Comments | danistormborn: tense and tensability

danistormborn

tense and tensability

Nov 03, 2006 14:08

I recently submitted a story to a couple of archives. I haven't heard back from one of them (my favorite archive which is currently has a VERY full queue). The other declined my submission at this time ( Read more... )

Comments 4

Tense-lvania anonymous November 5 2006, 04:26:45 UTC

As a reader and writer I've always thought of the past tense as the rule of thumb. Present tense is rare and if used, should be used throughout the entire story.

I prefer past tense because the story has obviously already happened, otherwise there wouldn't be time to write it down, fictional or not, first-person or not. Past tense lends trustworthiness to the story. Present tense lends immediacy, but could lead the reader to believe there won't be an appropriate ending because the story is ongoing.

If your story is told from Hermione's POV and she's experiencing everything in realtime then it should all be in one tense (I suggest past). To delineate time periods, use a simple Time and Place header when she moves through time.

This is Ryan, BTW. LiveJournal is crazy!

Re: Tense-lvania danistormborn November 5 2006, 15:37:53 UTC

I know what you mean. There's also this idea that for a story to exist, and for a story to be worth telling, it must have already happened in its entirety. If it's all in the past and is being told, then we can trust that there is something of value within the story. Something worth learning. And, like you said, we have faith in the ending when a story is past tense.

This story will definitely stay in past tense. I was thinking, however, that there might be a certain kind of story that could be told in present. And not one of those diary stories. But something perhaps where telling the story in present tense contributes to the meaning.

I guess I'm mostly thinking it would have to be a deliberate choice supported by some sort of artistic/symbolic reasoning...

Thanks, Ryan!

Zee tense dacian_goddess November 14 2006, 03:04:47 UTC

I agree that past tense is pretty much the tense of choice in terms of storytelling. I don't see how you can pull off a narrative in present tense; I mean, present tense is fine for something that occurs in the moment, and that you can narrate as you witness it (for instance, a video recording). An entire story, though, is completely different, and I don't think writing it in present tense can do it justice - let alone that you would probably end up needing other tenses, ones that would cause much too big a discrepancy within the story ( ... )

Re: Zee tense danistormborn November 15 2006, 17:13:56 UTC

I definitely agree with you... but it also sounds like a challenge. I'm working on a story that I'm calling The Invisible Story of Invisibility. I'm going to do one thread of it in present tense and the other (longer) thread in past tense. Hopefully, it will work. Even more hopefully, it will add some new meaning.
I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts if and when I decide to post it.