Thursday, December 1, 2011

He walks . . . or he walked. Present vs. past tense.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist--or someone with a doctorate in literature--to ascertain the conclusion that the majority of books written are in past tense.  And if it feels natural to do so, just do it.

But there's a few writers out there who tackle the present tense.  And yours truly is one of them.

From as far back as I can remember, I've written in present tense.  To me, I view my writing as a portal to another age or land, and I'm bringing you on this journey.  Present tense feels natural to me, despite the countless books I've read that are in past tense.

A friend of mine described his writing of the past tense as telling a story over a campfire: "Long ago, in a far away land, there lived a princess . . ."

I'm just giving you something to think about.  I'm not trying to be clever by writing in present tense.  I just write what feels natural to me.  A few stories I've written are in past tense, and those stories felt right in that tense too.

Experiment, if you wish.

(As a side note, there is also the future tense, but primarily those are reserved for build-your-own adventure stories and such.  I've never read a future tense story - I'm sure there's one out there)

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