Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m
focusing on two themes: Emotions and
grammar,
depending on which
letter we’re on each day.
Today’s a grammar day!
But first, check out this review by Literary Mania Reviews.
And please, give her a follow.
She’s an up and coming book blogger with LOTS of Facebook likers. And if you know anything about the power of book bloggers on FB, you'll get why that's so important. ;)
But first, check out this review by Literary Mania Reviews.
And please, give her a follow.
She’s an up and coming book blogger with LOTS of Facebook likers. And if you know anything about the power of book bloggers on FB, you'll get why that's so important. ;)
__________
T is for Tense: in grammar, a category of verbal inflection
that serves chiefly to specify the time of the action or state expressed by the
verb; a category that locates a situation in time: past, present, or future
Writers and readers alike have definite preferences in verb
tense, typically past, which is the most common, or present, which is becoming
ever more popular, especially in Middle Grade and Young Adult genres. Keep in mind, these tenses can also be more
specifically broken down into either simple or non-auxiliary verbs (I sit, I sat, or I will sit), perfect or auxiliary verbs (I have sat, I had sat, or I
will have sat), or progressive or auxiliary gerund (I am sitting, I was sitting, or
I will be sitting.)
Some say present tense feels more immediate, more in the
moment, and I can see the logic in that.
The narrator is telling the story as if it’s happening right then and
there. Personally, I find it distracting
and that it actually has the opposite effect, taking me out of the story rather
than pulling me in.
I’m not sure why exactly.
Maybe because my logical brain is telling me that the action is
obviously not happening right then
and there. I find it more believable
that the narrator has just come from a harrowing event and is retelling it—in
the past tense.
This is probably why present tense is more convincing in MG
and YA, because young minds don’t rely on this rationale. Everything
is in the moment for them. With very
little in their personal past, it’s all
an adventure. But for adults, it’s more
about escape, and past tense seems to work better in that respect. Still, like most aspects of literature, it’s
very subjective, much the same way narration point-of-view is subjective.
But no matter what you prefer, if you’re a writer, you have
to be careful to maintain verb tense consistency. That is to say, don’t waffle back and forth
between present and past. I know that
might seem obvious to most of you—it certainly does to me—but you’d be
surprised how often I see it when editing manuscripts, sometimes within one
sentence. So perhaps it’s not obvious to
everyone.
Which tense do prefer to write and read in? Do you ever have trouble maintaining
tense? If so, do you have any tricks
you’d like to share?
9 comments:
I've recently joined Wattpad where a lot of younger writers post their stories and I'd say mixing tenses is a big problem for a lot of them.
mood
Moody Writing
Congrats on your Five Star Review Nancy! Great points about past tense versus present. I often go back and forth, and even confuse myself.
Julie
I prefer past tense. And third person point of view.
It's funny you should say that about present tense, because I find I feel more emotionally detached from stories with present tense. I've never been able to quite figure out why that is. It's not so much a believability thing, it's just...I don't know.
What's jarring to me is when the writer doesn't understand the sequence of English tenses. I just tried to read a book that had a strong MC voice and an intriguing plot, but as a reader I had to sort out when something happened and if it was completed or still in progress. Very tiring. Didn't finish the book.
Present tense is kind of a trick, which I don't really like. I mean, I don't like being tricked by the writer. If you can't tell a story in past tense and stop for a moment and have a listener say, "No! Don't stop! What happened? Did you die?" You're not doing your job.
That's a true story, by the way. I had someone I was telling a story to ask me if I died before she did a double-take because she realized I was standing there in front of her. There was much laughter from the other people there and, of course, I replied, "Yes, I died."
Anyway, staying in past or present tense is the most common issue I see in writing, especially inexperienced writers. I'd like to say it's just the middle schoolers I work with, but it's also adults.
The tense depends on the ability of the writer.
Nancy, I have trouble maintaining everything. :)
So, your ideal character pictures from the link.
Tyler, handsome.
Jillian, beautiful.
Nick - FREAKIN' HOT!
Hannah, AMAZING.
K. That's all I got.
Heather
I probably favour present tense, but I don't decide. My first couple of sentences of a new project determine what tense I'll be working in - usually.
Post a Comment