Your Thoughts on Present-Tense and Past-Tense?

Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Fife, Oct 26, 2012.

  1. digitig

    digitig Contributor Contributor

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    And I reckon that is fine--provided the narrator then tells us (in first person past tense) how they came to be in that situation.
     
  2. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    In this form, that would be two actions, thus two senteces?

    ...not necessarily... it can just as easily be a single sentence, without that pesky present participle messing up the meaning... as in:

    "He went to the car and slammed the door shut."

    or change the sentence:
    "Upon reaching the car door, he slammed it shut."

    ...not a good sentence, but it does make better sense, at least...

    He made it to the door so he could close it, the other he is walking to the door, but not there yet.

    ...good writers will avoid bibo writing [my term: breathe-in/breathe-out]... burdening the reader with every boring detail of every movement your character makes is one of the best ways to avoid being paid for what you write...
     
  3. alexa_

    alexa_ Banned

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    I believe that Present-Tense narration is much more active and live. It involves you entirely in the action, as if you participated there.
     
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  4. Fife

    Fife New Member

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    The consensus that I get is that present-tense works well if used correctly and if the reader is attuned to it; past-tense is traditionally accepted and most readers are attuned to it. Well, looks like I have to do more reading.
     
  5. ithestargazer

    ithestargazer Active Member

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    Personally, I prefer to write in past tense as I feel I have more control over my characters and their world. There are some good examples of present tense being used in books and working well, especially in creating suspense and pace. Having said that, I think present tense can be more difficult to pull off well, especially for a developing writer. There's a fluidity to past tense that I find comforting, both when reading and when writing.
     
  6. ithestargazer

    ithestargazer Active Member

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    To cite a reference: The Hunger Games is a recent example of how present tense can be used to create an energetic pace (though a good writer can do that in any tense.) A lot of my friends said that they didn't notice it was in present tense when they read it but I found it quite noticeable
     
  7. robertpri007

    robertpri007 New Member

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    I am so glad for this thread! After reading the posts, I re-edited my 120k ms with only one thing in mind. Tenses, I was astounded that in my first person past tense, I had slipped into present tense many times. I was not aware of it while writing, or even during the ten+ edits. Wow--it's such an easy mistake to make, but so obvious when looking for it.

    Many thanks to all!
     
  8. digitig

    digitig Contributor Contributor

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    It might involve you entirely in the action. It very certainly doesn't make me feel any more involved in the action. For me it's still a narrative -- just a rather badly expressed one.
     
  9. digitig

    digitig Contributor Contributor

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    It jarred so badly with me I was unable to finish the first book. I also walked out of the film halfway through because it was so mind-numbingly boring. The rest of my family and friends who stayed said afterwards that I had made the right call: it didn't pick up in the second half (although they complained about the gratuitous racism, which I suppose I might have found interesting). So perhaps that wasn't entirely a matter of tense.
     
  10. thewordsmith

    thewordsmith Contributor Contributor

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    Well, since a few others have already eloquently pointed out the shortfalls in present-tense fiction vs. past-tense fiction, I really have little to add. Although (you knew that was coming, didn't you?), I would like to take the opportunity to expand on the difference between stage/screenwriting and books. When writing for performance, whether stage or screen, it is pretty much imperative that it be written in present tense since the action is, in fact, occurring in the present tense each and every time it is performed or viewed. Therefore, what you have is an ongoing narrative - a blow-by-blow, play-by-play, color commentator analysis before the fact to be presented in the present tense. When writing for novel, although it is presented to the reader 'right now' as it were, the author has the option of presenting the events to the reader 'as they happen' or more of a "Let me tell you what happened to ..." approach which accepts that everything has already happened. With present tense, however, you read something that is happening now and yet, as soon as you read it, it becomes past tense. Thus you are creating a certain break in continuity of a sort. Everything is happening now, it happened before, it will happen after ... now, maybe later, before, now, now, before, now, before, now... So it comes down to the ability to keep the reader in the present tense while everything they've read is already in the past.

