The Importance of Tense

In the English language there are three tenses that a writer can use, and these tenses have distinct benefits and drawbacks.

The three tenses we use are:

• 1. Past
• 2. Present
• 3. Future

You may notice that tense all seems to rely on the concept of TIME. The normal default for a story (because it IS a story) is to use the past tense. This means the writer can cover the general past (that which has happened before the present moment), the immediate past (that which has just happened), or the distant past (what occurred when the character was years or centuries younger).

Past tense allows the writer to:

1. Create characterization by giving a character time to REFLECT on an event.
2. Create a CONTRAST between what has happened in the past and what events are likely to occur again in the present. This might allow for a writer to use an open ending or surprise ending effectively because previous events create a pattern, for example.
3. Use past tense when the EVENTS of the story and the choices a character makes are important.
4. It is awkward to have your 1st person narrator die in past tense.

HOW TO WRITE IN PAST TENSE: Use the past tense of the verbs in your story/narrative. You have to learn these to avoid making simple mistakes in tense.

Present tense allows the writer to:

1. Express action occurring in the present. Present tense highlights and stresses the current moment.
2. To examine a character's current state of being
3. To suggest occurrences or actions that will carry on in the future
4. To examine an action that started in the past and continues into the present.
5. Use present tense when you want immediacy.
6. To describe both habits and routines and general facts
7. To describe unchanging states of being
8. To indicate events in the near future
9. To provide narratives as instruction
10. Allows the writer to use the historical present for stylistic effects

Future tense is usually not used in fiction, but crops up occasionally in experimental works.

Use future tense to:
1. Write about what is about to happen
2. Examine uncertain or varying distances or events ahead in time
3. Allows the narrator to use probability or intent
4. Allows for predictions or imminence of actions (that which is likely to happen)

Some key phrases to note you are in the future:
I shall, I will, I may, I might, I must, I should, I'm about to, etc.

TASK: Look through your portfolio. Choose a poem or fiction piece and change the tense. Call this a new draft.