: Are these examples of tenses? Why do writers use the tenses that they do? I have a passage about a character who has just woken up, and then there's the line The room fell into silence.

I have a passage about a character who has just woken up, and then there's the line

The room fell into silence.

Or should it be

The room falls into silence.

I can't get my head around which it should be. Is it a case of tenses? that the former is past tense and the latter is present? the problem is many novels that I read even if the author is describing something which seems to be happening now they still seem to use something like "The room fell into silence"

Can someone point out what the differences are between them?

I guess it's similar to whether I say something like..

I'm sure that's wrong, Harry thinks.

I'm sure that's wrong, Harry thought.

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@Dunderdale623

Yes, you're about to choose the tense of your story.

See this question about comparison of when and how to use which tense.

In short:

Past tense is the standard, something great most of stories is written in. It feels most natural - this is how you tell stories from your own past after all.

Present tense introduces the sense of immediacy, rapid flow of events, things changing at startling pace. It works well for action scenes, and fast-paced short stories but it wears off rather quickly, as soon as the action winds down, and begins to feel awkward.

There are a few more exceptions but they are pretty marginal comparing to the bulk.

Picking the past tense for your writing is the safe choice. There is no situation when it would be wrong. Present tense can "liven up" your action but it's easy to overdo it. Also, hectic mixing of tenses is the common newbie writer's mistake. Stick to one tense until you've mastered switching tenses smoothly - it's possible but tricky to do in a way that won't be jarring to the reader.

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: Are these examples of tenses? Why do writers use the tenses that they do? I have a passage about a character who has just woken up, and then there's the line The room fell into silence.

More posts by @Phylliss352

: What is an envelope line? We're putting together a physical direct mailer advertising leaflet. I'm embarrassed to ask my colleague who asked me to include this request in addition to my headline.

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: How can you represent music in writing I was wondering if a character was in a nighclub or at a concert. How do you represent the music? It got me thinking that writing is a very non musical

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