Having Difficulty with the Past and Present

[SteelSaurus]

I noticed something frustrating about me whilst trying to write, I have a tendency to start in past tense then later switch to present tense.

I'm able to start a story/paragraph/chapter in past tense easily, but if I put it down and continue it without looking, a shift to present tense. While I can easily enough go back and shift everything to one tense or the other, the real problem arises when I start, switch, and stop. That is I'll start in past, go use the bathroom or what have you, resume writing in the present tense, and then stop for work, school, or sleep. When I try to resume the next day and start reading over what I've written, my mind gridlocks at the use of the two different tenses at the same time.

Does anyone know how to remedy this malady, because I have over a dozen stories that are suffering from this.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

That should be pretty easy to fix. Before you start working on a piece again, read the last few paragraphs to see what tense you were in. No?

 

[Stella_Omega]

Search and replace; "does" becomes "did"

But if it's at all possible, wait untill you've finished writing, because the last thing you want to do (Or me, anyway) is let your inner editor kick in before the work is finished....

It does mean that your story will be a mishmash of tenses for a while.

 

[CeasarBoobage]

Search and replace; "does" becomes "did"

But if it's at all possible, wait untill you've finished writing, because the last thing you want to do (Or me, anyway) is let your inner editor kick in before the work is finished....

It does mean that your story will be a mishmash of tenses for a while.

Totally agree. Let the story out first, give it room to run away with itself, making sure you can write down everything the story needs to have in it.

Once the (majority?) is done and you hit natural breaking points, then go back through it to fix problems. If you're having issues with the tense, make a run or two through the story looking ONLY for tense references, ignoring everything else.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Nonsense. If you see a problem fix it! If your tale is long enough shit will get lost and forgotten.

 

[sr71plt]

When I find I'm constantly changing tense or voice, I often decide I should have been writing in the other one all along. I think it happens to us all. (With me it's more often between first and third person.) It's appropriate sometimes to change tenses too.

Add me to the list of those who say steam through to the end before fiddling with it too much--unless it's really bugging you. If so, go ahead and go back and clean that up.

I'm not a fan of doing computer program replace for verb tenses. You could be compounding mistakes. Do a separate review looking for just that.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I'm not a fan of doing computer program replace for verb tenses. You could be compounding mistakes. Do a separate review looking for just that.

Eminently true. Changing the tense of a piece of fiction is a hell of a lot more work than just replacing 'do' with 'did'. Stella's joking of course. Right?

Occasionally, and if you know what you're doing, a change of tense (usually from past to present) can be a powerful stylistic tool. But editors are going to give you grief about it.

I have to say too, that I really can't conceive of sitting back down to piece and starting to write without reading at least a couple paragraphs of what I'd written before. How else do you maintain any kind of continuity?

 

[SteelSaurus]

Making Progress

Well the issue is two part;

1) I subconsciously switch from past to present (or vice versa... or both) because I can replay what happens like a movie. The story's outline is planned (past tense) from the start, but as I write, details happen (present tense) and things get muddled. It's not so easy to correct it on the fly as my thoughts will jump back and forth from something happening to something that's happened.

2) When I resume and reread yesterday's writing I get mentally gridlocked from the use of the two tenses. Sometimes I can easily revert everything to past tense but there always seems to be certain portions that work best in present tense. (Sometimes it's far worse, I may write an entire chapter in present tense and the current in past.)

---
One good thing is that I don't lose track of what happens; Girl walks into gym, guy on exercise bike checks her out. Tense Gridlock (less than three chapters in, seriously).
But I still know what happens after that. Girl talks to hunky manager, seduces free gym membership, proceeds to date and sleep with half the male gym members in succession etc. etc.

The one thing I've found that helps, is when I type, I turn the monitor off so I can't see what I'm writing. I get a lot done, but I have so many tense changes...

 

[Stella_Omega]

but there always seems to be certain portions that work best in present tense. (Sometimes it's far worse, I may write an entire chapter in present tense and the current in past.)
.

I used to do the same thing, but the readers hate it.

As a reader, I hate it-- which is how I learned not to do it...

 

[SteelSaurus]

I used to do the same thing, but the readers hate it.

As a reader, I hate it-- which is how I learned not to do it...

Yes, but I don't always notice it. So how did you learn not to do it? You've given me the effect and it's cause, but what's the process?

 

[Dyslexicea]

Add me to the list of those who say steam through to the end before fiddling with it too much--unless it's really bugging you. If so, go ahead and go back and clean that up.

I'll be you and I agree on something.

 

[CarolinaPeach]

Sometimes I can easily revert everything to past tense but there always seems to be certain portions that work best in present tense.

I would suggest that you do your all-out best to correct the problems as they occur, not write through and change back later, because tense gives what you've written a certain flavor.

Yes, but I don't always notice it. So how did you learn not to do it? You've given me the effect and it's cause, but what's the process?

I can think of one thing that might help... stop occasionally while writing and read what you have out loud. That does a number of good things, helping you hear the flow of language and catch repetitious words and phrases, as well as detect tense changes. I read mine out loud just to hear if it *sounds* good.

I think, unfortunately, this is something that will take a lot of work to overcome, if it is so ingrained and unconscious. I am guessing there is no silver bullet.

 

[SteelSaurus]

I would suggest that you do your all-out best to correct the problems as they occur, not write through and change back later, because tense gives what you've written a certain flavor.



I can think of one thing that might help... stop occasionally while writing and read what you have out loud. That does a number of good things, helping you hear the flow of language and catch repetitious words and phrases, as well as detect tense changes. I read mine out loud just to hear if it *sounds* good.

I think, unfortunately, this is something that will take a lot of work to overcome, if it is so ingrained and unconscious. I am guessing there is no silver bullet.

Curses, and here I was looking for a quick fix. Kidding aside, thank you. I'm still having a great deal of difficult writing. But I'm pretty much ignoring the tenses until I get to the end and then going back and correcting it from there.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Sometimes you have to change tenses, even in the same sentence. "Susan was the best-looking girl in my high school class and she is still a beauty.

Especially if you write in first person, descriptions of ongoing characters are written in present tense and those of characters in the past are written in past tense. Verbs are almost always in past tense. Or, you can write everything in past tense.

 

[SteelSaurus]

Sometimes you have to change tenses, even in the same sentence. "Susan was the best-looking girl in my high school class and she is still a beauty.

Especially if you write in first person, descriptions of ongoing characters are written in present tense and those of characters in the past are written in past tense. Verbs are almost always in past tense. Or, you can write everything in past tense.

I must say that I rarely write in first person. ...well, story-wise anyway. Even if I add myself, it's never really 'me' in the story.

Normally when I write and get sidelined or have to stop, I try to resume by asking myself, 'What happens next?' Because I can picture the scene unfolding in front of me.

It's... difficult to put. I write my stories as though it's a movie. I can rewind it and play it however I please to get the right effect, but when I 'watch' what happens, it's in present tense, but when I begin to write, I've 'watched' the movie.

I try to keep my writing in third person, but it's the tense that poses problems.