Avoiding Passive Voice

Lately, I've been writing numerous articles for Demand Studios. Writing for DS is much easier than it used to be since I've mastered the styles of several formats. I also tend to write in select categories, so I'm quickly building an expertise on certain topics, which makes writing much faster.

However, I've found that I still struggle with using passive voice. A couple CE's were kind enough to mention this to me while still approving my articles. One recommended I use a passive voice checker online to help streamline my writing. The 'To-Be Verbs Analyzer' helps to identify all the 'to-be' verbs in a given document. Although not all instances of to-be are passive voice, most are, and writing in a more active voice translates into better writing.

So, if you're wondering what you can do to improve your writing, try out the analyzer. It's free and might help you better identify passive voice, leading to richer quality articles. I plan on checking all of my articles with this tool from now on!

Have you ever struggled with using passive voice? What did you do to overcome it?

May Earnings Update

May was a much better month than April. I've started writing regularly again for Demand Studios, and my residual income at Suite 101 and eHow improved if only just slightly. I've finally started earning with amazon, so from now on I'll include monthly earnings from their associate program.

Suite 101- $16.54
eHow- $14.07
adsense- $4.82
amazon- $1.90

total= $37.33

My actual income from writing was much higher than this due to writing for DS again. After a hiatus of DS, it is rather nice to be back. I feel like I have a much better grasp on how to write successfully for them than I did before. I wrote the entire month of May without a single rewrite! My favorite new feature at DS is the 'track changes' application. I love seeing what a CE did to my article since it helps me realize the types of editing my articles undergo.

With the end of eHow, I have decided to pursue other residual income opprotunities besides Suite 101. I wrote 3 articles for Hubpages this month. I'm just testing the waters at this point, so I'll update with more information once I've gotten a better article library established.

My goals for June are to write the 10 Suite 101 articles per terms of my contract as well as continue writing for DS. I also plan to add a few more hubs.

As a side note, I've started a new blog if any of my readers wish to check it out. It's called Mothering Blindfolded and is just a fun blog about my family and my journey into motherhood. I'm officially full-term as of tomorrow, so if you're wondering where I am and what I am doing when I'm not posting on Pen Meets Wallet, check it out!

How were your earnings in May? Did you meet your goals? How will/does your writing schedule change once the summer months roll around?