I know I’ve talked about tenses before. I’ve said lots about how much I love present tense, and why you should give it a chance. But today, I’m taking a different track. I’m talking about how past tense might actually be trying to kill me. This seems excessive, I know. “Past tense is a construct… Continue reading Me, Dying in Past Tense
Most of writing is pretty subjective. What styles we use, adjectives we choose, the rhythms and phrasing—they all depend on the author’s voice. That said, there are a few things we can all agree are pretty awful no matter who writes them. Not with characterization or plotting or world-building, but with the building blocks we all use:… Continue reading The Ten Commandments of Writing
Think of a book, your favorite book. Quick, what tense is it written in? Past or present? You probably had to think for a moment. Nothing wrong with that. Any book that’s written well will be remembered for its content, not its perspective. Nevertheless, persist. What was it written in? Now what was the perspective,… Continue reading Am I Making You Tense? In Defense of First-Present
You wrote a book! It’s done! Huzzah, huzzah, well done you! Are you done? No: first you must edit. But what the heck does that mean? A year ago, I was in the same boat as you. I read online that I should edit my work, so I did. As in, I read it aloud,… Continue reading The Heck Is “Editing?”