    For me, examples of fiction using present tense successfully have been extremely rare. It is so difficult to do well and pull off successfully. I don't know if this is simply because the reading public is acclimated to reading in past tense - creating something of a 'learning curve' for the audience - or if the structure does not really, readily lend itself to fiction writing. Even the formula for writing in present tense is, to a certain extent, a bit grating. To complete an entire novel in that format - and to do it well enough to keep readers from throwing the book out a window or, at the very least, to keep them interested - is a monstrous undertaking. The only instance I can think of off-hand where it might be advantageous to use present tense in a ms is for RPGs and "You complete the story" books with multiple avenues and endings.

    Now, I love a good challenge and have written in almost every genres and every person, unilateral POV, omni-limited, and omniscient, but I have to confess, while I have used present tense in oral storytelling and have actively worked with present in theater and script, I have never felt the urge to tackle present tense for writing. Not for any inborn bias against present but simply because I don't see the value in it as a fiction writing tool.

    And now, a la Cogito, I accept that there will be a contingent here to disagree. Point taken. I can only reiterate my former statement:
     
  11. Ben_

    Ben_ New Member

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    I think that choice of tense should depend on the intention of the piece.

    A narrative in past tense has more scope for reflection on events which are happening within the narrative, as time has passed in order to allow this.

    Present, is good for exploring the immediacy of life. In first person, I think it is the most powerful point-of-view for exploring the immediate experience of being alive. For me, it draws the reader closer into the scene, by removing the buffer, which is provided by reflection, in past tense.

    Personally (for a bit of controversy;)), I think that preference for one tense over another is usually just prejudice. They all have something to offer. Having said that, I don’t think the choice is arbitrary. It depends on what you are trying to convey.
     
  12. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    I agree, which is why it was probably an idiotic move for me to create my latest book as present tense. But I think the particular context helps it work. It has me nervous though...

    My next challenge is future tense.... yes... I'm going there...
     
  13. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Why?

    Don't choose a writing technique just because it's different. Choose it because it tells a story more effectively.

    The exception is writing to experiment. An experiment is a controlled exercise in which you vary one parameter to evaluate its potential. An experiment is not a publish piece. It will only be of value to you, and it will be flawed.

    I'll say it again, because it's important:

    Don't choose a writing technique just because it's different. Choose it because it tells a story more effectively.

    Ignoring this principle does not mark you as avant garde. It hangs a big neon sign over your head that flashes "Amateur!" in three thousand lumens of orange glare.
     
  14. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    That's exactly why. I don't just write to publish, I write for fun, and I write to create challenges. I like experimenting and trying new things. I love Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright, and how Wright set out to prove that you CAN write a book without using the letter E.

    Wright said in the intro
    I like setting restrictive parameters and then figuring out ways to make it work. It's incredibly entertaining and fulfilling. I don't give a rat's backside if those books get published or not. Only if I am happy with the end result. Call it a puzzle if you like.

    One of my current book's many rules is that I have no quoted dialogue, and so far it works really really well. In my opinion anyway. For me writing is a craft and an art, like painting and sculpture, and not just telling a story. (another rule is to never use the contraction I'm for 'I am'. I must always use I am, because the observant folk will make the connection between the religeous elements of the story and that one of God's names is 'I am.')

    Having someone tell me not to do that because it marks me as an amateur is understandable, but dissapointing.

    Sometimes I think the only thing many writers here care about is getting published and getting fame, and not the process.
     
  15. alexa_

    alexa_ Banned

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    Of course, it's much more conveniet to handle situations and story evolvement in Past Tense. But still what concerns rapidly developing actions I prefer Present Tense.
     
  16. Kinch

    Kinch New Member

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    I'll admit, present tense in a novel was really bizarre for me to read at first. However, I've come to like it, and it happens to be the tense I'm now writing my novel in.
     
  17. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I'd say listen to your first instinct.
     
  18. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    ditto that!
     
  19. Kinch

    Kinch New Member

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    ^^^ Amen.
     

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