![]() And it all starts with the simple past tense. Sometimes called a tense shift, this is all about making the order of things clear to the reader. The majority of your story will be told in the simple past, but there will likely be times when you'll need a different tense. It helps the reader keep track of the story timeline, so it's where you will root the “present” of your story, even though it's written in the past tense. You can think of the simple past tense (sometimes called past simple) as the “now” of your story. The simple past tense is the most common type of past tense you'll use when writing a novel or short story. Let's take a look at each in turn (with examples). These are simple past, past perfect, past progressive, and past perfect progressive. ![]() There are four primary tenses you'll use when writing in the past tense. One of the most common mistakes writers make (both new and experienced) is failing to use the correct tense. Writing Well in the Past Tense: The Four Tenses And within the past tense, there are four tenses with which to familiarize yourself. So for any writer who wants to master their craft, learning to write in the past tense is essential. In fact, some readers find present-tense books so jarring that they won't even read them. ![]() In fact, this is sometimes called narrative tense, which indicates how prevalent it really is.Īnd because it has been so common for so long, people are used to it. While in recent years there have been several bestselling books written in the present tense, books written in the past tense are still much more common. This natural tendency is perhaps the best explanation for why writing fiction in the past tense is so common. Because it happened in the past, you would tell them about it using the past tense. If you wanted to tell someone what happened to you at the store or at work, you wouldn't tell them about it as if it was happening right now. When we tell each other stories, we naturally speak in the past tense. Why is the Past Tense Used More Than the Present Tense? But we'll focus on the past tense in this article because it's important to be familiar with this often-used tense before you decide in which style to write your story. When it comes to fiction writing, we can also use the present tense. Check It OutĪll the past tense verbs in the example above are in bold to illuminate what makes this passage past tense. She had been prone to anxiety for years, but this was getting ridiculous.Įasy to use, and and full of amazing features, you can quickly turn your book into a professional book. ![]() The man passed on the sidewalk without a glance, leaving Uma feeling relief mixed with a dash of self-recrimination. But this was silly because she stood just a hair above five feet tall on her best day. She straightened as he approached, as if making herself look bigger would make him think twice if he did in fact mean her harm. She had seen him on the train, three rows down from her. Something about his body language bothered her. She was waiting for the bus when she noticed the man. You can easily identify this tense by the use of past tense verbs such as went, walked, said, sat, stood, drove, etc. As readers, most of the fiction we've read is written in the past tense. The past tense is a type of grammatical tense in which events are told as if they happened in the past. Writing Well in the Past Tense: The Four Tenses.Why is the Past Tense Used More Than the Present Tense?.
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