How to Choose a TENSE for Your STORY
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- Should you write in past tense or present tense? THIS IS THE BIG QUESTION (well, one of them). Past and present both have their downside and upside, and THAT is what we're discussing in today's video. The pros and cons with using either of these tenses and what to watch out for when writing in past OR present tense.
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For some reason when I'm writing past tense comes naturally, but I actually dislike reading past tense so I always change it in editing.
saaaaaaaaaaaaaame
interesting. hi.
Me too
Oh yeaah
Especially for an adventure story
I plan scenes in 3rd person present, with descriptions and dialogue etc. But I write in 1st person past. Lol. I dunno why but past tense feels “cozy” to me, present feels sterile and also reads lot like a screenplay. Thats why i use it for plans, because it doesn’t create the atmosphere i want in the actual story. However, i read both equally. I even prefer present in contemporary YA. So really I guess it depends on the book. Thanks for the awesome vid by the way 🙏
I’ve written in both. I kind of prefer present tense, but I switch to past tense if I’m writing a flashback, especially if it’s more explicitly narrated than the main part of the story. It might depend on the character narrating. Not sure how proper form that is, but I like it.
Same with me, when I write I tend to teeter between past and present tense.
I find it's easier to maintain suspense in past tense if the narrator isn't one of the characters in the story. I rarely write past tense from a story character perspective.
Interesting opinion :0
Like in the books' thief
yes!! finally, someone else who likes writing in present tense!!❤️❤️
Great video. I write past tense. Have tried present, but it doesn't come as naturally for me. 😃💝
same! I don't know why but present feels so unnatural for me. I am so used to writing past tense
I write in past tense, although writing in present tense sounds good I think I would definitely fall into the trap of constantly having to remind myself I'm in present tense.
Leah Stanger lmao same here!
My native language is Portuguese but I've recently decided to try writing something in English. With Portuguese, I don't even have to think about it--I just naturally start writing in past tense. But, for whatever reason, I feel like my writing is better in the present tense in English 😂😂 Now I'm conflicted, but it's been a fun experience trying something new.
I know this is an older video, but it's just what I needed right now! I've been trying so hard to force myself to write past tense because of the pushback/malign against present tense from certain people, and I *constantly* slip into past tense. It happened for a whole paragraph today before I caught it lol.
a great example of smooth kind of „flashbacks“ in present tense is normal people by sally rooney. she uses present but simply switches to past when writing something that has already happened. kind of obvious but like ive never actually seen that in a book. it feels super natural idk
I like to write in past tense :)
Could you make a video on passive voice? I really don't understand it and what it is, and if it's something I should watch out for while writing in past tense, then I would like to be able to understand it :)
This was helpful. I'm a new writer. Thanks for sharing! I just started and realized I go to present by default but damn it I have to go back and edit to past. Because my story won't flow otherwise. Now looking back I realize most of the books I read are in past tense so I don't think I know enough about writing to do present tense well enough 😉
Wait... DID YOU DYE YOUR HAIR??? It looks great! And this is super helpful for figuring out tense. AND ALL THOSE COPIES OF 100 DAYS BEHIND YOU!! *squeals*
Wonderful video, as always. 💖💖✨ ✨
I like present! But when writing flashbacks I’ve always written in past so I guess I use a combination
I naturally write in past tense, but I do notice sometimes I want to write in present because it seems more active.
Loved the video! 💖
Also, your hair looks awesome 😎
Your hair looks SO GOOD Abbie!!!!🌟🌟🌟
Past tense! When reading I don't notice the tense when it's past tense but when it's present tense it somehow feels less immersive and I will be noticing that a lot as I'm reading the entire book until I get used to it in chapter 10 or something.
When writing I feel that past tense is just so much easier to write in for stories that have bigger universes.
I feel like past tense comes more naturally to me, however i dont like how it sounds when i read it back, so im considering challenging myself a little to write my book in present tense. Ive been practicing a ton and im very sure I'm capable of doing it. I just like it more since it feels more intimate and suspenseful.
I cannot believe I didn't know about this sooner! I hate trying to write in past tense, I didn't realise there was an option. I don't like the feeling that it's already happened, I like it happenING. I have only just discovered this and...wow. Game changer
You gave me some insight in why I might be having such a hard time with the passive voice! (Aaand that sentence was passive.) I lean towards writings past tense, but find I slip into present tense at times. I’m confused about how to write action verbs and being verbs (-er vs. -ing). I think this is also where a lot of my tense confusion stems from.
