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Novels are often written in past tense, but writing in a consistent tense can be tricky. Here are some tips for writing a novel in past tense.
Don’t Jump Tenses
If you’re writing your novel in past tense, stay in past tense. Changing the tense is not only jarring to the reader, but can make the timeline of the novel confusing.
There are some exceptions: dialogue (which would appear in quotation marks) and inner thoughts (which should appear italicized). The tenses for these can vary, depending on what the characters are talking about, but they’re always from the perspective of the speaker or thinker. If it helps, imagine you’re the character talking or thinking in that situation to get the correct tense for dialogue or inner thought—the tense should sound natural.
Double-Check around Dialogue and Inner Thoughts
Because dialogue and inner thoughts are often in present tense, it’s easy to accidentally slip into present tense directly after writing dialogue or inner thought.
Correct: His hair stuck up straight on his head. “You look ridiculous,” I choked out through my laughter.
Incorrect: His hair stuck up straight on his head. “You look ridiculous,” I choke out through my laughter.
Watch Out for These Verbs
Some verbs are easy to mix up when writing in past tense.
1. Would Versus Will
“Will” is present tense and should not be used when writing a novel in past tense. “Would” is the correct conjugation, even if the action will be happening in the character’s future.
Example: Tomorrow, she would run to the store to pick up ingredients.
2. Had Versus Have
“Have” is present perfect tense, and “had” is past perfect tense. Be sure to use “had,” not “have.” You use the perfect tense (rather than regular past tense) to show an action that started in the past and continues in the present.
Example: I had just started eating when the door burst open.
3. Lay Versus Lie
These two verbs are tricky beyond deciding which one to use because the past tense of “lie” is actually “lay.”
For your reference, the past tense of “lay” is “laid,” and the present participle is also “laid.” The past tense of “lie” is “lay,” and the present participle is “lain.”
You can read more about “lay” versus “lie” and how to use and conjugated these verbs in our blog post here.
Do you have questions about writing in a consistent tense? What trips you up when writing a novel in past tense? Let us know in the comments below!
Hi Catia,
I am writing a story and the first pargraph is in past tense. Then there is a switch in the tense and it becomes “The elevator dings and a man walks out, he doesn’t notice Elosie. His cell phone rings but he declines it” and so on. How am I supposed to change that?
To write it in past tense, it should go like this:
“The elevator dinged and a man walked out. He didn’t notice Elosie. His cell phone rang, but he declined it.”
Or, to make the sentences less abrupt: “The elevator dinged and a man walked out, not noticing Elosie. His cell phone rang, but he declined it.”
Or, if you’re writing in her point of view (so she doesn’t actually know he doesn’t see her), and we add more action, we could write something like this: “The elevator dinged and a man walked out, not even glancing in Elosie’s direction. He must not have seen her. His cell phone rang, breaking the silence and making her jump, but he declined it.”
Catia~ I’m helping a friend edit a story, and I’m thoroughly confused about verb tenses. I’ve searched but not found a way to keep verb tenses straight in fiction. I understand the tenses, but I fail to recognize the subtle shift from simple past to past perfect or past perfect progressive. So, when I am going through the piece, I won’t correct simple past tense to past perfect tense. Suggestions?
In general, you’ll use simple past tense. When you’re writing a novel in past tense, past perfect and past perfect progressive are for things that actually happened in the character’s past (so it’s not in past tense just because the book is in past tense). Past perfect is for an action that was completed before another action occurred. Past perfect progressive is for an action that was ongoing in the past. The distinction can be blurry, so sometimes you just choose what sounds the most correct. But in general, stick with simpler forms of past tense.
For example, with the verb “to eat”:
Past: I ate my cereal, looking up when the doorbell rang. (This is currently happening in the story.)
Past: I was eating my cereal when the doorbell rang. (This is currently happening in the story but is using a passive sentence construction. It doesn’t have the word “had,” so it is not a perfect tense.)
Past Perfect: I remembered the day clearly. I had just eaten my cereal when the doorbell rang. (Eating the cereal started and completed in the character’s past, before the doorbell rang, so this conjugation changes the timeline a bit. I also added the sentence at the beginning so you can get a better feel for the context–this conjugation is for events that happen in the character’s past.)
Past Perfect Progressive: I remembered the day clearly. I had been eating my cereal when the doorbell rang. (This happened in the character’s past and was an ongoing event up until another event occurred.)
