far more readers. Nonfiction writing is generally about persua- sion. You are writing to try to convince or persuade someone of something. The main technique to convince someone is to keep things simple. How can you persuade someone or convince them to do something if they don’t fully understand what you’re trying to tell them? Simple also means getting rid of extra words. Any word not abso- lutely necessary to convey your point must go. 3. MAKE IT DIRECT Most nonfiction writing is indirect in some way—passive voice, jargon, multiple clauses, heavy use of adjectives and adverbs. Don’t do these things. If you’re doing them, stop. If you aren’t sure what they are, then do this: Make each sentence a single, clear statement. Connect it to the sen- tence before and the sentence after. Do not put multiple thoughts in one sentence. Make your writing as direct as it can be. I have to explain passive and active voice, because most people don’t know what it is. Active voice means the subject of the sen- tence is performing the verb. Passive voice means the subject of the sentence receives the action. Even though they mean the same thing, the effect is very different. Example: Active: Tucker wrote the book. Passive: The book was written by Tucker. Active voice is much easier for people to read because they can picture the sentence. You can see Tucker writing a book. ThE SCriBE gUiDE TO WriTiNg EffECTivE NONfiCTiON · 135