I love how all your videos answer very specific questions i had when i first decided i wanted to write when i was like, 14
And to find those answers now explained is so delightful, thanks your work is Amazing
I like past tense just because I feel I can add more character description naturally. And I love me some character description, as long as it's done well.
Thanks so much! This video is helpful!
For me I think that it depends on the story that I am writing, so I can choose a tence that fits the story the most.
I have never written in present tense and until a few years ago, when I noticed a book was written in present tense, I didn't even know authors could do that.
As an overwriter and a non-plotter, I also manage to include unessesarry details while writing im past tense. Especially because I show a lot of my narrative's characters thoughts. Al least 50% of the 146.000 words my book has are thoughts. (I added like 25.000 words while editing, because I fleshed out the world building, had to change a lot of telling to showing and added 3 small subplots (they were there before, the reader just wouldn't have noticed and I had to change that.))
But the reason why I can't delete those details is that I now made them matter, even if they only will in the sequel. My book deals with so much stuff that you would probably have to read it at least twice to catch all of it. Working on it for 3 years might be the reason for that.😅 Being a perfectionistic writer is really exhausting and really messes with my head.
I sometimes use passive voice to add suspense. For example, whem the character doesn't know who opens the door.
"The door was opened."
Or, when the person is attacked: "A sweaty hand was pressed onto my mouth. My arms where tied together behind my back. I was pushed to the floor, my face pressed into the dirt. Who the hell was this person? Had someone followed me home?"
By the way, did anyone tell you yet how beautiful you are?
I can relate so much to this
"It's all said and done and the character is narrating it" is irrelevant if your past-tense book, like mine, has an omniscient narrator. Maybe they all died at the hands of the enemy on page 240. Who knows? It's not any of the characters narrating it... :D
Exactly :))
or we could go all james dashner and kill the best character on the dreaded 250th page. ;)
I think it depends on the POV. Most 1POV work best in present but LO3POV sounds better in past tense.
I agree.
I used to prefer writing in past tense because I found my writing in present tense to be much sparser and sounded more amateur-ish than past tense. But over the past year few years, I’ve written some stories that flip between past and present with flashbacks, and also read a lot more present tense works, and I’ve really come around to present tense! I’m actually getting back into a novella I wrote in 2018, and in the rewrite process, I’m changing past tense to present! I like the immediacy of it, and I’ve grown a ton as a writer so it no longer feels sparse.
Thank you for your advice. I am struggling with this for a long time. Thanks for the clarification :)
I get confused with what I'm doing half the time - I write in past tense (I think I do), this is what I need to study (of my work). I"m thrashing it out, 85k at the moment, then will investigate when I go back in to edit. Thank you again Abbie, love your videos. From New Zealand
Just wanted to say- present tense can also make it harder to show a character's personality. Since you're inside their head you have to rely on other character's interactions with them to show who they are.
Kathryn Quinns the tense has nothing to do with that-that’s point of view. 🤣 first person point of view is where you’re inside one characters head. Third person POV is where you’re an outsider telling the story and can show what characters, who aren’t the main character, are doing.
Past tense, because it gives me more room to get creative. I love reading stories in present tense but I just can't do it yet. #newbiewriter
I prefer reading present tense, but as a young writer it's actually hard for me and I end up switching in and out of it 😂 I'll probably go with past tense but I still don't know
I used to go camping a lot. Looking back through photo albums I see pictures of my past tents
Please provide an example of a well-known story that was written in present tense. Thank you. I'm learning so much from your videos!
I like writing in past tense in a way that sounds like present tense. Most of my favorite books are written with past tense words in a present tense tone. Sometimes you can write it in a way that sounds like a character reflecting on what happened that day and what they remember. Other times it feels like they are thinking about what happened as it happens. As a person that does that it sort of feels relatable. That's usually how I write.
Past tense comes naturally to me cuz the majority of the books I've read were in the past tense. However, I prefer to write in the present tense and past tense exclusively for dreams and flashbacks. 😅
Thanks...i was writing in past tense and was not confident enough if was doing it right.
Personally I only write in present tense. I have tons of reasons for it, some you mentionned, and actually sees no drawbacks, not even the ones you mention.
But that choice of mine basically came down to one simple fact.
When I read a story, even written in past tense as most of them are, to me it's not the past; it's a story that is unfolding as I read it. Like a movie; we know the film was made months if not years or decades ago, yet it feels like it's happening right now before our very eyes. And so it occured to me: if it feels like the present to the reader anyway, why as I writer should I encumber myself with past tense? Especially that I write in French, and French is way more complicated than English, especially with it's past tenses.
