February 20, 2003
Yes, stopped using subjects in my sentences. How observant of you. Sometimes verbs, too. Easier.
A few years ago I gave up the passive voice for Lent. This seems easy at first but is actually extraordinarily difficult. Which is, of course, the point. Which is even funnier since observing Lent is not part of my tradition.
Avoiding the passive voice was made even harder by the fact that at the time I was taking a French linguistics course in which I studied use of the passive voice. I made an exception for that class. At the same time, I was writing quite a few very diplomatic memos and email at work. It's tricky business to be diplomatic without the passive voice. Just try it sometime.
It turned out to be a very worthwhile exercise in self-discipline. Out of necessity, I became much more conscious of everything I said or wrote.
Then somewhere along the way, all that went to hell. And you're reading the result.