Past: I remembered the day clearly. I was eating my cereal when the doorbell rang. (I’m including this so you can see that simple past tense can also be used for an event that happened in the character’s past, as long as you frame it clearly and let the reader know it happened in the past. The memory from the past and the book’s present should be clearly delineated.)
For the most part, you want to avoid past perfect progressive, since it adds a lot of distance between the events and the characters. It’s also very wordy!
Hi Catia, I am writing a story and some parts feel like I’m writing the story like it happened in the past and I want it to be in the present going through everyday. One phrase is “Instead, we played a game.” After writing this and reading before this sentence makes me feel like I’m talking about the past. Is this how you are supposed to write it? I am sorry if I haven’t explained this really good because I’m a new author and I’m pretty young so I don’t know how to explain it better than this. Ask me if you need more explaining. Thank you!
Lucas,
If the rest of the story is written in past tense, then “Instead, we played a game” would be correct!
If you would like to include the entire paragraph for context, then I can give you a more concrete answer. 🙂
Hi Catia. Thanks for responding. I really appreciate your reply but I deleted my story and am starting again. Sorry if I bothered you. Thankfully it was only one paragraph. I’ll probably be back if I need any help later on. Thanks for the help!
Hey Catia, sorry for bothering again, but I was watching The Big Bang Theory and re-reading Misery by Stephen King and in both of those, I noticed a tense shift and, I was wondering if those are a correct usage.
In The Big Bang Theory, one of the characters says to another character: “She said I am wonderful and that you are lucky to have me.” Is it correct? If it is correct, is it because it is delivered as a fact?
In Misery, this sentence appears: “The breath blew down his throat again. Blew down it like the dank suck of wind which follows a fast subway train…” in this sentence, the verb ‘follows’ is in the present tense. How is this applicable?
Thank you!
The first is definitely correct. Because it is a character speaking (and as a TV show, it is “written” in present tense), the tense is present. However, she uses past tense for “she said” because she is referring to a conversation that happened in HER past. Now, “I am wonderful” stays in present tense because the other woman was telling her something that was true then, and is still true in her point of view. If, however, the other woman was referring to her being wonderful during a specific event (like a dinner, for example), then she would have said, “She said I was wonderful and that you are lucky to have me.” Or, we could change it further to “She said I was wonderful and that you were lucky to have me there” (lucky to have her at that specific event). So it all depends on whether it is referring to an event in the past or on ongoing attribute.
All that being said, if the Big Bang Theory were a book written in past tense, rather than a TV show, there would be other considerations. Since this is dialogue, the sentence in book form would still be as it is here. BUT if it were in the narrative instead of dialogue, it would be past tense. For example: He seemed doubtful, so she told him how [name] had said she was wonderful and he was lucky to have her.
I hope this makes sense!
For the second one, this is another example of an enduring truth written in present tense. I actually like this one written as present tense, because if you change it to past tense, it starts to read like something that is happening right then in the story, even though that isn’t the case.
Thanks a lot again!!! You are very talented in explaining things.
With reference to Don’t Jump Tenses and ‘would’ rather than ‘will’ how about –
‘How many you do is up to you,’ one of them had told her, so she will do eight, one for each week she has lived there.
Present, past perfect, future, present perfect progressive.
Hi.
I am writing a story in past tense. I’m stuck. I Just want to know which is correct.
1: “She was a hunter. A hunter is a person that hunts…”
2: “She was a hunter. A hunter was a person that hunt…”
1: “When she could no longer hear the noise, she opened her eyes.”
….For this sentence, should I change the word “hear” to “heard”?
Thank you!!!
It would be
“She was a hunter. A hunter was a person that hunted…”
Or
“She was a hunter—a person who hunted…”
The other sentence is correct:
“When she could no longer hear the noise, she opened her eyes.”
This is because the word “could” is an auxiliary verb: it is conjugated to past tense (from “can”) while the verb it is paired with (“hear” in this case), stays in its infinitive, or base, form.
Thank you, Catia! Thanks for explaining it too!
I struggle with past vs past perfect. Eg: “It was a new friendship. She had never been one to rush into a friendship with a stranger.” Could I write: “It was a new friendship. She was not one to rush into a friendship with a stranger”? Thanks.
Hi Catia,
I was reading a book by Stephen King, and came across this line:
“There are people who love the city, and this was one of the nights that made them love it.”
The story is written in past tense. Why did he use this present tense in the first part? Can you please tell me whether this is correct?