The way I see it, past tense is essentially someone telling the reader a story, while present tense is like the reader witnessing the story; what your sports analogy hinted at.
Hence why I disagree with your claim that suspense is better served with past tense. The best example I came across of this was this one:
''I have thirty seconds left to live.''
Now compares what this conveys, with this:
''I had only thirty seconds left to live.''
I don't know about you but, to me, the suspense, the tension, is way more powerful in the first instance. First and foremost because in the second, we implicitely know the narrator did not die after that 30 seconds; else he couldn't say anything about it (unless a... ghost ... wrote that story? maybe?). He also already knows the outcome. It's inherently more passive as it is narrated after the fact instead of going through the journey along with us.
As I finally decide to go ahead with my lifetime passion, writing, the choice becomes instantly clear to me. Seems I'm far from being the only one :)
Excellent vid and excellent series btw. I'm learning a lot. Thank you for your work.
Bonjour Odojang, merci pour ton avis ; je partage ton propos. Bon courage pour l'écriture !
@@vv-ec1nh Merci et toi aussi :)
Passive voice is the one thing I don't struggle with. The passive voice is the past participle of a verb combined with the verb to be. That's why it is easier to slip into it when writing past tense. Everything else about writing fiction is illuminated by your helpful videos. See what I did there? ;-) But truly, you have helped me more than any other source. I still struggle for reasons too many to list. But your videos are the best. Thank you!
Though I write in present tense, I struggle with the correct verb tense or having a character describe to friends what just happened to them. Any recommendations?
Stephen King uses past tense to create suspense so well in Pet Semetary, it fills me with dread even when I know what's going to happen.
Awesome vid! I am currently writing in past tense but I find myself mixing it certain parts of a chapter...for some odd reason... how can I avoid that?
Good video. i like writing past tense because i think it's easier.
I've tried both and recently I've been using Past tense, which is fun for the most part. I also do the Six of Crows/Game of thrones narrative style, where it's not the character telling the story but a third party jumping between the main characters' perspectives, which I am not sure what it is called.
In my first language, there is no time-tense. So when I first read english novel, i was surprised that most of them were written in past tense.
I write in present tense because one of my main characters dies near the end of the story. Though, as you said, it can be challenging to write flashbacks, I think I'm gonna stick with it with my other stories too.
Hi Abbie. I just found this video. I'm a writer and taking a creative writing class right now. My name is Abbie too and that is how I spell it. Just had to comment on the similarities.
i always do my book intros in past tense, then a little indicator that a small timeskip has happened and thens witch to present tense
When it comes to monitoring passive or active voices, I use the Hemingway App
I love writing present tense, it's like I'm with the characters experiencing the moment.... Makes me feel less lonely, lol
Thanks for your video! I prefer writing in past tense, but will have to give present tense a try.
I love to write in present but when I was self editing my romance book which is currently in progress with the editing phase I come to know that I have used a lot of words that made the different sentences into past tense you know crazy. But I cleaned it up so all good now😊
Past tense seems more real to me. It’s as if I am being told something that actually happened, where as with present tense, it’s dependent on my reading it for it to occur.
I want to know how to describe the feelings of our character first pov writing in present or past
Example
My heart jumps when she touch me
My heart jumped when she touch me
For me it is difficult to write feelings of character
such a great video! I totally needed this advice!
Past tense is easier for me when wanting to tell a story.. Since present tense is more of a “in the moment” feel, I feel like my storyline doesn’t progress
I cannot for the life of me write in present tense. It doesn’t come natural to me, because I’m writing in 3rd person close. And a big part of the stories I write, is that I’m telling someone a story about something that already happened. 😅 would love to write in present tense tho.
I write in past tense because in my language the present that is used in books sounds much more like future tense, if that makes sense
It's because the usual form of the verb would be present continuous, which is not used for writing, so you have to add a prefix that makes it future but at the same time present sooo...
And just because I can, I'll give you an example:
Usually, you would say: Já píšu (I write)
But when you're writing, you say: Já napíšu (can be translated as I will write/I write in books)
Also we don't actually have present continuous but still can't use the basic verb, like WHAT?
Oh my god Czech is so confusing isn't it
Unfortunately... Fortunately? I'm actively writing 4 books, each has their version of tense, in one, I write in present, and I think I add a bit of future tense? It's normally only one sentence that leave a foreshadow.
