Things can get pretty tense
I did a little online research last night, and the good folks who submit the responses over at Yahoo! Answers had some pretty valuable advice about writing. I’m kidding. Who uses that, anyway?
I was thinking about tense usage in writing. You know, past tense, present tense, I did this as compared to I am doing that. What I found, in some reliable sites and some less so, is that everyone seems to think that past tense is the best way to go unless you’re writing flash fiction of 750 words or less. The reason most often given was that this is what readers expect.
Consider the anecdotal personal essay on a blog. The events have already happened to the writer, so we expect to read about them in the past tense. There are times when using the present tense can convey a certain urgency that the past cannot, and an entire post certainly can be written in the present, but it is less common and possibly even unnecessary.
Hindsight is 20/20
When you use the present tense, you can fall prey to two common mistakes.
First, if you are going to write in the present tense, you must commit to it. When you jump back and forth between present and past, unless it’s done well, it will confuse the reader. Making your reader say, “Wait, whaa-?” too many times is a sure fire way to make sure they jump off your blog and onto someone else’s.
Second, and to an extent this is my personal opinion, sometimes present tense can sound gimmicky. As I mentioned before, present tense and convey urgency or some need to pull you out of the story that’s being told and into this very moment. However, when an otherwise ho-hum story is told in present tense just to give it some punch, the reader is going to see through that. Perhaps ask yourself why you’re choosing present tense. You may find if you shift the details of the story or edit a bit, you can pack a wallop without cheapening things.
There are no hard and fast rules, so far as I can tell. Sometimes it can come down to personal preference. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
This is the second year yeah write will be blogging alongside BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo for 30 days in November
Let’s keep an eye on the NaBloPoMo space over at BlogHer, so when their official blogroll opens, we’ll be ready. The day BlogHer opens the blogroll, we’ll open the yeah write NaBlo grid.
Until then, we still have about 10 guest blogging spaces available for BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo at yeah write and, if you have perk packages to donate for the 30 days, you can sign up on the same Google spreadsheet. Yeah write subscriber Rarasaur is also getting her game face on by putting together her own team that will hang out with us. For more details, see Rara’s introductory post.
You’ll be blogging for 30 days in your personal blogging space and, if you choose to help us out at yeah write, guest blogging a day or two over here. What the yeah write community has offered so far to be included in weekly random drawings during November:
- A basket of Trader Joe’s non-perishable goodies from yeah write editor Stacie
- The book Why We Write (edited by Meredith Maran) from Jake of Jake vs. The City
- Two hand-knit beanies from Jennifer of I’m Dancing in the Rain
- Two book bundles from regular yeah write guest contributor Deb of MannaHatta Mamma including copies of You Have Lipstick on Your Teeth edited by Leslie Marinelli
- The best homemade fudge you will ever know from Alisa of Ice Scream Mama
- A book bundle from yeah write editor Kristin including Difficult Mothers by Terri Apter and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
- A handmade sock puppet “for moral support” from our newest yeah write subscriber Laura at phrogmom’s weblog
- A book bundle from yeah write editor Erica including The Art of Possibility by Ben Zander
- A book bundle from Gina of Does Anyone Care What I Write containing her two favorite books of 2013
Wreaths Across America leadership development service project
Erica M is still collecting veterans memorial donations with her 12-year-old son Jon Alex who is a second-year cadet in his middle school leadership development corps. If you would like to donate one or two wreaths to be laid on the grave markers at Houston Memorial Cemetery during a holiday ceremony, please click here and give what you can. If you feel yeah write has ever contributed positively to your blogging or writing life, this would be a wonderful way to give back. Thanks.
Welcome to yeah write #132 weekly writing challenge
Odds, ends, reminders
- The badge you will need to add to your planned submission is over in the sidebar
- This immediate past Sunday is the earliest your submission can be dated
- Your post can be no longer than 600 words
- Personal essays or traditional blog anecdotes only
- There are no weekly prompts; the topic is yours. Be compelling
- The grid is open from Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
- There is voting. Voting will take place Thursday from midnight to 10:00 p.m. US eastern
- The challenge grid is limited to 50 bloggers
- The winners’ post will be published by noon on Friday
- No self-promotional posts are allowed on the yeah write grid, including those containing links to other blog events and Internet contests
Yeah write #132 is open…
Here are some ways to put money into the metal:These are the basic
ways you can get started investing in gold and silver.
Almost all transactions usually are reported because financing dealings whereby a person prevent revealing the tool; however , you statement about the money
you committed to precious metal. plus a one-time account setup
fee (that features commission) that is usually about 10%.
Trends have demostrated investment in these commodities to get highly risky.
The American Silver Eagle plus the Mexican Silver Libertad bullion coins, introduced in 1986 as well as 1982 correspondingly, are already made of 99.
It’s going to be ending of mine day, but before finish I am reading this fantastic piece of
writing to increase my experience.
Present tense is challenging, but can be a fun exercise. And it makes for great stories with unreliable narrators, which are my secret favorites.
To Conscious Cacophony: I was not able to comment on your post but I wanted to tell you that I read all 3 parts of your story and I loved it!
I like stories that are written in present tense, when done well, because I find it helps put the reader in the moment. However, as you mentioned, it has to be used appropriately – when I write on my travel blog, for example, I usually use past tense because it would feel really unnatural to write about a trip I took last month in present tense…
Sometimes I will write stories in past tense, then realize partway through that it would be much more engaging if it were in the present tense, and then I’ll go through and change the tense. That’s actually what I did with the post I linked up here – I’d be interested to hear if you guys think it works!
I think the when done well part is key really. I think it works in your piece this week. I guess what doesn’t work for me is when the whole thing is filled with -ing verbs. I’m doing this now. And now I’m doing this. This is happening. More doing! That sort of thing is what feels gimmicky. You have narrative sprinkled in that is reflective and it’s not all action verbs throughout.
Thanks for showing how the technique can be used well!