Kavya
Someone might argue that is an enduring truth and so should be in present tense, but since it is a story written in past tense, it really should be in past tense. As it right now, the sentence is jarring and throws the reader out of the story because of the tense change.
Catia, thanks a lot for the reply. You’ve cleared the doubts I had about my knowledge of tenses.
Hello Catia,
A friend of mine wrote a 70 page journal about her life. She asked me to edit it. She uses a great deal of the past participle: had been, had had, had done, etc. Is this correct English or should we change the verbs to the simple past tense? Thank you. Vicki
It really depends on the context. In general, though, past participle should be used sparingly, because all those “had”s can become distracting. So if it makes sense to reword to simple past tense, then I would do it.
Catia, thank you so much for your help! Hopefully, I can work out my issue without it being confusing.
I am writing a story about a young girl and she is telling the story as time goes on. However, she needs to tell another character in the story about her past history and what brought her to where she is currently. How do I tell her history, as it is becoming long and detailed? Do I type the whole past history in italics, or change it to read present? Help! I am new at this!
Large sections of text in italics would be pretty jarring. I suggest not using italics and instead putting her past story in a separate chapter with a date at the top, or putting a scene break between the present story and the past story (a date there isn’t necessary if it’s clear the character is now telling the story about her past).
As for past or present tense, write it as if you were the one telling it, since your character is the one relating the story. Since the story happened in the character’s past, she’ll be using mostly past tense, with some exceptions.
For example:
Present: “Let’s pick up where we left off.
Past: It was the summer of 1970 and it was scorching hot,
Present: even hotter than it is this summer, if you believe that.
Past: That day, something strange happened. I was outside in the treehouse…
If you set the story off with a scene break, or put it in a separate chapter, you could choose whether or not to use quotation marks. (If it weren’t set off, you would need quotation marks, but if it’s separate, it’s clear that she’s telling the story and the quotation marks instead become distracting.) But remember that if you do use quotation marks, and one person is talking for multiple paragraphs, then you put an opening quotation mark at the beginning of each paragraph, but only ONE closing quotation mark at the end of all the paragraphs (not at the end of each paragraph).
Let me know if you have any more questions!
Dear Catia – I am currently writing a book on one of my dogs that passed away and the book includes life stories of my other five rescued dogs who are still alive. In my draft, I refer to my lost dog in past tense, but I describe the stories and personalities of the others in current tense. My editor has converted the entire work into past tense, making it seem to me when I read the edited version that all my dogs have passed. It just does not read correctly to me.
Rob
Robert,
If the rest of your book is past tense, then the stories and personalities of your other dogs who are still alive would also definitely be in past tense. I can see why your editor changed the other stories and personalities to past tense, because even though those dogs are still alive, the stories did happen in the past. But, that does make writing the personalities in the past seem strange, since their personalities are in the present! So I see your dilemma.
However, it is completely correct to have the entire book in past tense, and most books are written this way.
That being said, it would also be correct to write the book in present tense with a first person narrative that then refers to past stories in the past tense. In other words, you would write it as if you were talking to someone right there.
For example (Please excuse the narrative; I’m making up a story off the top of my head!):
Present: I have several great dogs. They have a mix of personalities.
Past tense (because the dog is gone): But the one with the strangest personality was the very first rescue dog I trained. She would always….
Present: Now, my other dogs never do that.
Past (because while these dogs are alive, this story happened in the past): But there was one time where the other dogs did something pretty funny…
Catia – yes, the book was originally written in first person. I do understand what you are saying and I am rewriting the edits to describe my living dogs in present tense but the stories of them in past. And I get your made up story!
Orig story of living dog: Zoe is a pleaser and likes to sit with Diane on the couch. She once ran down to the neighbor’s house.
The way it was edited: Zoe was a pleaser and liked to sit with Diane on the couch. She once ran down to the neighbor’s house.
I am reverting the book back to the orig method which I think makes sense and jibes with your comment
Thank you
Rob
Great! I do like your original better–I think it matches better with the conversational feeling your book has.
Thank you so much for taking the time to analyze my question and respond!
Rob
Hi Catia,
If I can bug you again. I want to know if their are grammar/tense issues in this paragraph. I know when you are expressing a thought that you can use italics, or not. I am wondering about the whole paragraph, but in particular if I shold dd a comma before, “is what I thought” at the end of paragraph. Thanks so much in advance.
