Past or Present Tense The Pros and Cons - WritersLife.org
Released: Mar 19, 2018
Past or Present Tense The Pros and Cons - WritersLife.org
Grab your free writer's toolkit by going to http://www.writerslife.org/toolkit
Where to follow and listen to WritersLife.org:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerslifeorg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerslife.org/
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/writerslifeorg
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/writerslifeorg/
Google +: http://www.WritersLife.org/googleplus
Website: http://www.WritersLife.org
Products: http://www.WritersLife.org/shop
Podcast: http://writerslife.org/podcast
Join Our Team: http://writerslife.org/contribute/
Advertise your book and.or writing https://www.facebook.com/WritersLifeAdvertisingPlatform/?ref=br_rs
Thank you for listening
Please Share it. We LOVE to read comments so please leave a comment and subscribe to Our channel: https://www.youtube.com/writerslifeorg
Grab your free writer's toolkit by going to http://www.writerslife.org/finish-your-book
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hello there is Peter here again from Writer's life and today past all present tense the pros and cons when creating any new piece of writing selecting the tense in which to write is often something and also struggles with not longer your writing in the past tense was strongly favored and particularly with works of fiction it was very rare to find a novel written in the present tense however in recent years this has changed and we have seen a shift to the present tense with some writers believing that writing using the past tense makes the work itself seem somehow old-fashioned so what has made the past tense increasingly unpopular and the present tense now the tense of choice well it seems for most seasoned writers it's an instinctive and natural decision however for many novice writers this is just another choice to fret over so it's important to understand what they have Vantage's and disadvantages of each might be so here we've broken these down so authors can make an informed choice when deciding which tends to write in so first the present tense the prose present tense creates immediacy in a way that the past tense cannot it allows the reader to experience changes in the story and changes to its characters as they happen this creates a bond between the reader and characters as they experience things together simultaneously therefore tension suspense and drama can be more easily calm vade characters become more lifelike and tangible and real and selecting the present tense when describing a character truly reflects their nature drawing the reader closer to them the use of the present tense also reflects the overall theme of the book if your book tells the story of events that happened to your main character in the past but he or she tells them in the present tense the effect can be very powerful simply by telling the events in this way the author is hinting at a past that is very much part of the narrator's presence and perhaps will always be so using the present tense in your work also simplifies how we use the other tenses in the story when writing in the past tense is slightly that a writer will dip in and out of the other 12 tenses that we use in the English language however using the present tense restricts our use of the others with the majority of stories written in the present tense only using the simple present the present progressive and occasionally the simple past and simple future even then the majority of the writing is likely to be kept in the simple present this simplicity can be used cleverly to the writers advantage conveying clear ideas and allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves in the story with no confusion about when the events took place and now the present tense the comments if employing the present tense in our writing we become restricted with how we can describe time try to manipulate a sequence of events or change the chronological order will be difficult and potentially confusing to the reader the point of the present tense is to tell a series of events as they unfold if you don't want to evoke the feeling that what you are writing is happening now then the present tense is not a good choice building a multi-layered characters is more of a challenge if you use the present tense because you can no longer influence the order of events or the duration it's difficult to put across the characters own personal experience of the time how they understand the past the more context we have for a character the more we are able to understand them and their motivations for why they are a certain way now without the kind of context flashbacks into the past there is a risk of the characters committeth across as tediously uncomplicated suspense is harder to convey with a story written in the present tense the protagonists of a present tense story don't have any idea what is going to happen to them from one moment to the next and subsequently neither does the reader tension and suspense come from having that knowledge knowing that something is about to happen whether the protagonist is aware of it or not finally if we are not careful use of the present tense can cause us to be sloppy while the past tense allows us to write selectively and only include necessary plot advancing details using the present tense more naturally encourages inclusion of mundane irrelevant details because such events will happen in a natural sequence of time before beginning any work it is worth thinking about which tense will best suit your story each have their own advantages which if use Cleverley could enhance your work whatever you do make sure you pick wisely as it's certainly not an easy job to go back and change when you are halfway through your book and don't forget if you're struggling to write or finish your book our free writers toolkit can help with it you'll learn how to overcome procrastination get organized stay focused find time to write and finally get that book published to get access now while it's still available simply go to
http://www.writerslife.org/toolkit
again that's it for now be sure to give us a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more and I'll see you next time
