confessions of a tense shifter
I'm a tense shifter, always have been.
I don't know why this is the case, but if I do not carefully monitor my own writing I will shift almost arbitrarily from past tense to present and back, even in mid-paragraph. This is even odder considering that most of my reading material is genre fiction, which generally does not indulge in the present tense. Indeed, the presence of this tense is virtually shorthand for "this book is arty and literary." I don't particularly like arty and literary. So why do I do it?
You're right! Schizophrenia. And I'm taking pills for that. But there's another reason too, I think, and that is that deep in my subconscience is lodged the idea that present tense is a powerful tool for doing certain sorts of things in writing. And my subconscious is right, too, although if I could stop it from whipping out this particular tool any old time it feels like it, that would be grand. But I digress. Present tense! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing? No.
If you are going to buy a book on writing I recommend you make it Steering the Craft by Ursula K. LeGuin. LeGuin has some thought-provoking things to say about present tense. Specifically, she thinks that 'present tense' is an unhelpful misnomer and recommends replacing it with 'immediate tense'. Because that's what present tense does - it makes the the action, the scene, the moment immediate. A descriptive passage rendered in present tense is somehow more vivid, more real. Present tense places the reader very directly into the moment. Rather than letting the audience watch the show from the back row in a leisurely manner, looking at the curtains or getting up for bathroom breaks, present tense jacks them up against the stage and pries their eyelids open. Which is great.
Of course, present tense is a limited tool; it can't do everything. It's terribly awkward, for instance, to show the passage of time in present tense. Also, because present tense represents the worms-eye view of the action, it's a lot harder to convey background information without adopting Mr. Narrator Voice. These failings don't hurt literary novels much, what with their plotless existential angstiness, so perhaps that's why they favor it. On the other hand, genre authors have a story to tell and don't have time to sit around feeling the dirt under their fingernails, so past tense it is.
I've tried before, am currently trying, and will try again to use both tenses within a single story. Both tenses represent powerful tools in a writer's toolbox. Surely there must be a way to use them both and not be forced into an either/or decision. Obviously, if you're shooting for novel-length you can just use present tense for a few, select chapters and stick to the past for the rest of it. It's a bit trickier within the confines of a short story.
Here's what I'm currently doing - I'm working on a dialogue heavy short about two characters who are basically wandering around and talking. I know, it sounds like a blast. I'm trying very hard to keep it interesting; we'll see if I pull it off. But anyways, I'm writing the narrative in present tense which allows me to detail the feel of the air and the cracks in the sidewalk and little bits like that that I love, but the characters naturally speak and tell their stories in past tense, thus communicating the neccessary information.
I have no idea if it will work. It's possible that the effect will be too jarring. I'll run it by some beta readers and find out. If it is, out it goes. You can bet I'm going to keep trying to sneak it into my writing, though. My subconscious demands it.
I don't know why this is the case, but if I do not carefully monitor my own writing I will shift almost arbitrarily from past tense to present and back, even in mid-paragraph. This is even odder considering that most of my reading material is genre fiction, which generally does not indulge in the present tense. Indeed, the presence of this tense is virtually shorthand for "this book is arty and literary." I don't particularly like arty and literary. So why do I do it?
You're right! Schizophrenia. And I'm taking pills for that. But there's another reason too, I think, and that is that deep in my subconscience is lodged the idea that present tense is a powerful tool for doing certain sorts of things in writing. And my subconscious is right, too, although if I could stop it from whipping out this particular tool any old time it feels like it, that would be grand. But I digress. Present tense! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing? No.
If you are going to buy a book on writing I recommend you make it Steering the Craft by Ursula K. LeGuin. LeGuin has some thought-provoking things to say about present tense. Specifically, she thinks that 'present tense' is an unhelpful misnomer and recommends replacing it with 'immediate tense'. Because that's what present tense does - it makes the the action, the scene, the moment immediate. A descriptive passage rendered in present tense is somehow more vivid, more real. Present tense places the reader very directly into the moment. Rather than letting the audience watch the show from the back row in a leisurely manner, looking at the curtains or getting up for bathroom breaks, present tense jacks them up against the stage and pries their eyelids open. Which is great.
Of course, present tense is a limited tool; it can't do everything. It's terribly awkward, for instance, to show the passage of time in present tense. Also, because present tense represents the worms-eye view of the action, it's a lot harder to convey background information without adopting Mr. Narrator Voice. These failings don't hurt literary novels much, what with their plotless existential angstiness, so perhaps that's why they favor it. On the other hand, genre authors have a story to tell and don't have time to sit around feeling the dirt under their fingernails, so past tense it is.
I've tried before, am currently trying, and will try again to use both tenses within a single story. Both tenses represent powerful tools in a writer's toolbox. Surely there must be a way to use them both and not be forced into an either/or decision. Obviously, if you're shooting for novel-length you can just use present tense for a few, select chapters and stick to the past for the rest of it. It's a bit trickier within the confines of a short story.
Here's what I'm currently doing - I'm working on a dialogue heavy short about two characters who are basically wandering around and talking. I know, it sounds like a blast. I'm trying very hard to keep it interesting; we'll see if I pull it off. But anyways, I'm writing the narrative in present tense which allows me to detail the feel of the air and the cracks in the sidewalk and little bits like that that I love, but the characters naturally speak and tell their stories in past tense, thus communicating the neccessary information.
I have no idea if it will work. It's possible that the effect will be too jarring. I'll run it by some beta readers and find out. If it is, out it goes. You can bet I'm going to keep trying to sneak it into my writing, though. My subconscious demands it.
posted by braun at 1:47 PM
4 Comments:
Hi Braun, you have some good points about using present tense. I'll have to check out LeGuin's book.
One instance where the "immediate" tense creeps in very easily is when you are writing in first person. I person thinks in present tense; therefore present tense is in the narration.
I can't imagine it otherwise because then you tend to get emotional and even distance in the immediacy of the action/thoughts/things described.
Le Guin is one of my favorite authors, so I might be biased, but I think Steering the Craft is one of the best "on writing" books I've ever seen.
The exercises and examples in the book are wonderful and interesting, and Le Guin is good at cutting to the heart of what good writing is all about. I definitely recommend it.
I admit to a horrible predjudice against present tense. I do see it as a useful tool, which is exactly its problem; as a reader, I notice the author's manipulation instead of just concentrating on the story. I also, as an editor, have noticed that present tense stories tend to lack strong verbs. Thank god it's not too prevelant in my genres.
Hmm, I've never noticed a correlation between present tense and weak verbs - I'll have to watch for it in my writing. I do like strong verbs though, and habitually use them, so hopefully it's not an issue.
I think present tense stands out in prose fiction simply because we don't see it as much. There's nothing inherently artificial about it. Other storytelling mediums use present tense almost exclusively. It's simply that novels traditionally use past tense and we're used to that on some level.
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