PAST VS PRESENT TENSE

Oh oh hey hi hey hi hey hello everybody all right you guys I'm finally doing it I'm talking about past and present tense because it's not like you guys have been asking or anything in particular this topic was requested by one of my patrons over on patreon AJ Mason AJ is one of my oh gee patrons she has been around for a long time and we adore her like so many writers she is conflicted about whether to write in past or present tense so we're here to help we're gonna get to the bottom of this pickle right now first things first what is past tense past tense means you are writing your story as if the events have already occurred you'll usually end up writing past tense verbs for example she slammed her fists into the wall what is present tense present tense means you are writing your story as if the events are unfolding right now in this case you often use present tense verbs for example she slams her fists into the wall simple right except people have lots of qualms with both past and present tense they're not sure which one is a better fit for their story so to make things a little bit easier I'm going to give you the pros and cons of both past and present tense starting with good old reliable past tense brown number one it's invisible past tense is the go-to tense for 90% of written media articles nonfiction the news all past tense because of this it's what readers are most familiar with thus they do not notice it when you utilize it in fiction there's no period of adjustment on the readers part they don't have to get used to it because they're already conditioned to it that means they can immediately immerse themselves in the story without getting hung up on the words and that's a very good thing Pro number two its genre flexible past tense isn't just the go-to for a nonfiction it's also the go-to for a majority of genre fiction fantasy is we past tense sci-fi is predominantly past tense mystery also past tense you see where I'm going with this it's not a tense that feels wonky or out of place from genre to genre because again it's invisible additionally past tense is often considered more suspenseful and believable which are necessary traits for a variety of genres no matter which jar you write there's a good chance that past tense will be a great fit for your story Pro number three freedom present tense is told a moment-to-moment which can be very limiting past tense on the other hand doesn't have this problem your story in theory has already occurred it happened in the past which means that if you want to you can skip around through time you can summarize a stuffy dinner or breeze through a boring meeting in order to get to the next scene she shoveled down her dinner then left for her friend's house boom moving on to something interesting some writers call this fast-forwarding you're essentially giving a peek at what went down and then you're moving on you can describe the moment in detail you can use scene breaks or time skips you can fast-forward you can utilize a transition you can move their time pretty much however you please this freedom is specific to past tense and it makes transitioning from scene to scene so much easier con number one so many options too many options simple past past progressive past perfect past perfect progressive past insensitive future in the past these are all different kinds of past tense and there's more of them there are a lot more kinds of past tense than there are present tense and with all these options it can get a little confusing just a little while past tense is the more common of the two tenses it's also seen as the harder one to write and that's largely because of all the options you got a deal with con number two telling with present tense you are in the present you are describing what's happening moment to moment with past tense you don't have this limitation which is both a blessing and a curse as we covered this gives you the freedom to hop through time but so gives you the freedom to be lazy it is much easier to fall into bad habits when writing in past tense specifically the habit of telling as opposed to showing telling is not quite so natural in present tense but in past tense the door is wide open and you have to be diligent about not walking through it con number three the boredom factor present tense takes place in the now so it has a very naturally active feel past tense doesn't have this advantage in order to make your past tense novel feel active you need to utilize powerful active verbs some writers particularly new writers don't know this or they try to cut corners and instead they utilize boring passive verbs which translates into you guessed it a boring passive story this is a con you can easily overcome you just need to get into the habit of writing engaging verbs now that we've covered the pros and cons of past tense let's move on to present tense Pro number one it's immediate present tense illustrates actions moment by moment which means they're happening in real time because of this there's an automatic sense of urgency in your story you don't necessarily need to rely on active verbs because the tense itself is active when utilized correctly this can make readers feel like they are right alongside the characters experiencing the story as it happens Pro number two it's casual past tense is kind of like a written letter whereas present tense feels more like a story told around a campfire there's a casual conversational feel associated with present tense that can be very desirable depending on the tone of your story there's an intimacy to it because the reader is beside the main character throughout their journey it feels less like a formal narration and more like a person's experience Pro number three it's easy as we already covered there are a bajillion different forms of past tense present tense not so much there are only a few different types of present tense which ultimately makes it easier to write you don't have to be grammatically inclined to get the hang of it which is very and tight especially if you're a novice it's also easier to acclimate to because you feel like you're in your protagonists position moment to moment if you're looking for an easy way to get started with storytelling present tense is a good option con number one it's trendy present tense is currently very on trend in contemporary and literary fiction if you're writing a present tense contemporary congratulations that's exactly what your readers are expecting but if you're writing literally any other genre might get bumpy does that mean you can't write a present tense sci-fi novel of course not it just means the average sci-fi reader probably isn't used to it but Jenna I'm writing contemporary that means I'm in the clear right sorta maybe you know what they say about trends they die there is no way to tell when the trends will change or the tide will turn it may not be for decades this is just something to be aware of especially if you're a really really slow writer Kahn number two it's awkward since past tense is the standard for most written works present tense tends to stand out in a big way that means for a majority of genres if you're writing in present tense people are gonna notice and probably be a little jarred they're gonna have to adjust and if you're a shitty writer that adjustment might never come sorry about it people who are used to past tense often feel that present tense comes off as a play-by-play he runs down the field he catches the ball he wins the points go sports it may be easier to make mistakes with past tense but it's also easier to get readers comfortable with the story present tense doesn't have that benefit Kahn number three it's inflexible remember how you get to hop through time and past tense can't really do that with present you don't get to breeze through boring moments because you are stuck in the now this can make things difficult because sometimes characters brush their teeth or take a you don't want to write about your character taking a do you in this case your options are mostly limited to time skips you add a scene break and cut to an entirely different hour or day just make sure you don't utilize scene breaks and wrap it Accession because that will make the story feel choppy otherwise you should be okay so that's what I got for you today which tents is better past or present honestly it depends what all these points boil down to is present tense is easier to write and past tense is easier to read but you can make I there tense work toward your favor choose what fits your story best hone your craft get feedback and you can make either tense work great a huge thank you to AJ for requesting this topic if you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to you or if you want access to tons of other awards check me out on patreon we've got early access to videos we've got an exclusive writing group we have a monthly live stream we've got signed merch the link is listed below don't forget to subscribe to my channel I post new videos on Wednesdays and if you want to be alerted as soon as I upload ring that bell that way you get to know about my bonus videos the saviors champion is available in eBook paperback hardback signed hardback as well as audiobook if you are new to audiobooks you can listen to TST on audible for free I've got all the information below and be sure to follow me on social media I'm on Instagram Tumblr Facebook and of course you can tweet me at Jenna Russy bye hey everyone I'm Flint I love myself so if you love me and you don't mind a bit to Jenna then why don't you press the subscribe button you know you want to because then he gets hear more of me anyways press that button ding the bell and we'll have a great time

Channel: Writing with Jenna Moreci

Views: 26,413

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Keywords: write, writer, writing, read, reader, reading, book, books, ebook, novel, author, literature, writing tips, writing advice, writing motivation, writing inspiration, publishing tips, publishing advice, booktube, authortube, jenna moreci, the savior's champion, the saviors champion, past tense, present tense, past tense and present tense, how to write a book, how to write, how to write past tense, how to write present tense, is past tense better, past and present tense

Id: BJ_qOle9TIY

Length: 10min 13sec (613 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 16 2019