Present Tense and Writing Style
- siusantos
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Re: Present Tense and Writing Style
- Aubrey Lewis
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AlexisLib wrote: ↑05 Mar 2020, 16:32 What did you think about the use of the present tense? I know people who won't read books written in the present tense because they just don't like it, they find it jarring. I sometimes find it jarring but have also gotten used to it, having read books written that way a number of times. I actually found this to add to the uncomfortableness of reading the book in the beginning; it kind of poked at me as I experienced what Adam was doing, then I got mostly used to it.
The author also sometimes mixes the present tense with past tense, even in the same sentence. I am a writer and have been in many critique groups and this mixing of tense would be considered a big no no. So I wondered as I read it whether this was intentional or not. It made me wonder (along with some other phrases) if English wasn't the author's first language. Was it intentional and poetic, or sloppy writing?
Excessive use of present tense can be counterproductive and alienate the reader instead of bringing him into the narrative. Code Name: Dodger, Operation Rubber Soul, by Eric Auxier is a fine example of first person narrative and use of verbs in different forms of present and past. Opaque seems fairly ok regarding this element.
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Thanks for the recommendation, I'll take a look at it.tjportugal wrote: ↑09 Apr 2020, 08:54 Excessive use of present tense can be counterproductive and alienate the reader instead of bringing him into the narrative. Code Name: Dodger, Operation Rubber Soul, by Eric Auxier is a fine example of first person narrative and use of verbs in different forms of present and past. Opaque seems fairly ok regarding this element.
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My thoughts too. As long as the narration still flows normal, I'm cool with it.LinaMueller wrote: ↑10 Mar 2020, 13:01 It depend on the book and the author. I'm not narrow minded in this respect.
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