end in “ly” like quickly, loudly, and simply. \u00a0When scanning your writing, you can let your eye land on the words ending with “ly” and then start your surgery. \u00a0Similarly, many passive voiced sentences involve the word “was.” So, while editing\u00a0The Repossessed Ghost<\/em>, I spent a great deal of time rewriting sentences that involved\u00a0that word.<\/p>\n Here is an example of a passively voiced sentence\u00a0that involves “was”:<\/p>\n Rewriting sentences was how I planned on elevating my prose.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If I come across that sentence while editing one of my stories, I’ll rewrite it to something more like:<\/p>\n I planned on elevating my prose by rewriting the weak sentences.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Look how much stronger that sentence is! \u00a0The emphasis shifted from “was” to “planned.” It is easier to read, the message is clearer, and I even had room to sneak in an extra adjective.<\/p>\n My first draft of\u00a0The Repossessed Ghost<\/em> dripped with weak, passively voiced sentences. \u00a0It isn’t that surprising. \u00a0The main influence that set the tone for my book is Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and he falls into the passive voice all the time.<\/p>\n Of course, not every passive-voiced sentence involves the word “was.” \u00a0Look at the last sentence of the previous\u00a0paragraph. \u00a0The first half is passive. \u00a0It should be “Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files influenced and set the tone for my book.” \u00a0It’s sneaky, because it doesn’t involve the word “was” and it is part of a longer sentence.<\/p>\n So, as hard as I worked on\u00a0The Repossessed Ghost<\/em>, I know that it still isn’t perfect. \u00a0It’s stronger than the previous draft, with a greater emphasis on strong verbs. \u00a0However, sneaky sentences slipped past me, and now wait like active land mines.<\/p>\n But, beyond my own\u00a0book, I have developed a sensitivity to the word “was.” I’ve spent so much time watching for it that it stands out in other people’s work. \u00a0It stands out in the audio books I listen to. \u00a0Every instance of the word “was” makes me sit up, pay attention, and listen for passivity.<\/p>\n I’m trying to back that off. \u00a0It isn’t a terrible word. \u00a0It’s sorely needed in some sentences. \u00a0I know that some of the sentences I rewrote in my book were not made better by eliminating “was.” \u00a0As I’m going through the beginning again, polishing and adding greater strength to the verbs, I’m trying to leave some of the sentences alone.<\/p>\n So, in summary, spending energy seeking and destroying the word “was” can help you reduce passively voiced sentences in your work. \u00a0But spending too much energy on something like that can make you crazy, and still allow\u00a0you to miss your ultimate goal of good prose and a solid story.<\/p>\n You know, I never know how to end posts like these. \u00a0So I’ll just say, “Happy Birthday, Melissa! \u00a0I love you, and I hope your day has been extra special!”<\/p>\n (Edited. \u00a0When writing a post on writing, it’s embarrassing to include so many sloppy mistakes.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let’s talk about how to write. My writing has really improved over the last few years. \u00a0Part of this\u00a0improvement comes\u00a0from writing more. \u00a0Another part comes from\u00a0putting my ego aside long enough to listen to meaningful critique. \u00a0One of the things I’ve learned from critique is that I fall into the passive voice when I’m not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=820"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":824,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions\/824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}