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Hi Bobbie:
It would help to see the chapter / paragraphs that prompted the criticism. It’s hard to generalize, but too much passive voice can be a sign of something else wrong with the writing: a rambling style, lack of focus, over-reliance on dry exposition (“tell”) and info dumps, or purple prose. Using the active voice is often the better choice simply because it makes for crisper, more compelling prose, and this applies to dialogue too. If you’re looking for examples, this site’s very own Ann Everett wrote a terrific book on using active verbs and she’s the real deal when it comes to professional writing.

It’s obviously impossible to avoid using the passive voice altogether, but I think authors also run into problems when they string together long, passive chains. That makes for boring reading, and while it’s hard to put strict rules to it, you certainly know it when you start skimming.

If anything, dialogue needs to be even more purposeful and direct than the descriptive prose you may use for scene setting, character descriptions or world building. A character may use convoluted, rambling speech patterns or drone on with tedious exposition. You could argue “well, that’s supposed to be their personality.” But we’re still reading the dialogue and getting bored, so the end result is the same: we stop reading or skim. If one of your characters is a bore, then why give them precious time under the spotlight?

None of these comments pertain to your writing, of course! I’d have to read the chapter in question to see if I agree with the criticism. If you post a sample here or point me to the chapter, I’ll be happy to give you one novice writer’s opinion.

Gray

So cool. Congrats, Randall!

2068! That’s impressive! Wish the site would reintroduce some metrics to encourage and spur on this kind of engagement. Small thing, I know, but >2000 points deserves some recognition because of all the hours of reading and reviewing it represents. I know that’s not why you guys do it, but still...

Congrats, Randall! That’s terrific news, and well deserved!

Well deserved! Congratulations!

Congrats to all the finalists! Nice range of genres this year, and all excellent choices!

Congrats Denise! Can’t wait to pick up my copies, so please update when they are available. Hoping for a steamy movie one day!

Congrats! Well deserved!

I wish I’d read your romances a few decades ago, Ann! Should be required reading for new adults.

I hope this doesn't mean "flagged" reviewers will be banned from the Premium Group, because this will marginalize some of the most talented -- albeit brutally candid -- members. Criticizing a writer's fundamentals (grammar, punctuation, dialogue) is not abuse, and we all have the ability to block or ignore reviewers we consider offensive. Looking back at grade school and college, some of my most insightful, constructive teachers seemed like real jerks at the time.

The last thing we need is for the Premium Group to become a Wattpad clone in which reviews are the equivalent of Facebook or Instagram "likes" used to garner reciprocal praise with no substance.

The folks at Moonshine Cove Publishing must be huge Hemingway fans, because he's the only writer I know who follows their strict "no dialogue tags except for 'he said/she said"" policy. I think the point is to avoid drawing attention to your prose at the expense of the plot and dialogue.

As for their elaborate list of prohibitions, it's pretentious and flies in the face of successful commercial fiction. Paula Hawkins (The Girl On The Train) has her characters both "barking" and "snarling" out dialogue, and I don't think most critics would accuse her of writing "hack fiction." Likewise, if your character has been screaming until his voice is hoarse, I don't see anything wrong with having him "croak" out a line of dialogue (sure he could "say" something "in a hoarse voice," but I'd argue that "croaking" is a simpler, more visceral description). Assuming he's human, I think the readers will assume he's not imitating a frog.

Not to spend Sol's money (;)), but I was thinking a Top Reviewers list could be coupled with some discount off the site membership fee. Doesn't have to be a big reward. Even $10 off would be a nice gesture to those who take the extra time to be generous reviewers.