#3 No Passive Verbs

The small black dog hopped onto the couch. He spread his paws before him and looked around the living room. The light faded as the sun set, making the shadows grow. He just felt comfortable in his position when a warm, familiar voice called his name.

"Dougan! Come here. Mary, you should see this." He scrambled to her and watched eagerly as she squished the gel onto a strange contraption. The white handle attached to a soft-bristled brush that now glimmered with the gel. His tail wagged so frantically, his butt shook.

The woman reached down, holding out the gelled bristles to him. He eagerly hopped forward with his tongue already sticking out of his tiny mouth. The smell of gravy filled his sensitive nostrils as the gel covered his tongue. The teeth of the contraption felt odd on his tongue, but the gel tasted so delicious, he stopped caring. Little did he know with every lick, he cleaned his teeth a tad bit more.

****

I didn't really have an idea for a topic today, so my boyfriend's mom helped a little. Dougan is their dog and he's a terrier. Cute thing, if not a little daft. Other than that, knowing about passive verbs and avoiding them is a fantastical idea. Turns out, most people don't know how much they use them, and don't even know all of them. In my mind, I immediately think "sein" because of learning German (it means "to be"), but here are the words to extrapolate: am, are, is, have, had. They make your writing boring and makes you miss out on efficiently using every sentence. Granted, there are times when such words are necessary, but try to keep them to a minimum so your writing can become colorful and exciting! (The exclamation point is mainly for emphasis).