In another, the protagonist is literally in the past, so past tense sounds great right? I use present tense and past tense accordingly, that draft have been rewritten several time between the tenses and povs that would best suit the story.
In the end, I realized that I actually use both tenses for most of my books, which past tense would allude to a flashback, or someone lost in thought, and present tense to show where the character is now.
I can't give a proper explanation as I normally just write base on how I feel the mood of the story to be. 😅
Thank you Abbie for this video. I enjoy using present voice because like you said; it comes naturally. However, there are moments in my current WIP that allude to past events and I was wondering: How do I do that effectively?
Very helpful! 👍
This is such a great find 😄 I prefer writing past tense because I naturally gravitate towards it. That said, I'm terrible for being inconsistent with my tenses. I've watched some of your other and love them 😊 I only write for enjoyment though, so I'm not that bothered about some of the particulars. I'm only showing my writing, which is currently poetry, to my friends. I wonder if you've done a video on punctuation 😅🤔 Thank you for the entertainment
I tend to write in past tense because naturally when people are describing things that happen most of the time they are talking about things that occured in the past.
I've noticed that mine can switch between both multiple times a page like in a recent scene of a story I'm working on they were racing to let off steam before going home from a difficult mission and as they were racing the MC gave a tip to his opponent through the police intercoms in their vehicles after the opponent spun out no injuries but the MC said "slow down on the turns so you can keep control" then the topic of how he knows so much about racing came up and he gets emotional so he pulls over to a safe spot since it's just him and his opponent who is his coworker then the reader is given the insight through the voice of the MC basically seeing inside his mind the reader learns that the MC's uncle taught him when he was super little 5 maybe 6yrs old and how his uncle took him to a racer training center and taught him on a machine what everything does and different techniques for keeping control but during one of his uncle's races his uncle has a heart attack and collapses at the wheel his weight causes the steering wheel to go sharp left into the wall his uncle doesn't make it then it's back to reality and the reader finds him emotional and finally he tells the others why then later it goes into how the loss of his mother to cancer affects him and his family his father and two siblings and he describes how his mother used to play such a big part in keeping the family going and how he watched his family grieve he describes what happened and how each of his family members reacted his youngest brother 3yrs old and potty trained would have horrific nightmares and wake up both soaked in urine and cold sweat and how his brother would cry for their mother as he tried to soothe him after cleaning him up he helped his father because he seen how hard of a time his father was having the middle brother would cry himself to sleep every night crying for their mother he was 5yrs old and how he watched his father grieve and how it scared him to the point that he left one day and went to his mother's grave and begged her to come back and help her family to return it to the happy family they used to be this was after it was at it's worst before that he would try to be strong and upbeat for his siblings but over time it became forced and stopped all together and the family drifted apart he to would cry himself to sleep every night but did so quietly not long after he visited his mom's grave did things get so much worse he was kidnapped and horrible things happened to him until finally many many yrs later he ends up with the police group the story starts while he's on the streets after escaping a bad situation then as it goes on we find out more and more about the MC and his background but things in reality trigger minor flashbacks that he had either forgotten or was buried behind yrs of truma so it does that alot where it's in present but something triggers us to go to past then back to reality again sorry this is so long I'm not really paying attention to grammar just getting thoughts out
After years of online roleplaying present tense is the natural preset. Anyone else like this?
I tend to write in past tense, I just automatically do it, but I feel like I struggle a lot with switching tenses. But I think that's because I tend to use adverbs... a lot. I don't know xD
Writing in present tense is so hard for me. I just automatically wrote in past tense it just feels better.
I write in past tense for the most part, but switch to present when I'm writing dreams, visions, or anything that's not actually happening in the real world. Present tense for me just has that sort of "disconnected from reality" vibe.
I write Present! Whenever I write past I constantly switch to present. I love reading both, though
(Commenting on a old video? It's more likely than you think--)
Personally, I always write in present tense whether I mean to or not. I didn't always, but noticed that the tense changed around the time I started roleplaying more than writing personal projects 🤔
And it makes sense, at least to me, why a roleplay would be written in present tense (though I've also found I'm in the minority on this?) as it is something you're determining as you write it! It's happening right here right now! So it just came naturally to me to write it that way.
My biggest concern is that the style takes people out of the story... especially since I tend to write things that focus on relationships and character dynamics. Oof. I'd like to think I make it work, but I only have my own perspective to view it from.
I loved your looks! 😍
i had never even thought of this, i just always write in present tense
Can you use both? Like if the perspective character in a scene switches from reacting to an external stimulus, in present tense, to thinking about something else that had already happened, using past tense to go over something that had happened, like a flashback...
