I just finished a novel (and by finished, I mean wrote a first draft, not finished finished) that is written in first-person present tense. Now I'm trying to write a story in "normal" third-person past tense, and I can't shake present tense. Past tense verbs all sound funny to me now, and I keep realizing I've slipped into present tense for the last two pages and having to go back and correct everything.
Anyone else ever get stuck on a story quirk and have trouble turning it off?
Posted by MartinV (Member # 5512) on :
Doing it right now on my current WIP. I liked present tense in Hunger Games and thought I should try it. I'm still deciding if the final draft is going to be in present or not.
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
I really like the immediacy of it, and it worked well with the narrative voice for that book. I just need to turn it off, now.
Anyone ever seen a story written in third-person present? All the present tense stories I can think of are in first-person.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Damon Runyon, for example, was said to know no other tense than the present...
Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
After reading 12 seconds by Tina Gower (The WotF gold winner) I switched to almost exclusively 1st person present for all my short stories.
I wasn't even a fan of 1st before that, let alone present. Yet, that story was so perfectly done, that I feel all other styles are woefully distant. (In my writing, not necessarily in my reading.)
However, I'm iffy about 1st for a novel. I liked it in Old Man's War, but I've put other books down that were in 1st. (Haven't read Hunger Games, but I have a feeling that would be great.)
One novel I'm working on was originally all 3rd. I'm rewriting one character in 1st, past. Keeping the other in 3rd. (Which I've been told NOT to do, but w/e, I've also read that a book has to be written as it has to be written, etc.)
The other I'm working on is 3rd. That's what feels right. And I started it years ago, so...
However, to answer the question, yes. 3rd and it's past tense was's and -ed words sound hideous after writing in 1st present.
Some of my critters have made corrections to my tenses after that switch, which bums me out because I try to be perfect with that stuff.
"He was walking up the steps and he heard a noise." "He walked up the steps and heard a noise."
Ugh.
Axe
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I think Silverberg wrote some short stories and maybe a novel in third-person present tense...but, except for a chapter in Downward to the Earth, I can't remember any titles...
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
"Walking up the steps, he heard a noise." is also a possiblity.
The "ugh" factor may be in part because of the generality. Find a stronger verb than walk to show how he walked up the steps. Find a more specific noun than noise.
Just remember the mistake Stephenie Meyer made in using 1st person: her POV character tended to come across as whiny and weak when what she intended was to convey her as self-sacrificing.
Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
He snuck up the stairs and heard a gun cock. Posted by Treamayne (Member # 9700) on :
I really felt Bella needed a few good slaps after the first few chapters of Twilight, and the "whiny" factor did not get better as the series progressed.
As for the OP, I would recommend just writing the story as it comes out and finish the draft. You can decide which perspective and tense feels better in editing. If you let tense usage interrupt you every page or three it may throw off the rhythm of just writing.
Posted by KellyTharp (Member # 9997) on :
---He walked up the stairs, each rung squeaking as if it were going to splinter into a million pieces, and at the top the soft skittering noise oozed out of the dark hallway, coming toward me like an echo from the beyond.--- I am watching the 5 DVD set from "The Great Courses" catalog on "Constructing Great Sentences". I need to learn to vary mine. Professor Brooks Landon of the Univ. of Iowa is very into using lots and lots of modifiers. It's kinda fun to play with modifers, something I don't normally do and so I'm practicing. But, I think one still has to be careful about over doing lots of long sentences, even if they're constructed well. It's a nice course though, one can watch on their own time and the catalog has had it on sale 5 DVDs for $35.00, or even less. I'm not as skilled as most people here in HT, but keep on trying. KT
Posted by jayazman (Member # 2818) on :
When I read The Hunger Games, I didn't even notice the present tense at first, so I guess it doesn't bother me. The only thing that really bothers me is second person. I don't like that. Ever.
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