In writing there's active and there's passive voice.
A character described with active voice does things, and a character described with passive voice is having things done to them. It's not grammatically incorrect, but a lot of editors steer writers away from it. It can slow down the flow of words, especially during action sequences, and it gives the action emphasis rather than the character's decision to perform that action.
Examples:
* Mark stabbed Don
* Don was stabbed by Mark
In the first example, Mark has all the power. Mark made a choice. That's really important, and could be vital character development. In the second, Don is the emphasis and stabbing was done unto him. Mark may as well not have been involved. In fact, you could take him out of the sentence entirely and it would still be grammatically accurate.
So should passive voice be avoided all of the time?
Passive voice has its uses, but a lot of the time in fiction it can be avoided (or, to make that more active, 'most of the time you can avoid it').
Like I said, it slows things down, and takes power away from a character making a decision.
When you're allowed to use passive voice
There may be times you want the thing being actioned to be more important than the characters performing the action.
Example: "Finally, after great lengths, his crimes were exposed." Here the emphasis is the subject's criminal activity and its exposure, not the person who exposed him. This might be an excerpt from a bit of historical exposition.
You might also use passive voice because the character performing the action is unknown at the time: "Don walked around the market, enjoying the sights and sounds. Then he was stabbed."
In summary
Passive voice is not wrong, but it strips agency away from a character and slows down action.
Use active voice when you need your character to do something, and when that decision is important.
Use passive voice sparingly, such as when an action is happening to someone and the perpetrator of said action is not so important.
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Good luck in your hunt for active and passive voice! Remember to please Vote for this page if you found it useful.
Got questions? Hit me up in the comments! And remember to tag anyone you think will find this advice helpful.
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