I think you can as long as you use it in moderation- Switching between the two too often can be pretty confusing to the readers.
I didn't even think about what tense I should be using till last night! I'm already on chapter four, and it's a mess now.
No going back, I'll just have to fix the first three chapters in editing?
Past tense comes most naturally to me and it's the most common tense I come across in military sci-fi and sci-fi in general.
How about telling a story in the speaking section of an international exam such as IELTS?
Writing in past tense, the story is being read to the reader by a narrator who isn't one of the characters in the story. Maybe I'll see if I can make a story worth reading in future tense. Not now though.
I think I like both since I write in both. I want a fan-fiction story I’m working on to include multiple point of views, but can I do that in a past tense?
I’m currently writing in present tense but the reason I have been is because I don’t know if writing in past tense means you’re writing with an end goal. The first book of a series I’m reading wrote in past tense up until a specific chapter because all of the previous chapters were flashbacks, so does writing in past tense necessarily mean you’re writing from a specific point in the future? If I did want to continue writing in the present tense and I have to write information about the past would I switch to past simple tense to tell what happened? Thank you! Your videos have been SUPER helpful for me!
I tend to be inclined more towards first person past tense. It is what I like to read as it makes me feel close to the character ( that will work in present tense also as long as it in first person ). But for writing, definitely past tense, I always struggle with present tense. Anybody else?
she clearly likes it!
I write present tense more but I write in past tense as well.
It depends on what I'm writing. Whatever feels right with the story.
Past tense, definitely. I just feel it's more "storytelling", like when you are telling some experience
I'm gonna try to write a chunk of the last section of my novel in future tense
I usually write in past tense, but I realize I slip quite easily into passive voice, which is annoying. I'm gonna test out present tense. Wish me luck!
I like writing in the present tense. I was told that even if you are writing in the present tense the narration of the story should be in the
past tense. So, now I am confused.
Past !
I like both tenses. But it's very hard to switch between them from story to story. It takes a while to get back in the groove.
Past, simply bc all the books I read is written in past tense, so it comes naturally
Past tense all the way! :)
Hi! I have been trying to catch up in your videos ever since my english teacher recommended me to watch them and I am honestly in love with all lf your videos! I think they have helped me a lot to develop as a writer. I wanted to know for this case of types of time writing styles, if my entire book is written in past tense in the way that is my type of writing style, would it sound strange if everything happened in that past style?
Such as,
"(Character) stepped away while I approached them"
Thank you very much!
Crazy because so many authors write using so many passive voice sentences!
Hi Abbie!🌼 Love your vídeo! Mine is present too 😜
I default to writing in past tense, but for some reason, I start writing in present tense when my characters interact with each other physically! Which is difficult, considering I mostly write about romance.
I write my outlines in 3rd person present tense and my stories (usually) in 1st or 3rd person past. But if I go back to writing after having had written something in the outline I find that I always end up writing in present before I catch myself and have to edit who knows how much back into past tense. I can and do write in both, though, and it really depends on the character and their story. Sometimes past tense irking me with the "but there's no suspense it I wrote x scene in past since the reader might get the hint that all (might) be fine with the MC."
Maybe the character dies during that scene and narrator changes lol 🤷♀️ i dunno, i think you can make any tense work to fit what you want.
So, can we use both tenses (present and past) in one story? or should we stick one tense?
I am in a situation where I don't know which tense to use. My main character has to die in the end to fulfil the story arc and I feel like I have to write in present tense. My friend however said I could write the whole book in past tense( her telling us how she got here) and then the last chapter flip to present tense.
Please don't do that. If you write an entire story in the past tense it will feel like the present when people are reading it. But if you start in the past and then suddenly flip into the present, you'll just turn everything you've written before that into an excruciating long memory. I'm not saying it's impossible to pull it off, but it's hard and it's likely you'll just confuse the readers.
If you're writing from someone else's perspective (whether a side character or omniscient) the tense wouldnt matter if the mc dies
I think another option can be if the mc is telling what happend as someone that's already dead.. also kinda tricky to pull off in the end but u wouldn't have to switch to present tense in the end
[Just incase someone else had a similar problem]
Writing it all present or all past will read in *exactly* the same way. Just stick to one tense or the reader will notice and it wont read that way anymore.
I write in circus tents.
When I'm writing I'll switch from past tense to present tense or vice versa sometimes in the same paragraph. Makes editing a nightmare. I have a serious problem lols