In this case, the thought is the “subject” of the sentence, and “is” is the verb, so you would not put in a comma before (is), since you never should separate a subject and verb with a comma.
But this construction is a bit awkward (though it’s hard to say without seeing the whole thing). You may want to instead say the direct thought in present tense with italics, then put in a comma and “I thought.” So:
I hate that, I thought.
Or make in an indirect thought in past tense (if the book is in past tense), which often flows better with the story:
First person: I hated it.
Third person (but in their point of view for the scene, of course): She hated it.
Thanks Catia!
Well here is the whole passage. Maybe I should just take out “is what I thought. End the sentence with child abuse?
Before ending our call, it was decided that Josh wouldn’t be going over to her mom and stepdad’s house, unless Emmy was there. And Emmy was going to try to find a neighborhood high school kid to watch Josh after school, instead of her mom.
Placing the phone on the couch next to me, I sat in stunned silence, and tried to process the story I just heard. Eventually, I ambled out to the fire escape, leaned over the railing, and looked down at the cop cars with their flashing lights. The cops were cuffing that skinny kid I saw cowering behind the green dumpster earlier. He looked no more than twenty, possibly a drug addict, probably suffered some sort of childhood abuse is what I thought.
Thanks Catia!
Well here is the whole passage. Maybe I should just take out “is what I thought. End the sentence with child abuse?
Yes, I think it reads better without the “is what I thought” part!
Thank you Catia!!! Deleted.:)
Hi, I am wondering if “blanketing” is right or if I should use “that blankets” or “that blanketed” for the sentence below and also “living with fear became.” Should it be “has become”? And lastly “encountering roadblocks— and you never knew..” Should it be encountering roadblocks where you never knew…” Thanks you so much in advance if you can help. Mary
I felt trapped—like I was suffocating—not just from the exhaust cars and buses spewed below my balcony as they sped by, but the weight of the never-ending civil war. A weight that felt like the early morning fog blanketing the beach cities near Los Angeles with a fog so dense you can’t see the cars in front of you. Afraid I might descend into a scratch-the-yellow-wallpaper-off-the-wall episode, I said yes to Pablo’s invitation to his family’s finca, before asking if it was safe to travel to the region. It was the first long weekend of the school year.
Since my move to Bogotá two months ago, living with fear became a part of my daily life—like I was playing some sick game of Russian Roulette. Bombs went off around me rattling the walls of my apartment, sinister undertones of kidnappings lurking around any corner had me in a state of hypervigilance most of the time. Road trips through the countryside were ripe with the danger of encountering roadblocks—and you never knew if the men in military fatigues were the guerillas or the paramilitaries.
“Blanketing” is correct for that sentence. (You could also use “that blanketed,” too.) Although, “fog” is used twice in that sentence, so I would reword to avoid that. Something like this: “A weight that felt like the early morning fog blanketing the beach cities near Los Angeles so densely, you can’t see the cars in front of you.”
For the second question, I would write “living with fear had become” because it’s a feeling she started to feel in the past and is still feeling (and “had” is the past tense form of “has”).
You didn’t ask about this, but there is a comma splice in the next sentence. It can be adjusted slightly to fix that: “Bombs went off around me, rattling the walls of my apartment, and sinister undertones of kidnappings lurking around any corner had me in a state of hypervigilance most of the time.”
For the last question, either way works, but I do like the abruptness of the em dash since the next part of the sentence is surprising.
Catia,
Thank you so much!!! Oh and “lurking.” I just added that yesterday. I think it just makes it better. I always have a problem with tense. I went to college, but I just seem to slip back and forth for some reason. And lastly, do you do proofreading and editing as a freelancer? And how much do you charge.:) Mary
I do like the “lurking”! No worries; let me know if you have other questions!
I do edit and proofread for a few current clients, but Book Cave is keeping me so busy, I’m not able to take on any new projects right now. Thank you for the flattering question though! 🙂
I have a question. In my short story I am writing, the protagonist is a writer who is suffering from writers’ block and had taken a break from the series which he had written. But when I am telling the story in past tense he is still taking a break from the aforementioned series. So, is it correct to say,
“His whole life was intertwined with a fiction character from whom he had taken a break.”
or
“His whole life was intertwined with a fictional character from whom he has taken a break.” (keep in mind that none of the given excerpts are dialogues)
Also, even if my protagonist is still alive when I am telling the story, is it okay to use past tense for sentences like these: “He was suffering from writers’ block” (when I am telling the story in 3rd person perspective, he still is suffering from writers’ block.)
