by Karen Payton Holt (AKA KPHVampireWriter)

When you are writing a story and setting the scene, because you want the reader to ‘see’ what you are seeing, it is very easy to fall into one of two traps.

1/ ‘An information dump’ – where the writer’s head appears above the parapet and the detail the reader ‘needs to know’ is dumped in to their lap. If the story is halted for too long then picking up the action again is more difficult.

2/ Descriptive opening paragraphs written in passive voice, which can be dull.

‘The man entered the bar. There were tables scattered around the room. The lighting was dim. There were four men sat huddled in a corner, and one guy was wearing a hat…’

You get the picture. However, introducing a new setting is far more interesting if the voice is active.

Consider, ‘The tavern door was heavier…