Tense

Okay, what tense do you usually write in?
how well do you understand them and how do you feel about unusual tenses?

Brief Tense Lesson:
[this is how i remember being taught - but bear in mind that school was a looong time ago for me! i may have mseesed up...]

Aorist: "I ran" running has happened but is not happening now.
Imperfect: "I used to run" running used to happen, but no longer.
Perfect Past: "I had run" running happened at some point in the past before some other past event.
Continuous Past: I was running" running happened in the past [while something else was happening]

Simple Present: "I run" running is something that happens, but not necessarily right NOW. [it’s a hobby]
Continuous Present: "I am running" they are doing it right NOW.
Perfect Present: "I have run" running is something they have done recently, but they’re not doing it at this moment.

Future: "I will run" running will happen soon.
Perfect Future: I will have run" at some point in the future, running will have happened, and then will be over.

Conditional: "I would run [but]" running might happen, if the conditions are met.
Also:
“I have been running”
“I would/could/should/might have been running”

Quote

* Most stories are written in basic Past Tense: "He got up; she walked over to the table and sighed..." It's a very easy tense to write in, it gives an accurate account of events and describes the action well.

But there are other aspects to Past Tense. How about: "He had gotten up; she'd walked over to the table and had sighed..." Undoubtedly still Past Tense, but it seems much mote solid, more final.
The only problem with using an unusual tense like that is that it's very hard to keep up over the length of a story. Practice is almost certainly needed.

* A lot of stories are written in Present Tense: "He gets up; she walks over to the table and sighs..." Again this is quite easy to keep up and gives a more immediate version of events.

And again, there are alternatives. For example: "He's getting up; she's walking over to the table and sighing..." This changes the tone again, making it more anxious and abrupt.

* Future Tense is quite rare to find - mostly because it's difficult to write in - but it can be useful. "He will get up; she'll walk over to the table and sigh..." Here, you get the impression of possibility, as if this version of events is just one option; but at the same time there is an implied certainly; as if anything could happen, but this is what will happen.

i love rewriting a section in another tense and seeing how the entire mood of the piece changes. i think the value of using tense to create an atmosphere is often sadly overlooked.

so yes. um.. tenses: what do you usually use?

Usually past tense, but when I do second person I use present tense.

I admit this is one of the hardest things to keep up in a story, since it involves continuity and my mind drifts a lot, so I'll be writing one part of the story in this state and another like this, so when I read it over I need to edit a lot of the tenses based on what I used on my 'mood.' xD

i do that too! just find myself drifting into another tense and have to go through it all and realign everything!

annoying - but at least i usually recognise i've done it and fix it.
[*might have a pet-peeve agaisnt stories with sliding tenses...*]

I will admit whole heartedly that i am complete shit with tenses.... and even if it is pointed out to me i still can't put it right...or even see where I've gone wrong...

I swear sometimes my editors must really hate me...

I sometimes drift from past to present tense when writing and have to fix it. Which is annoying sometimes, but it needs to be done.

I generally prefer past tense, but I have written my fair share of present tense.

And I do switch tenses sometimes on purpose in a story, shifting between parts. It helps sometimes. Like in Was/Wasn't to let them know the act is over and this is what is happening now.

I've said I've got a writing block at the moment, but recently I've started writing in present.
It's getting harder to write in the past now, but that's just me.
ehhh.

yeah, sometimes writing something little in a totally different style can really refresh your creativity!

tense and POV changes are the easiest way to completely alter the whole feel of a story.

I can't really write anything besides past tense myself...present tense is just awkward for me to write, although I don't mind reading it.

Oh. Did you know that Spanish and Latin have almost twice as many tense as English ? That's an other reason why I love them.

Lately I've been writing in present because it gives me a sense of rawness, of pure life if you want it. Timeless time. But I also sometimes tackle future [especially in writing about dreams] or different forms of past. Rarely though usually if and when someone is telling the story.

Lovesick.:

Oh. Did you know that Spanish and Latin have almost twice as many tense as English ? That's an other reason why I love them.

I did know that. Drived me nuts when I tried to learn those languages. x ]

Anyway, it depends on the story. (Why, yes, that’s my standard answer. :file: ). Usually past tense I guess but sometime present. I do mess up sometimes though simply because the English language works a little differently than the Swedish (= my first language) when it comes to tense. So, I mess up. But it’s not that badI hope. :XD I don’t drift to another tense though.

I write in past tense but sometimes my writing wanders off to present tense. XD
It drives my beta bonkers. [T.G.F.Betas]

If I write in first person, I tend to prefer present tense. Past tense feels too awkward.

I've always written in past tense, and even then I feel awkward with it because I'm not very good with keeping up tenses. I've wanted to try my hand at present tense but I find it hard, I keep reverting back to my old past tense self. I'm setting myself a target to write my next piece in present tense to help me get more practise and maybe open up my writing a bit.

Third person present tense seems to come more naturally than first person present tense though to me.

I always write in present tense. Like some other people have mentioned, I tend to accidentally drift into another tense while writing (past tense). It does get annoying, especially when you don't notice it and someone else has to point it out to you. -_-

My older stuff toggles back and forth between tenses (completely by accident) and even when I go back and try to fix it, I end up getting all mixed up (which is why those stories aren't posted).

I write in both present and past tense. (Not at the same time, by the way.) I usually write in past, but some stories (pretty much only one shots) I just feel like I should write them in present.

I write in both present and past tense.
Generally I use past, but I use present when it gives the story something more.
It's not a conscious decision, rather just what flows most naturally.

I stick to present, mostly, but I do dabble in past. It's just whatever comes to me first.
Sometimes I'm so used to writing in present that a story will start in past and evolve to present. Then I have to fix it all.

I can only write in past tense. I believe that only humour looks good in the present tense. I tried to write a horror story in the present tense but it sucked. A lot. I stick to past.

I use past. I can't really write present right. :XD

I use both past and present. Both it's hard for me to adjust between them, so most of the time, I really need a beta. :tehe: But I think I like present tense more. For me, it is hard to write sometimes but idk, sometimes it just fits the story and flows better.