Cisco Writers Club

Rendezvous With Writing

Ignoring Writing Advice

Popular writing advice tells writers to get rid of filter words. Instead of writing, “John felt the punch land on his ribs,” write, “The punch landed on his ribs.” It has more immediacy and brings the reader into the action. Writers are also advised to avoid passive voice. The sentence I just wrote is in passive voice. It doesn’t reveal who is doing the advising. In active voice, the sentence might read, “Writing experts tell authors to avoid passive voice.” A third popular writing rule tells writers to cut weasel words. Instead of typing, “Sandra held a kind of hatred for her sister,” a more impactful, concise sentence that fleshes out Sandra’s character would read, “Sandra hated her sister.”