A to Z Challenge: T is for Tense

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. ;)

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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?

Psst…don’t forget to check out the review!

A to Z Challenge: T is for Tension

Welcome to Day 20 of the A to Z Challenge

T is for Tension:  mental or emotional strain; intense, suppressed suspense, anxiety, or excitement.  (Dictionary.com)

I've posted about this topic before.  If there is one hard and fast rule for writing a novel, it’s this:

Tension all the time, on every single page! 

After all, tension is what keeps the reader reading.  If it drags or slows down, the reader skims.  If it’s high, the reader slows down and reads every word.  It’s this moment-to-moment micro-tension that keeps the reader wondering what will happen next.  And this micro-tension comes from conflicting emotions.

A novel needs conflict in its dialogue, yet it’s not the information in the dialogue itself that creates tension, but rather the doubt about those facts and the apprehension of the character delivering it.  It should be emotional rather than cerebral.  The reader doesn’t want to know if the discussion will settle the argument, but whether they will make peace.  So dumping info via dialogue only works if it’s soaking in tension, if it’s a tug-of-war.  Zone in on the emotional friction instead of relying on the circumstances.  Allow emotions, especially contrasting emotions, to give force to the action. 

Same goes for exposition; use the conflicting passions of the characters to keep the reader reading to see if the conflict will be resolved.  A character wrestling with his own mind can generate dramatic tension, too, if you include contradictions, crises, opposing impulses, and clashing doctrine.     

Each scene in a novel should have its own mini arc: a beginning, rise, and a climax or reversal.  Afterwards, the hero may contemplate what just occurred before he moves on, but this inner dialogue or exposition should be used only to deepen the crisis and increase the tension, not to reiterate what the reader already knows.  Backstory is a common low-tension pitfall.  It’s acceptable to add it in as long as it’s not the goal.  Use the past to devise tension in the current conflict as it will make the reader curious and want to keep reading to find out what will happen.

Tension is not present in a setting or predicament.  Description does not create tension.  It comes from within those observing it, from the people inside the setting and circumstances.  One place is as ordinary as any other until you populate it with people and their problems.  And when you present the problem before the place, the setting may become a metaphor. 

I used this device in my novel.  The ever-shifting San Francisco fog became a metaphor for trouble.  Whenever something bad was about to happen, you can bet the fog would be swirling around in the background, creating a cue that the tension was building and about to explode. 

Is the tension in your story immediate, credible, personal, unavoidable, and most of all, urgent?  What tricks do you use to keep the reader reading?