It would be “His whole life was intertwined with a fiction character from whom he had taken a break.” “Had” is correct because it is the past tense of “has.”
Yep, “He was suffering from writers’ block” would be correct.
Thank you for clearing that. 🙂
It seems that when writing in the past tense, there are times when you’ll use the present tense. When it comes to an enduring fact, wouldn’t you use the present tense? For instance, “The Statue of Liberty is in New York.” This sounds more natural than using “was.” How about an enduring fact about a character? “I’m a good listener.” Can you use the present tense or must you use the past tense? “I was a good listener.”
If the rest of your novel is in past tense, then these kind of phrases would still be in past tense, unless they are being said aloud in dialogue or are being thought by a character (usually shown with italics).
When I’m writing in past tense is the following sentence consistent?
“He hadn’t heard from Reshod since yesterday morning.”
The word “yesterday” is bothersome since it seems to assume a present tense.
Thank you for your response.
Yes, that sentence is correct, even with the word “yesterday.”
Hi, English is not my first language so I am quite confused. I can’t explain my question better, but is this sentence okay “May God bestow me His mercy for whatever sinister words my mind was about to declare”?
I feel like my grammar is somehow incorrect but I can’t point it out exactly. Thanks if you’ll answer. ((:
Yes, it is correctly in past tense.
How do you recommend formatting character thoughts? I’ve seen it done in different ways.
She has beautiful eyes. (in italics)
I thought, she has beautiful eyes. (no italics)
Is it okay to use both of these formats in a novel or must one remain consistent?
If you’re directly writing a character’s thoughts, I recommend using italics, since it clearly shows that the sentence is in the character’s head. But you could also do it without italics as long as you make sure it’s clear it’s a thought (like by including an “I thought” tag). Consistency is the most important thing.
Of course, too much direct thoughts or italics can become jarring to the reader. If you are writing in that character’s point of view, you can instead just tell the reader what the character is thinking, without formatting it as a direct thought.
Some examples:
Direct thought:
She glared at me. She has beautiful eyes, I thought, distracted momentarily from the argument.
POV Indirect thought:
She glared at me, and I/he was momentarily distracted from the argument by her beautiful eyes.
Or
She glared at me, and for a moment all I/he could think of was how beautiful her eyes were.
In my opinion, most thoughts should actually be written in this indirect thought format, which is much less distracting to the reader than the tense change that comes with direct thoughts.
Thanks, very helpful.
I’m writing a novel in First Person, past tense. However, the narrator/protagonist has experiences where he gets lost in fantasy and I’ve written those sections (they’re only a few) in the present tense to increase the immediacy. Do I risk confusing/jarring the reader by doing that? I don’t want to italicize those sections because that would detract from the effect I’m looking for.
Without some way to delineate those sections, it’s going to definitely confuse your readers. This sort of thing is usually done with italics, but if you don’t want to use those, you could use a different font, or put the sections in their own chapter (with a subtitle that helps the reader recognize that the chapter is different).
Thanks. I’ll rewrite them in the past tense.
Hi Catia.
Hopefully you get this as I’ve read through some other comments and you give good advice.
My query is this: I am currently working on my second novel. I fell into the switching tense trap during my first and begrudged going through it to change it so it read in the past tense although I’m happy with it now. I have continued writing my second novel in the past tense and I am comfortable with it. However, in the prologue I describe an event that is happening and feel it would lend itself more to the present tense for suspense if nothing else. Is this ok to do but continue to write the rest of the novel in the past tense? I’m seeing that you shouldn’t swap between the two but also read there is a term called breaking the forth wall but I’m not sure what that exactly refers to. I’d appreciate any help you could offer me. Thanks.
Simon,
You can definitely use present tense in the prologue and past tense in the rest of the book.
“Breaking the fourth wall” refers to when a character in the book acknowledges that they are a fictional character or when a character talks to the audience (the reader) directly.
Thanks!
Thank you. I appreciate that. I have been back and forth with the prologue to see how it reads and I think I’ll go with the present as it reads so much better.
So, I’m writing about a place (in the past tense). And I don’t know if I should use ”stood” or ”stand”. Because the buildings always have been and will be there, writing ”stood” feels wrong.
