Be a Better Writer--WRITING IN DIFFERENT TENSES
Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 7:52 am
In this week’s lesson, I'll discuss choosing a tense in which to write your story, and keeping your tense consistent (except when you don’t really need to).
For the purposes of this lesson, I’ve written a sample paragraph four different ways, in different combinations of tense and POV. I’ll give my own thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of each, then invite you to do the same.
A. 3rd person, past tense
Jan walked into the house and her jaw dropped. The floor was strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lay on its side, shattered. Fido sat in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cried.
This might be considered the default setting for fiction writing. Past tense is “storytelling” mode, and it works for any genre. It can be recognized by its use of –ed verbs (and irregular past tense verbs like brought and swam) and verb ‘helpers’ like was.
Advantage—this is easy to write and easy to read. It’s familiar to your readers, and very versatile. It’s great for children’s and YA writing, for action, adventure, mystery, allegory, and historical fiction.
Disadvantage—3rd person may lack emotional intimacy, and past tense also may distance your readers from the action. It’s not the best choice if your story needs immediacy.
B. 1st person, past tense
I walked into the house and my jaw dropped. The floor was strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lay on its side, shattered. Fido sat in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” I cried.
The 1st person puts it a bit closer to the reader—as if you’re taking the reader into your confidence.
Advantage—It’s a natural way to write, and like the above, will be very familiar to your readers. It works well for romance, humor, and any story in which you want to relate not only events but feelings and reactions. Past tense gives your writing a sense of realism: this actually happened, and I'm telling you about it now.
Disadvantage—Some people have expressed hesitance to write in 1st person past tense, lest what is fiction be mistaken for memoir.
C. 1st person, present tense
I walk into the house and my jaw drops. The floor is strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lies on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” I cry.
The present tense can be recognized by its verbs: it uses the un-suffixed forms of verbs (walk, cry). You’ll see is ____-ing frequently in present tense works, and the –s suffix rather than –ed.
Advantages: I love this style for intimate, serious stories that take place in a very limited time span. It’s a literary style of writing that has become increasingly popular in the last couple of decades.
Disadvantages: It really doesn’t work for stories told in a child’s voice, or for pieces that take place over long periods of time. It’s not as natural to write in nor to read, so it appeals more to serious and sophisticated readers.
D. 3rd person, present tense
Jan walks into the house and her jaw drops. The floor is strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lies on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cries.
You’ll see this style often in plays, skits, dramas—in the narrative parts between bits of dialogue and in the parenthetical instructions to the actors. It’s less common to read entire works of fiction written this way, however. It’s unusual, grown-up, and if done well, very interesting for your reader.
Advantages: It’s unique—your readers won’t likely have read much in this style, so they may read it more closely. It’s good for a “you are there” sort of feel.
Disadvantages: May tend to sound ‘gimmicky’, or unfortunately, like stage directions. This doesn’t really work well for many genres—I’d expect it in a serious piece with not much intense action. If done poorly, it sounds like a person telling a joke. (“A priest, a clown, and an otter walk into a bar…”)
It’s quite likely that you’ve used some or all of these styles of writing. What additional advantages or disadvantages have you found? Which is most comfortable for you to write? Why? Which do you prefer to read? Why?
Once you’ve decided which tense (and POV) you’re writing in, it’s important to stick to that tense (which some exceptions, which I’ll get to in a minute). Switching tenses is one of the most common Beginner’s errors, where you might see something like this:
Jan walked into the house and her jaw dropped. The floor was strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lay on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cries.
However—there are times when you may need to switch from present to past tense and back again. Consider the following:
Jan walks into the house and her jaw drops. The floor is strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lies on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cries. (a present tense paragraph)
She realizes that she should have seen this coming. Just yesterday, Ben had told her that Fido was out of control. “He ate my work boots,” Ben had said. (mostly past tense)
And now Fido is looking at her with those ridiculously innocent eyes…(back to present tense)
See how for that brief little flashback, I slipped into past tense? That’s okay—in fact, there’s no other way to indicate events in the past, when you’re writing in the present tense.
I’d love to have your input on tense.
Homework: Respond to the bolded question(s) above. OR ask a question about tense. OR tell how you decide which tense you’re going to write a story in.
If there's a tense/POV style that's your default setting, consider trying a new one in the upcoming quarter.
