Pass on Passive

When I was growing up, we had a charming tiny black-and-white t.v. in one room of the house, and a larger color t.v. in another room. If we found a show we liked on the black-and-white, we'd flock into the living room to see if we could turn it on in color.

Why is that? 

Probably the same reason that active voice grabs readers more than passive voice:


The color made it more vivid, more interesting, more captivating.
In the same way, active voice in writing brings a reader into the action, rather than asking them to observe the action from a safe distance.

See here:

With a little order-switching and strategic word choice, the same exact message goes from bland information to persuasive punch.

Try it! Pass on passive, and watch the action unfold.
...and to balance the issue, here's a question for discussion:

When might you use passive voice effectively?

Exclamations Cry "Wolf!"

Modifiers weren't built for heavy lifting. Period.

After I proudly showed my husband this masterpiece I concocted today, he drew me a picture of a truly strong verb...

Lesson: strong verbs don't need a crew of munchkin adverbs to carry them. Maybe just a spotter- adverb every now and then...

Consider:

The very young, quite small boy ran rather speedily.

vs.

The youngin' bolted.

The youngin' wins!

CHECK OUT: Elements of Style (Strunk & White) Chapter V, section 4 (p. 71) for a short explanation whose eloquence rivals this plucky illustration by quirkygrammar.blogspot.com.