I just wanna ask that how to begin the novel like a person is narrating a story which is in past to another person in the book in present. I mean like there is a constant switch between past and the present so am just confuse with beginning as how I start and what all things I need to remember while switching between past and present when I need to? Can you like help with it and give me some tips regarding that too?
You could start in present tense, with the person in the present who is narrating the story. Maybe write the situation leading up to the person telling the story. Then when the story telling actually begins, start a new chapter and write in past tense. Separating the present tense and past tense narratives with chapter breaks will help you and readers keep track of what is going on.
I’m confused about what I should do if I’m writing in past tense in my novel but want to use this sentence in the narration: “I don’t think any of us knew what we were waiting for.” I just don’t know how I could change that to past tense. Is it okay to use “don’t” in this situation?
Also, is it okay to use the word “now” when someone does something during the story (Ex. She wasn’t moving before, but she was moving now)? Thanks!
In a novel written in past tense, this sentence should be, “I didn’t think any of us knew what we were waiting for.”
It’s okay to use the word “now” when you’re writing in past tense. So, “She wasn’t moving before, but she was moving now” is correct.
I’m writing a book into past tense and I’m extremely confused about ‘should’ and ‘ used to’.
I mean if a sentence is like that in present tense-
What should Emily do now? She should have grabbed the key from the man before he locked her inside.
How can I write this in past tense? Please reply me. Can I write should in past tense also like the present tense.
And the next ‘ used to’
If a sentence in present tense-
Emily returns to her house where she used to live with her grandma. Her grandma would play with her in the backyard and her mom would cook food for her. She would spend cheerful days with them.
How can I write this into past tense? I’m very confused about those things.
Technically, “should” is past tense, while “shall” is present tense, but “should” is a modal verb that can show present tense in certain situations. In other words, your first sentence is correctly in past tense: “What should Emily do now? She should have grabbed the key from the man before he locked her inside.”
“Used to” is also already past tense–the meaning of the phrase itself shows past tense (in the past, she lived there, but she doesn’t any more). So the second sentence should be, “Emily returned to her house where she used to live with her grandma. Her grandma would play with her in the backyard and her mom would cook food for her. She would spend cheerful days with them.” (Note that I changed “returns” to “returned.”)
Also, if you were writing your book in present tense, you would still use the words “should” (because it is a modal that can be used that way in present tense) and “used to” (because while the speaker is in the present, she is talking about an event in the past).
For writing in present tense:
What should Emily do now? She should have grabbed the key from the man before he locked her inside. (This is all still in past tense because she is thinking about an event in the past.)
Emily returns to her house where she used to live with her grandma. Her grandma would play with her in the backyard and her mom would cook food for her. She would spend cheerful days with them. (Again, all the verbs except that first verb are still in past tense because she is recalling an event that happened in the past.)
Hope this helps!
Thanks for your reply.
“Exactly 25km from Vinona is/was an urban area called Sunningdale. ”
I’m writing my book in past tense (he was having a hard time figuring out the equation) but i feel like using “is” in that first case sounds better should I describe using past or present tense.
I know it seems strange, but it would still be in past tense:
Exactly 25km from Vinona was an urban area called Sunningdale.
What about reported speech in past tense narration or conditionals? How to signal First Conditional in past tense narration? What about things that should be in Present Perfect? I need to switch to Past Perfect?
It would all be in past tense for regular text (narration). If someone is talking (dialogue), then it would be present tense.
An event that happened in the past:
Narration: She’d said she hated ice cream.
Dialogue: I shrugged. “She said she hates ice cream.”
A general observation (this person has said they hate ice cream multiple times)
Narration: She always said she hated ice cream.
Dialogue: I shrugged. “She says she hates ice cream.”
For conditional:
Narration: If it rained, I would close the window.
Dialogue: “If it rains, I will close the window,” she said.
Perfect tense (should be past perfect in narration):
Narration: I knew we had talked before, but I couldn’t place him.
Dialogue: “I know we have talked before, but I can’t place you,” I told him.
Hi, I’m writing a book in the past tense. However, I feel that my characters’ regular habits and description should be in the present simple.
I’d be grateful for your opinion.
Many thanks
Likely, their habits and description should still be in the past tense. Can you give an example that we can look closer at?
Many thanks for your reply.
Here is an example:
She’s a real live wire, bubbly, a motor mouth. I’m the opposite. I enjoy my own company. I take life as it comes.
