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Topic : Re: I find it tough to write my fictional stories in anything other than past tense, why is this? I would like to venture out into present tense, but it is so hard for me to do. How can I - selfpublishingguru.com

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Because past tense is the "natural" tense for stories. You're retelling events that happened, be they real or fictional. On the other hand, present tense has a sense of immediacy. Telling events as they're happening is something that only very recently has become possible (motion pictures, live news reports/livestreaming, Twitter, etc...).

A middle ground between past tense and present tense is the historical present. You're talking about past events in the present tense, which makes the narration more immersive. Try doing this: picture the story in your head as you normally would in the past tense, but then, when it comes to writing, pretend you're a historian, and write it in present tense.

Alternatively, as JRosebrookMaye, pretend you're a screenwriter. Rodriguez (a director) said that you should be able to picture the movie in your head (action, camera movement, composition, blocking, dialogue, lighting, sound...), cut by cut, before you even pick up the camera. As such, picture the story in your head, and as it materializes before your eyes, write it on the page in present tense. It should feel natural to use it since that story is happening right in front of you, at that very moment.


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