using tenses- when writing stories

[sweet_lusciousdesire]

I'm trying to write a story in present tense but I keep running into challenges trying to figure out how to do it properly for example:

Everyday I look in the mirror wondering if I should dress less provocatively.

or

Everyday when I looked in the mirror I wonder if should start to dress less provacatively.

or

It didn't matter what I wore, I was approached.

or

It doesn't matter what I wear, I get approached.

Any hints or thoughts from you experienced writers would be totally awesome!

 

[oggbashan]

I'm trying to write a story in present tense but I keep running into challenges trying to figure out how to do it properly for example:

Present tense: Everyday I look in the mirror wondering if I should dress less provocatively.

or

Present tense: Everyday when I look[ed] in the mirror I wonder if should start to dress less provocatively.

In Past Tense it would be: Everyday when I looked in the mirror I wondered if I should start...

or

Past tense: It didn't matter what I wore, I was approached.

or

Present tense:It doesn't matter what I wear, I am [get] approached.

Any hints or thoughts from you experienced writers would be totally awesome!

You have some confusion in tenses in those examples. If you take out the text marked with [] and add that in bold, each sentence should be in the correct tense.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Most of us use tenses when we camp.

 

[PennLady]

I'm trying to write a story in present tense but I keep running into challenges trying to figure out how to do it properly for example:

Must it be in present tense? Not saying past doesn't present (haha) its own problems, but I was just curious.

 

[mynameisben]

Any hints or thoughts from you experienced writers would be totally awesome!

You should be aware that "Everyday" is strictly an adjective when used as a single word.

Correct: WalMart has everyday low prices.
Incorrect: WalMart has low prices everyday. (should be "every day")


You should also be aware that "if" and "whether" are not always interchangeable. Use "whether" whenever your sentence is meant to imply one of two distinct possibilities.

Correct: Every day I look in the mirror, wondering whether I should dress less provocatively.
Incorrect: Every day I look in the mirror, wondering if I should dress less provocatively.

As a matter of style, it is often awkward to switch verb forms within the same sentence. Compare "look" and "wondering." You may prefer the sound of a sentence with balanced verbs, such as:

Every day I look in the mirror and wonder whether I should dress less provocatively.

Sometimes, breaking a sentence in two works better. Like this:

Every day I look in the mirror and wonder. Should I dress less provocatively?

 

[sweet_lusciousdesire]

thank you

Excellent advice. I guess if the character thinks or refers to the past then I need to likely point out the switch in time, such as: In the past I had been approached........With my skill set I don't have much luck getting it right. It's worth a try though. ha ha on the camping comment.....loved it...

 

[sun_sea_sky]

I once started writing an exam essay in the present tense, to be "different and original". Half-way through it I got completely bogged down. Time was running out. I thought, "fuck it!" and just switched to the past tense with no explanation whatsoever.

The essay didn't get a great mark, but I think it would have got a lot worse one if I had stuck to the present tense.

Every day I look in the mirror, wondering whether I should dress less provocatively.

For me, this is the past tense. It happened earlier in the day. Or is a recollection of what happened. Present tense would be:

I am looking in the mirror, wondering whether I should dress less provocatively.

or:

Looking in the mirror, I wonder, as usual, whether I should dress less provocatively.

 

[BONNIEBREA]

I'm trying to write a story in present tense but I keep running into challenges trying to figure out how to do it properly for example:

Everyday I look in the mirror wondering if I should dress less provocatively.

or

Everyday when I looked in the mirror I wonder if should start to dress less provacatively.

or

It didn't matter what I wore, I was approached.

or

It doesn't matter what I wear, I get approached.

Any hints or thoughts from you experienced writers would be totally awesome!

Watch usage, tense, and spelling in your second example:

Every day I looked in the mirror and wondered if I should start to dress less provocatively.

Every day (two words relating to something that happens each day), and everyday (the adjective meaning ordinary or commonplace) are two different things. If you're going to go past tense with one verb (looked) then you need to remain consistent (wondered), until you get to the last part of the sentence which describes potential action in the future. Spelling on provocatively.

I've always found past tense to be the default tense in fiction. Whether in first person or third person narrative the actions or events being discussed are presumably being written about at some time after the action or event, so past tense is appropriate.

I write my stories in first person and default to past tense. But often I'll intentionally use present tense when describing the characteristics or attributes of someone or some thing where those characteristics or attributes remain constant into the present.

Also, I'll intentionally use present tense in particular circumstances, especially when a character relates a flashback or some remembered event. I also had an occasion in one story where a character was describing a series of particular experiences (all several paragraphs long), and I wrote the character's description of the events in present tense to make it seem more as if she were reliving the events as she was describing them, and to give the reader more of a sense of being in those experiences with her.

But there are no requirements. Tenses are just another writing tool.