Tense problem

[0919105406]

What kind of tense I should use while using first person point of view?
Present tense or past tense?

 

[MrTiemos]

Personally I’d say present tense

personally

 

[Moshi]

Either works. As with most things in writing, the answer is "personal preference". Just be consistent.

With that said, internal monologue (that is, thoughts) should be in present tense (unless of course the protagonist is thinking about the past).

 

[PrincessFelicie]

Depends. Imho each conveys a different kind of character. As examples, I like to use present tense for characters that are more in-the-moment, use quick on their feet thinking, while past tense is for those that are more methodical, or see themselves as the main character of a story.

 

[binarysoap]

Personally, I prefer past tense, but like the people above me have said, both are fine.

 

[0919105406]

Oh, thank you.

 

[Daitengu]

I prefer it like how a person thinks. If thinking about the past, then past tense, when thinking of the present, then present tense, and the same for future planning. I did X, I'm doing Y, I'll do Z.

 

[Arexio]

Past tense is more common in conventional English storytelling. But up to you.

 

[SillyIslandBum]

Honestly, present tense is hard for me to read. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but it just sounds awkward.

1) “I hear a loud noise, so I run out the door and see a tree fell on my shed.”

2) “I heard a loud noise, so I ran out the door and saw a tree fell on my shed.”

Maybe it’s just me, but #2 is easier to follow. When you write in first person present you’re often forced to write sentences that mix tenses together as you’re describing what is currently happening while also describing something that happened. In comparison, writing in first person past, everything is a description of something that happened, there’s no mixing of tenses.

 

[Daitengu]

1) “I hear a loud noise, so I run out the door and see a tree fell on my shed.”

2) “I heard a loud noise, so I ran out the door and saw a tree fell on my shed.”

I think the problem is how it's written. I'm more in favor of:
"A loud noise?! Running out the door to investigate, I spot a fallen tree on my shed."
or
"Hearing a loud noise, I run out the door to investigate, and see a fallen tree on my shed."

Too many 'I's for present tense. Not may people actually think 'I'. It's mostly an indicator to the reader. Thus the less 'I' you have to put in, the better.

 

[SillyIslandBum]

I think the problem is how it's written. I'm more in favor of:
"A loud noise?! Running out the door to investigate, I spot a fallen tree on my shed."
or
"Hearing a loud noise, I run out the door to investigate, and see a fallen tree on my shed."

Too many 'I's for present tense. Not may people actually think 'I'. It's mostly an indicator to the reader. Thus the less 'I' you have to put in, the better.

Aren’t you still using 2 tenses in your sentence? “I run out the door”, “and see a fallen tree”. In both of your sentences, the character is describing what is currently happening as well as what happened.

Generally, when writing in past tense everything is past tense unless the character describes something they believe will happen in the future. In present tense writing, it’s possible to have 3 tenses in a single sentence, which imo sounds awkward.

 

[Daitengu]

Aren’t you still using 2 tenses in your sentence? “I run out the door”, “and see a fallen tree”. In both of your sentences, the character is describing what is currently happening as well as what happened.

Generally, when writing in past tense everything is past tense unless the character describes something they believe will happen in the future. In present tense writing, it’s possible to have 3 tenses in a single sentence, which imo sounds awkward.

The tree already fell before "I" went out side.

Fallen is a discribtor like broken or dead. That's the tree's present state. Fell is past tense. It fell, and is presently fallen.

My sentences are both perfectly present tense. Three things happen in series, and your mind shifts the tense as you read it.