Thanks in anticipation
In a novel written in past tense, these should still be written in past tense:
She was a real live wire, bubbly, a motor mouth. I was the opposite. I enjoyed my own company.
I took life as it came.
Hi,
Many thanks for your help
Much appreciated
Great tips. I am currently writing my first fictional novel entirely in past tense and was struggling. Finding this gave me confidence to prevail.
Great! I’m so glad!
I’m writing a novel in past tense, and i wanted to know if this sentence is correct “i rubbed the sleep from my eyes while looking at my alarm clock”
Yes, this is correct!
Is it oky to write “had been”?
Example: He had been cutting limbs from fallen trees when a branch swung back and knocked the chainsaw from his hand.
Yep, “had” is the past tense conjugation of “has,” so your sentence is correct for past tense.
Hi, greetings… could I ask about the combination use of ‘would’ and ‘have’ in book writing… does the ‘have’ after ‘would’ should be changed to ‘had’ too, every time…?
thank you in advance ^^,
No, when “have” is paired with another verb, like “would” or “should” or “could,” the first verb takes the tense and is conjugated, while “have” doesn’t change.
So past tense would be “would have.” (But, if there is a second “have,” it would be changed to “had.” So, “She would have had to buy bread.” This is an obviously an awkward construction, though, and “She would have needed to buy bread.” would be better.)
An example of “had” as past perfect tense would be “They had eaten all the ice cream.”
Got it! Thank you…
I have another line to ask if it’s not too much trouble… Which one is correct in book writing:
‘he was doing what he does best,’ or
‘he was doing what he did best’?
I’m actually struggling with the 3rd person angle in the whole grammars’ rules … I had read that both the present tense & past tense writing are fine, but I still got mixed up which rules/ angles will correctly applied… Thank you so much for your guidance
If you’re writing a novel is past tense, then “he was doing what he did best” is correct. If you’re writing a novel in present tense and you are talking about a past event, or if this sentence appears in dialogue (even in a novel written in past tense) and the person is talking about a past event, then “he was doing what he does best” is correct.
that is nice, if you don’t mind can i send my book for editing?
Hello I am attempting to write a novel and i have done 2 parts to the story the first in the present and the second in the past. The present is about the daughter finding out about her mother’s past and the second part about her. mother’s life. I just don’t know how to entwine the story. Would you do part 1 and part 2 of the book or would you alternate by chapter? Would really appreciate any advice. Many thanks
I usually see these done with alternating chapters (with a heading indicating what year it is). A good example you can check out is The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. Good luck with your novel!
I’m writing a novel in past tense. Which is better to remain in proper tense?
(1) Upon entering the small lounge that served as…
(2) Upon entering the small lounge serving as…
I’ve been going with #1 throughout, but during self-editing to delete unnecessary “thats”, I stumble across hundreds of these.
Thanks for the great info. I really do need to understand tenses better at the mo. Trying to get my first book together. Non-fiction Personal experience book.
Hi Catia
I’m trying to write some children’s books and keep coming up against a tense issue.
The following is an example:
“Tilly, please stop jumping on the furniture,” shouted Mum over the racket Tilly was making as she jumped from one couch to another.
“But I have to escape from the pirates”, Tilly shouted back and leapt from the couch onto a small rug, “by getting to the island without falling into the sea and being eaten by sharks.”
Could I replace:
Tilly shouted back and lept from the couch onto a small rug,
with :
Tilly shouted back, leaping from the couch onto a small rug,
Or have I mixed up the tenses as ‘leaping’ is in the current where the story uses the past tense.
Thanks for any advice
Garry
Using ‘ing’ doesn’t change the tense of your writing. A character can be doing something while they talk. Putting a comma after the ‘said’ ‘shouted’ etc signifies both things are happening at once. ‘ing’ suffixes don’t change the tense to present tense when used for the second action in a sentence.
Example: “Daniel! Keep to the plan!” Arthur hollered, defending himself from the raider onslaught.
I could have put ‘as he defended himself from the raider onslaught’ but that’s slowing down an action scene.
Your writing and mine are action scenes with differing paces. If you want yours to have a more urgent or intense feeling for the reader the ‘leaping’ replacement is good. Personally, the replacement flows better for me.
Using ‘ing’ isn’t a tense mix up.
Thanks for clearing that issue, I’m new to writing and this point has been annoying me.
I too think sleeping is a good replacement.
Once again thanks for your time.
Ahmm
Making that leaping not sleeping.