Passive Voice – the dreaded phrase used by SEO and English teachers (but lately SEO) to tell me to rearrange my sentences to make my blog posts “Green Light” friendly.

SEO stands for search engine optimization which basically means making your webpage visible to search engines such as Google to increase traffic to your website.

What is Active Voice, but the opposite of Passive which SEO wants me to achieve?

Voice refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb.

If the subject performs the action the verb is active voice.

Example: James closed the door.

James – DOER OF ACTION

closed – ACTION

door – RECEIVER OF ACTION

If the subject is acted upon, the verb is passive.

Example: The door was closed by James.-

door – RECEIVER OF ACTION

was closed – ACTION

James – DOER OF ACTION

Active voice is tighter, more vigorous when writing.

Passive voice is useful when you don’t know who the subject is or don’t want to take the blame. (Insert political joke here).

Look for IS, WAS, ARE, WERE in sentences using passive voice and replace with specific ACTION VERBS to make ACTIVE VOICE instead of passive voice sentences.

I have taken a previous post from November 14 Fire Alarm Fears, which SEO flagged as having passive voice sentences. I’ve listed the original and then shown ACTIVE VOICE replacement.

I was still very much a night owl. PASSIVE

I am a night owl. ACTIVE

As I was pulling up the covers, I looked over and

saw the blinking red light of death. PASSIVE

I pulled up the covers, looking at the blinking

red light of death. ACTIVE

Let’s just say, I slept downstairs that night

alone and was sadly disappointed in myself. PASSIVE

I slept downstairs last night,

disappointed in myself. ACTIVE

Active voice makes writing feel more engaging and alive, but it can be difficult to make sure passive voice doesn’t sneak in. These tips can help you identify passive voice and change to active voice. This will help your writing and give your SEO a boost for your webpage views.

Amazon also several books on this subject if you’re looking for more information. Link here. One of the novels was an eBook and is free for Kindle Unlimited members. Otherwise, it was under a dollar. A good deal!

Until next time, may God’s grace surround you,

Writing 101

How to be a Fantastic Beta Reader

April 20, 2019April 20, 2019 Anna Christine

Beta Readers help make my novels better. How? They bring another pair of eyes to my writing which can catch:

Spelling errors I can’t see anymore because the text is so familiar to me and my editor.

Structure issues – making sure my story flows and doesn’t feel too rushed or too slow.

Strange wording that doesn’t make sense – either too wordy or phrases a common reader wouldn’t understand. Being a Southern girl, sometimes the phrases common in my life mean nothing to someone not born and raised in the South or even in my family!

Factual errors – I haven’t had EVERY job or experience I write about and Beta Readers can catch mistakes in careers, facts about dogs, or even places I haven’t been.

Consistency mistakes – saying it’s October at the beginning of the chapter and it’s September by the end, or having a character with blue eyes at the beginning of the novel, but brown toward the end.

Beta Readers are an important part of the writing process and I have been blessed with some fantastic beta readers…

But, it can be hard to find good beta readers and it helps to know what you need to look for:

Continue reading “How to be a Fantastic Beta Reader” →

Grace Series, Writing 101

Encyclopedia of the Grace Series

January 26, 2019 Anna Christine

With three books published, another novel coming out in April and plans for novel five, six, and seven – it can be hard to keep up with ALL OF THE CHARACTERS. Hair color, eye color, birthdays, tall, or short, these details are very important and can’t change from book to book.

What’s a writer to do?!?

WRITE IT DOWN, of course!

I have created a notebook, a 2-inch binder full of information that I keep updated for all of my novels. I call it my Grace Series Encyclopedia and I’d like to show it to you and explain a few tips and tricks of my writing secrets that I’ve learned through trial and error.

Want to know more? Of course, you do!