For the purposes of this lesson, I’ve written a sample paragraph four different ways, in different combinations of tense and POV. I’ll give my own thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of each, then invite you to do the same.
A. 3rd person, past tense
Jan walked into the house and her jaw dropped. The floor was strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lay on its side, shattered. Fido sat in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cried.
This might be considered the default setting for fiction writing. Past tense is “storytelling” mode, and it works for any genre. It can be recognized by its use of –ed verbs (and irregular past tense verbs like brought and swam) and verb ‘helpers’ like was.
Advantage—this is easy to write and easy to read. It’s familiar to your readers, and very versatile. It’s great for children’s and YA writing, for action, adventure, mystery, allegory, and historical fiction.
Disadvantage—3rd person may lack emotional intimacy, and past tense also may distance your readers from the action. It’s not the best choice if your story needs immediacy.
B. 1st person, past tense
I walked into the house and my jaw dropped. The floor was strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lay on its side, shattered. Fido sat in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” I cried.
The 1st person puts it a bit closer to the reader—as if you’re taking the reader into your confidence.
Advantage—It’s a natural way to write, and like the above, will be very familiar to your readers. It works well for romance, humor, and any story in which you want to relate not only events but feelings and reactions. Past tense gives your writing a sense of realism: this actually happened, and I'm telling you about it now.
Disadvantage—Some people have expressed hesitance to write in 1st person past tense, lest what is fiction be mistaken for memoir.
C. 1st person, present tense
I walk into the house and my jaw drops. The floor is strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lies on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” I cry.
The present tense can be recognized by its verbs: it uses the un-suffixed forms of verbs (walk, cry). You’ll see is ____-ing frequently in present tense works, and the –s suffix rather than –ed.
Advantages: I love this style for intimate, serious stories that take place in a very limited time span. It’s a literary style of writing that has become increasingly popular in the last couple of decades.
Disadvantages: It really doesn’t work for stories told in a child’s voice, or for pieces that take place over long periods of time. It’s not as natural to write in nor to read, so it appeals more to serious and sophisticated readers.
D. 3rd person, present tense
Jan walks into the house and her jaw drops. The floor is strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lies on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cries.
You’ll see this style often in plays, skits, dramas—in the narrative parts between bits of dialogue and in the parenthetical instructions to the actors. It’s less common to read entire works of fiction written this way, however. It’s unusual, grown-up, and if done well, very interesting for your reader.
Advantages: It’s unique—your readers won’t likely have read much in this style, so they may read it more closely. It’s good for a “you are there” sort of feel.
Disadvantages: May tend to sound ‘gimmicky’, or unfortunately, like stage directions. This doesn’t really work well for many genres—I’d expect it in a serious piece with not much intense action. If done poorly, it sounds like a person telling a joke. (“A priest, a clown, and an otter walk into a bar…”)
It’s quite likely that you’ve used some or all of these styles of writing. What additional advantages or disadvantages have you found? Which is most comfortable for you to write? Why? Which do you prefer to read? Why?
Once you’ve decided which tense (and POV) you’re writing in, it’s important to stick to that tense (which some exceptions, which I’ll get to in a minute). Switching tenses is one of the most common Beginner’s errors, where you might see something like this:
Jan walked into the house and her jaw dropped. The floor was strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lay on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cries.
However—there are times when you may need to switch from present to past tense and back again. Consider the following:
Jan walks into the house and her jaw drops. The floor is strewn with trash and ripped sofa cushions. A lamp lies on its side, shattered. Fido sits in the middle of the carpet, wagging his tail. “Bad dog!” Jan cries. (a present tense paragraph)
She realizes that she should have seen this coming. Just yesterday, Ben had told her that Fido was out of control. “He ate my work boots,” Ben had said. (mostly past tense)
And now Fido is looking at her with those ridiculously innocent eyes…(back to present tense)
See how for that brief little flashback, I slipped into past tense? That’s okay—in fact, there’s no other way to indicate events in the past, when you’re writing in the present tense.
I’d love to have your input on tense.
Homework: Respond to the bolded question(s) above. OR ask a question about tense. OR tell how you decide which tense you’re going to write a story in.
If there's a tense/POV style that's your default setting, consider trying a new one in the upcoming quarter.