Active Voice vs. Passive Voice:

“The dog bit the man” is not the same as “The man was bitten by the dog.” — Know the difference.

When it comes to writing strong, compelling prose, voice matters. And I don’t mean your narrative voice — I mean the grammatical voice of your sentences: active or passive. These two forms shape how your reader processes action, information, and even character agency. Mastering when to use each can elevate your writing from competent to commanding.

Let’s break it down.

📆 What Is Active Voice?

In an active sentence, the subject performs the action.

• Active: The hero drew her sword.

The structure is straightforward: subject + verb + object. This is the go-to for most modern writing. It’s direct. It’s clear. And it’s usually more engaging.

Active voice works especially well when:

• You want immediacy and energy.
• You’re writing action scenes.
• You need to assign agency and responsibility.

It’s also the default for most writing advice — and with good reason. Active voice helps drive the story forward. It makes your characters feel present, engaged, and in control of their choices. And as a writer, it makes you sound confident, not uncertain.

🔹 What Is Passive Voice?

In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action.

• Passive: The sword was drawn by the hero.

It flips the structure: object + verb + subject (sometimes the subject disappears entirely).

Passive voice isn’t grammatically wrong (despite what some people will tell you). But it does shift emphasis and pacing. That’s not always a bad thing. It depends on what you’re trying to achieve.

Sometimes you want to draw attention away from the subject and onto the action or result. Or maybe you want to create a softer tone, a sense of distance, or even a bit of mystery.

📊 When to Use Active Voice

• Most of the time. It’s punchy and powerful. It keeps your story moving.
• To create a sense of urgency or tension. Great for thrillers, battle scenes, or emotional confrontations.
• When clarity is essential. Readers instantly understand who’s doing what.
• To give characters agency. Active voice tells us who did something, not just what happened.

Active voice can also help with pacing. Short, active sentences tend to feel faster. This is useful when building momentum or writing high-stakes moments. Want readers to feel breathless? Go active.

📝 When Passive Voice Makes Sense

There are times when passive voice is the better option:

• When the doer is unknown or irrelevant. The temple was ransacked. (We don’t know or care who did it.)
• To shift focus. The prophecy was fulfilled by the reluctant prince. This emphasizes the prophecy, not the prince.
• For stylistic variation. Sometimes you want to slow the pace, soften the tone, or add a touch of mystery.
• To sound more objective. In academic or technical writing, passive voice can make things sound more neutral or formal.

Let’s be honest: passive voice gets a bad rap, mostly because it’s overused or used thoughtlessly. But in the right hands, it’s elegant, useful, and deliberate.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

• Unintentional passivity. Be careful of slipping into passive voice out of habit. It can make your prose feel distant or flat.
• Overcorrecting. Don’t be afraid of passive voice — it’s a tool. Just don’t overuse it.
• Losing the actor. If we don’t know who’s doing the action, it can cause confusion.

When revising, it’s worth asking yourself: Am I avoiding active voice because I’m unsure who’s taking action in the scene? If yes, that’s a story problem — not just a grammar one.

📖 Real-World Examples

Let’s compare a few:

• Passive: The kingdom was overthrown in a single night.
• Active: Rebels overthrew the kingdom in a single night.

The first is atmospheric, mysterious. The second is immediate, direct.

Another one:

• Passive: The girl was saved by the dragon.
• Active: The dragon saved the girl.

Now try it with your own writing. Take a scene and flip the voice. What changes? What feels more powerful, more aligned with your tone? What draws more emotion?

🧠 A Quick Self-Check Exercise

Try this while editing:

• Highlight every form of “was,” “were,” “is,” “are” in a few paragraphs.
• Ask: is this passive voice — or just a state of being?
• If it’s passive, rewrite in active voice and see how it changes the tone.
• Decide which version better suits your story’s needs.

💬 Final Thoughts

I used to be afraid of passive voice. For years, I avoided it like the plague, thinking it made me a “bad writer.” But the truth is, both voices have their place. The trick is knowing why you’re using one over the other.

So don’t sweat every passive construction. Don’t rewrite a sentence just because someone told you to avoid “was” like it’s cursed. Instead, pay attention to your intent. What do you want the sentence to do?

Use active voice when you want power. Use passive voice when you want perspective.

That’s not a rule. It’s a choice. And it’s yours to make.

Want your writing to sound confident? Start by choosing your voice with intention. It really is that simple — and that powerful.