: Re: Are there any rules to follow about the narrator mixing past and present tense in writing? I'm editing a short story that's been written in the past tense, however at some points I slip up

@Karen856

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Using present tense for some parts of a story and not for others can be very effective - especially if the narrator is writing in a style that tells a story and adds asides reflecting the narrator's views as they tell it. For example :

John walked down the road and went into the newsagent's shop. He asked
for a copy of the "Daily Mail" and made a face as Nasir, the
newsagent, handed it to him. That's John all over. He hates the word
"xenophobic", but mainly because it's Greek.

Since you haven't jumped immediately to the idea that something like this is going on it's either not, or it hasn't been done effectively.

If you have the chance to ask the author why they chose present tense for some parts and not others, this would be worth doing. Editing to correct an error in the tense is very different from editing to bring out a style.

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