So I'm sitting at the sports desk, waiting for pages to read/t-copy and watching Star Trek with William Shatner while reading my homework and discussing, on and off, passive voice. In journalism, passive voice is unacceptable, apparently in any context.
Passive voice, generally, in fiction, is good to avoid. You want to show, not tell, and passive voice hinders that. However, we discussed in class, it's acceptable when making a character feel not in control. For example, If Jack is frustrated at the way Jill is planning their weekend, you could write, "plans were made" to give the reader that same sense of feeling others are acting on you.
In journalism though, I can't write "Billy was trampled by the bull." I have to say "the bull trampled Billy." Even though I think that Billy should be the main focus. And the article is not about the accident. It's about how a rodeo is in memoriam of him. So I don't think the accident should be jumping out at the reader. *sigh* I understand, but it's going to take some getting used to. Journalism rules, unlike English rules, generally aren't made to be broken. And, as most of your aren't English majors, I'm sure you've quit reading by now. But I just feel I need to share how complicated paper-making is. Everyone complains about all the problems and errors, but seriously, it's tough.
On another note, a weird she/he person passed out/died on Star Trek, and his temple had a red glowing dot that appeared, then quickly disappeared. And there's a lady in a shiny dress. But I don't know what the heck it's about. But hey it's got Spock!
Well, I'm going to get back to reading about film adaptations. Oh, and Trading Spouses is an evil show. Don't watch it.
