Fiction Pacing: Professional Techniques for Slow and Fast Pace Effects (Writer's Craft Book 33) by Rayne Hall

Author:Rayne Hall [Hall, Rayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-04T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Passive Voice sentence constructions have an extremely pace-slowing effect.

FAST PACE

Be strict: eliminate all Passive Voice from your writing in sections where you want the pace to be fast.

Examples:

Instead of

I was bitten by the dog.

Write:

The dog bit me.

Instead of

The ship was captured by the pirates.

Write:

The pirates captured the ship.

Instead of

Her hiding place was found by the hunters.

Write:

The hunters found her hiding place.

SLOW PACE

In a slow-paced scene, Passive Voice can sometimes be appropriate – but use it very sparingly, because its effects can make the writing clunky, pompous and dull.

Active Voice is almost always better, even in slow-paced sections.

PROFESSIONAL TIP

Occasionally, Passive Voice can produce a desired special effect. For example, you may want to use it in a slow-paced dialogue section when a pompous bureaucrat speaks. (“Concerns were raised by residents about the condition of the building.”) A couple of Passive Voice sentences will characterise the speaker as stiff and stilted, a stickler for bureaucracy who shies back from action.

But use this trick sparingly.

WHAT NOT TO DO

Don’t insert Passive Voice constructions for the sake of slowing pace, or you risk boring the reader.

ASSIGNMENT

Check your fast-paced section: Does it contain any Passive Voice constructions? If yes, change them to Active Voice.

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