A tense situation
Jan. 24th, 2016 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Hey guys, was hoping to solicit some opinions! I tend to automatically write in present tense but I wonder if it puts people off. I'm about to embark on another long fic which feels like it probably should be past tense but I have to fight all the time while I'm writing not to slip back into present! Any thoughts?
[Poll #2034519]
On a side note, do you think different tenses suit different kind of fics?
[Poll #2034519]
On a side note, do you think different tenses suit different kind of fics?
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Date: 2016-01-24 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-06 11:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-24 05:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-06 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-24 05:14 pm (UTC)I find it almost impossible to write in the present tense. It feels 18 kinds of wrong to me, but I think I've just read too many traditional novels in my life to acclimate to writing in it. Present tense reminds me of like French avant garde novels ;) EXCEPT in fic. I like it well enough when reading fic, like I said.
Obviously, any epistolary form requires present tense, and that always adds suspense/interest :)
I think you can pull off ANYTHING, Polo! The tough thing with writing past tense is doing flashbacks. "He had had to ask what Merlin'd done." etc. But so what! lol That's what betas are for ;)
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Date: 2016-02-07 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-24 05:59 pm (UTC)It only bothers me though in other fic when the tense changes constantly from one paragraph to another. Or sentence to another. Or part of a sentence to another.
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Date: 2016-02-07 12:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-24 07:07 pm (UTC)OK, funny how I thought of this exact thing earlier today, reading fic. If I had to choose: past tense. And 3rd person.
But Polo can do whatever she wants, because she hasĀ the gift.
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Date: 2016-02-07 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-24 07:08 pm (UTC)LOVE THE PUNNY TITLE BTW
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Date: 2016-01-24 08:00 pm (UTC)I do think different tenses can work better for differnet fics. I'm generally happy to read both. I think present tense creates more urgency and can work really well with smut especially ;)
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Date: 2016-02-07 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-26 01:21 am (UTC)I know with 'In Spite of Everything' I really liked your present tense, and it worked really well fo the fic! But if you wanted to try past tense, I'm sure you could make it work too!!
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Date: 2016-02-07 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-28 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-07 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-09 08:23 pm (UTC)It drives me crazy...no matter how many times I read something I've writtten I always find one more thing to change. Sometimes an actual error, and other times just something I feel I could have said better. At some point, I just have to give up!
I rarely read anything without seeing some tiny typos or errors. I just read a completely fabulous, beautifully written story, but there was one paragraph where the tense changed suddenly and it was a bit jarring....I suspect that the author cut and pasted it from a different version, or maybe she got so caught up in the fantastic sex scene she was writing that she was living it in the present. It really rarely interferes much with my enjoyment of a good story. Even in published books there are invariably some errors. With fanfic I'm never sure whether to let the author know or not.
no subject
Date: 2016-02-14 04:46 pm (UTC)