Intentional tenses

justrightedit
Nov 8
3 min read

Updated: 7 days ago

I sometimes see manuscripts where the author has drifted between the use of past and present tenses. Sometimes this happens within one sentence in a way that's clearly an error.

But it is possible to use both past and present tense within a story, particularly when there's a strong narrator's voice. Being intentional in your use of tense can help your story feel engaging and well constructed.

I'll start with the basics that I think everyone understands, just to set the scene. You're writing a story that's set in the past.

Simple past

When telling events happening at this time, you'll use the simple past, for example:

The office was warm as Jason walked in. As he took off his jacket, he noticed Gita had her fan blowing.

Further past

Then something might be described that happened further in the past.

Narration about this time might look like:

It had been freezing cold in here the day before. Everyone had had their coats on. What was wrong with the heating in this place?

Present - from the time of narration

Now for the more interesting bits. In this story told in the past tense, what might it look like if the narrator spoke from the time of narration?

This might be a generality that is true all the time, including in the present, for example:

The garden is always beautiful in spring. Everything has so much colour, and even the black crows gain a lustre. On that day, though, Jason kept his eyes on the damp patio tiles.

Another way might be to address the reader directly. This often happens when the story (or part of it) is told in the form of a letter, but not necessarily. An example of this is:

Believe me, I never wanted Jason to come here. You must be able to see how I value my privacy.

It's important, if you're having the narrator speak in the present tense in these ways, that this is a feature of the narration style throughout. I would jar a reader to suddenly find the narrator addressing them directly or giving present-tense generalities several chapters into the book when this hasn't happened before. If the narrator is more 'hidden' and the narrative is consistently in the past tense, it would be best to stick to that and not drop in any exceptions.

Future in the past

If you do give a clear sense of the narrator speaking from a time that is later than the 'now' of the story, that narrator can, if you like, foreshadow events yet to come in the story (but are still in the past from the time of narration).

This is referred too as 'future in the past', and uses 'would', for example:

It would be twelve years before I saw Jason again. On another spring day he would walk into my garden as before, looking just the same.

Direct thoughts

One other consideration for tense in this hypothetical story we're discussing is the treatment of direct thoughts of the viewpoint character in the 'now' of the story.

Direct thoughts are given as the character thinks them, in the first person and in the present tense, but styled in italics, for example:

I hope she offers me some of that tea and a couple of those biscuits, Jason thought. I'm running on empty.

Again, giving direct thoughts is something that should be done consistently, and not be a surprise to a reader when the narration style hasn't included them before.

Summary

As you can see, with so many possibilities for using different tenses within a story told in the past, it's good to consider your style and strategy carefully and apply it consistently, to help the reader engage.

And you'll help your editor know what you've intended, too!