Understand the writing “rules” so you can break them in style.
‘Use active voice’ is a relatively straightforward writing rule that calls for authors to adopt a specific sentence structure in their writing. This ‘active’ structure is seen as ideal in fiction because it keeps the reader’s attention on what the characters are doing, and how what they do drives the narrative.
What is ‘active voice’?
In simple terms, ‘active voice’ describes a sentence in which the subject (person or thing) performs an action. The subject will often be a character, but it can also be an animal, an inanimate object, a place, or even an abstract concept. The subject is usually positioned towards the start of the sentence.
e.g. ‘Holly crossed the line.’
What is ‘passive voice’?
‘Passive voice’ is the counterpart to active voice, and it describes a sentence in which the subject (person or thing) receives the action rather than performing it. The ‘doer’ of the action will usually be positioned towards the end of the sentence, or not mentioned at all.
e.g. ‘The line was crossed by Holly.’ or ‘The line was crossed.’
Passive voice is not an inherently ‘wrong’ way to construct a sentence however it does tend to weaken prose because it is more abstract, and because it can interrupt reading flow by placing the effect before the cause.
How to identify passive voice
A popular test for passive voice is to ask, ‘Would this sentence still make sense if I added “by zombies” after the verb?’
e.g. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged by zombies that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Note: It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a more complex sentence is technically active or passive. For example, the main clause in the example above is passive, but the embedded statement is stated in active terms. What matters for our purposes is the overall impact of the writing.
Advantages of using active voice
Proponents of the rule argue that active voice is almost always the better choice in fiction writing for a range of reasons:
- It’s more direct – The more straightforward sentence structure makes it easier to follow, offering greater clarity and improving reading flow.
- It’s immersive – Active voice helps to anchor readers within the scene through cause and effect. Allowing the reader to ‘watch’ the action unfold in natural sequence contributes to a ‘cinematic’ effect.
- It keeps up the pace – Active voice tends to result in shorter and punchier sentences. This makes it ideal for tracking fast-paced action, but it’s not all about high-speed chases. Even ‘quiet’ stories benefit from building momentum towards that climax.
- It’s emotionally engaging – When your protagonist drives the narrative through their intentional choices and actions (in other words, when they demonstrate ‘agency’), it invites readers to connect with them more deeply, and therefore invest more deeply in the outcome of their story.
- It conveys confidence – Active voice tends to sound more assertive and purposeful, which can contribute to a stronger narrative voice.
- It takes fewer words – In a 500-word story, it’s essential that every word earns its place. Using a more straightforward sentence structure frees up words for other important jobs like scene-setting, character development and rich, sensory detail.
When to choose passive voice?
There are however times in life where passive voice is the more appropriate option. We’ll illustrate some of its many valid uses with examples:
- When the agent is unknown – ‘The door was unlocked.’
- To emphasise the result or receiver of the action over the doer of the action – ‘The child had been left alone all day to cry.’
- To create mystery or suspense – ‘The room had been ransacked, every drawer flung open, and every surface stripped bare.’
- To reflect a character’s passivity or powerlessness – ‘He had been named after his father.’
- To create an objective, formal tone or to soften an accusation – ‘The transaction was declined due to insufficient funds.’
In summary
The objective behind this ‘rule’ is not to eliminate passive voice altogether, but to understand the impact of both active and passive voice so that we may wield our chosen writing style with intention.
The anti-prompt for the July 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenges writers to Break the rule, ‘Use active voice’. For advice on how to effectively break the rule, read the companion article, Breaking the rule: ‘Use active voice’.