Tense... How does it work? Tips on how to work with it

 Hey yall!

Today’s topic is going to be some writing tips!

Now, something you have to keep in mind when writing, something I’ve noticed some people have a hard time with… is the tense…

Staying in present, past, future tense, it’s hard! I know, I used to do the same thing. I’ve noticed a lot of new authors, they flip flop around with the tense of the story… especially with short stories that have a lot of memories in them. It’s HARD!

But it can also be easy...

Yes! A trick I figured out, was try to remember HOW your telling the tale… and this goes with your point of view… are you telling it as a story to others, are you the one doing this thing, is it going to happen in the future?

So say your telling this story as a person remembering that this happened.

How would you say it?

EX- I had gone to the store to pick up milk.

Now, how would you say that in present tense?

EX- I am picking up milk.

Future tense?

EX- I will go to the store to pick up milk

Notice the difference in sound? It’s easy once you get the hang of it. If you put yourself AS the main character, you can (hopefully) keep the same tense throughout.

Some people tend to think of their stories as them just looking down at the MC as they go through this idea. And, I’m not saying that’s a bad idea… I’m saying it might make it harder to stay in tense throughout. Especially if you POV is third person.

When I write in third person, I tend to try and think of someone describing what I’m doing. Kind of like a narrator talking above my head, but I’m the only person who can hear it.

It’s going to take some practice, and a lot of patience, be willing to mess up, and forgive yourself for those mess ups. You CAN do it. I promise. It’s just going to be a lot and I mean A LOT of practice. But I believe in you. ^^

I know that it’s going to be hard for some people, quite a few people I know, they can only write a paragraph at a time! That’s gotta be hard, it’s going to make for some choppy work, if you can remember what happened.

So, how do you remember?

Re-read your work! All of it! If you take a break from writing for longer than a couple days, you lose that idea and that momentum. A way I found to get back into the writing, is to just re-read what you have done. It makes it easier to start where you left off, and not have writers block so much.

I hope this made it a little easier, I’m not great at this… but...

I believe in you! You can do anything you put your mind to!

Have an awesome day y’all!