This is fabulous! I got a good chuckle from the contortions necessary to maintain passive voice throughout; I completely agree, however, that passive voice has a place in good writing, it helps to contribute to a variety of sentence pattern which I think is very pleasing. I had never heard of Oulipo, very interesting to read up on.
Oh my! The passive tense version rocked my world. It was akin to being on a word roller coaster. I loved the twists and upside down bits.
I tend towards passive tense and I'm not sure why I fall into it more than is necessary or appropriate. Do you know if passive tense happens more often in first person?
I 'm not sure, Renee. I think it's more likely the subject matter, in the sense that I think of the passive tense as being quieter and calmer than active verbs. It's less doing, and more letting go. So that's my take on it. Does that sound feasible?
Thanks for your comment on the passive version. It was hard work!
This fits with why I too often lean into passive writing. I find if I don't lean too much one way or the other, I'm more pleased with the result.
I can't even imagine having the ability to write that passive version, despite the fact I lean towards passive writing. Mine is accidental and with no real writing wisdom!!
Blimey, Terry, in this post an insurmountable impossibility has been presented for any thoughts to be gathered or any specific comments to be delivered by me. It is hoped that my apologies be accepted.
A drink needs to be poured smartish. Happy Friday!
This is fabulous! I got a good chuckle from the contortions necessary to maintain passive voice throughout; I completely agree, however, that passive voice has a place in good writing, it helps to contribute to a variety of sentence pattern which I think is very pleasing. I had never heard of Oulipo, very interesting to read up on.
Thanks, Alexandra. I had to go through such contortions, as you could see! I agree, a variety is more pleasing. I think something longer, written only with so-called action verbs, would become exhausting to read after a while. I've written an intro to Oulipo, and a review of a great book on the subject, here: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/p/review-of-the-penguin-book-of-oulipo, and you get a laugh out of this too: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/p/experimenting-with-styles
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Thanks Terry! I will give these a read.
I hope you enjoy them, Alexandra
Oh my! The passive tense version rocked my world. It was akin to being on a word roller coaster. I loved the twists and upside down bits.
I tend towards passive tense and I'm not sure why I fall into it more than is necessary or appropriate. Do you know if passive tense happens more often in first person?
I 'm not sure, Renee. I think it's more likely the subject matter, in the sense that I think of the passive tense as being quieter and calmer than active verbs. It's less doing, and more letting go. So that's my take on it. Does that sound feasible?
Thanks for your comment on the passive version. It was hard work!
This fits with why I too often lean into passive writing. I find if I don't lean too much one way or the other, I'm more pleased with the result.
I can't even imagine having the ability to write that passive version, despite the fact I lean towards passive writing. Mine is accidental and with no real writing wisdom!!
Blimey, Terry, in this post an insurmountable impossibility has been presented for any thoughts to be gathered or any specific comments to be delivered by me. It is hoped that my apologies be accepted.
A drink needs to be poured smartish. Happy Friday!
Thank you, O passive one. Have a lovely weekend
LOL! You too!