'nother Mike (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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writercises2019-02-26 05:22 pm
mbarker) wrote in writercises2019-02-26 05:22 pm
TECH: Untensing over Tense (yet another moldy oldie!)
Original Posting Dec. 11, 2017
Writer's Digest, February 1994, on pages eight, 10, 11 has an article by Nancy Kress about tense. The subtitle helps explain, "How to tell your story in the past, the present – or both."
The question of course is which tense to use. "Some of these decisions are judgment calls."
Now, the convention really is to tell the story in past tense. Readers expect this. So why would you use present tense? Well, for effect. What is the effect? Janet Burroway says, "the effect of the present tense, somewhat self-consciously, is to reduce distance and increase immediacy; we are there." Damon Knight, on the other hand, says, "the present tense in third person seems to imply the existence of an invisible observer a little more strongly than the past does." A little distance? Maybe.
Well, some people find present tense good for increasing immediacy. Others think it creates distance. How do you feel about it? Does it suit your story? Sometimes, such as time travel stories, present tense certainly can be useful.
Another possibility lies in mixing tenses. An older first-person narrator talking about childhood experiences. Be careful, this is attention grabbing, especially in third person. It tends to put some distance, and break the illusion of the story as reality.
Nancy also mentions two special cases of tense mixing. First is presentation of characters' thoughts. The other, and the one that she spends a little bit of time talking about, is flashbacks. Handled correctly, the conventions here help the reader follow the time shifts without getting distracted from the story. If the story is in past tense, a short flashback may be in past perfect. On the other hand, a longer flashback may start with a couple or three verbs in past perfect, and then the middle in plain old past, with the last few verbs in past perfect again just to inform the reader that we are about to transition. However, if your main story is in present tense, just make your flashback past tense.
"Only you can choose whether your story should be in present tense, past tense, or some mixture of the two. If you're undecided, write it in the more conventional past. Then hand-edit a copy, changing all the verbs to present tense, and read both aloud. Which creates the effect you want?"
All right? Default to past tense, use present tense if you like, especially for effect. Don't forget to signal flashbacks with a little mixed tense.
Practice? Well, Nancy almost lays out an exercise. Write a scene or even an entire story in past tense. Then go through it and modify the verbs to present tense. Read both of them aloud. How does the effect change? Which one gives you the effect you want?
Write!
Writer's Digest, February 1994, on pages eight, 10, 11 has an article by Nancy Kress about tense. The subtitle helps explain, "How to tell your story in the past, the present – or both."
The question of course is which tense to use. "Some of these decisions are judgment calls."
Now, the convention really is to tell the story in past tense. Readers expect this. So why would you use present tense? Well, for effect. What is the effect? Janet Burroway says, "the effect of the present tense, somewhat self-consciously, is to reduce distance and increase immediacy; we are there." Damon Knight, on the other hand, says, "the present tense in third person seems to imply the existence of an invisible observer a little more strongly than the past does." A little distance? Maybe.
Well, some people find present tense good for increasing immediacy. Others think it creates distance. How do you feel about it? Does it suit your story? Sometimes, such as time travel stories, present tense certainly can be useful.
Another possibility lies in mixing tenses. An older first-person narrator talking about childhood experiences. Be careful, this is attention grabbing, especially in third person. It tends to put some distance, and break the illusion of the story as reality.
Nancy also mentions two special cases of tense mixing. First is presentation of characters' thoughts. The other, and the one that she spends a little bit of time talking about, is flashbacks. Handled correctly, the conventions here help the reader follow the time shifts without getting distracted from the story. If the story is in past tense, a short flashback may be in past perfect. On the other hand, a longer flashback may start with a couple or three verbs in past perfect, and then the middle in plain old past, with the last few verbs in past perfect again just to inform the reader that we are about to transition. However, if your main story is in present tense, just make your flashback past tense.
"Only you can choose whether your story should be in present tense, past tense, or some mixture of the two. If you're undecided, write it in the more conventional past. Then hand-edit a copy, changing all the verbs to present tense, and read both aloud. Which creates the effect you want?"
All right? Default to past tense, use present tense if you like, especially for effect. Don't forget to signal flashbacks with a little mixed tense.
Practice? Well, Nancy almost lays out an exercise. Write a scene or even an entire story in past tense. Then go through it and modify the verbs to present tense. Read both of them aloud. How does the effect change? Which one gives you the effect you want?
Write!