But in the passive voice, there is another cognitive step. You have to first imagine a book, then think about Tucker writing that book. This small cognitive step makes a huge difference in how people respond to your writing. That’s not the worst part of indirect, passive voice writing. Do you hate corporate bullshit writing? All of it is in passive voice. It’s used by people in power to avoid responsibility. Watch: Active: I made a mistake. Passive: Mistakes were made. Be direct. 4. MAKE IT ABOUT THE READER Ask yourself this question about everything you write: “Why does the reader care?” This is the hardest principle to apply, because when you do this, you realize that most of your writing is for yourself—not the reader. You see your writing for what it probably is: selfish, indulgent, and grandiose. If that happens, don’t get down on yourself. That is common. Only every author ever has had that problem. All you have to do is stop writing about things the reader doesn’t care about and focus on what they do. CONCLUSION Short, simple, direct, about the reader. 136 · ThE SCriBE METhOD