Home >
Writing >
Copywriting
The Rat Spat on the Cat: Active Voice
by Cheryl Paquin
As a chubby wee lass in Scotland, and a less chubby preteen in Australia,grammarians said words such as colour, vigour and humour, needed a "u".
However, after spending almost three years in the U.S., I've learneddifferently, they don't. I rather like it. Just as "u" is unnecessary,writing seems more dramatic with the substitution of "z" for "s".Sensationalise or sensationalize? "Z" adds zing, "S" is staid, a stalwart ofthe alphabet.
Taking a job as a reporter in the U.S. meant paying more attention tospelling. As I focused on losing "u" and gaining "z", these two smallletters impacted my writing more: Editing -- lose the excess; add more zing.
The editing process is just as important as writing itself. I loveediting -- deliberating if one word is better than another, if an extraadjective hinders the delivery, or it gives impact. Above all, I lovereducing my words to an economy -- where writing comes alive through action,not bogged by verbiage.
Active voice:Beginning writers often make the mistake of writing passively, or from theperspective that the subject had something done to it rather than thesubject doing it. It's a mistake.
Which is more active?
The cat was spat on by the rat, or the rat spat on the cat.
Too often, editors see cats that were spat on, and they're tired of it. It'spast tense and boring. Editors like rats spitting, it brings the actioncloser to the reader, and it's less verbiage to wade through. When you findtoo many incidences of "by", or "was", in your writing, stop. Reread thesentence -- define the subject, the verb, and the object.
For example:"The sentence was written by the writer," is passive. So let's break itdown: Who is doing the action? The writer, the writer is writing. What isthe verb or the action word? Written, from the verb, to write. Who is havingsomething done to it? The sentence; it is being written.
So, to have our subject/verb/object order, or the subject doing something toan object, we would have, "The writer written the sentence", which, ofcourse, doesn't make sense. However, you're not stuck with a passivesentence and the answer will most often lie in the VERB. What are variationsof "to write"? Writes, written, wrote… Aha! Wrote, that works, "The writerwrote the sentence."
Of course, we could say the writer penned, scribed, etc.; it doesn't matter,as long as the verb's voice tells us that the subject takes action.
Trust me, you will be loved by your editor ... oops, your editor will loveyou
More articles by Cheryl Paquin:
