Hi all,
,
What are your opinions on this? I have written my children novel in present tense and have received feedback, is better to write in past tense. There will be so much work to change it to past tense. Does it really matter?
Any comments are very much appreciated.
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Melinda
Hi all,
Excellent feedback, very much appreciated. Looks like I have plenty more work to do.
Congratulations Victoria! So happy for you, Bravo!
I agree that it's easier (and more natural) to use the present tense when you're writing in the 1st person, too. Then you imagine that it's all happening to you NOW and it slips right out.
BTW, Melinda, I've read your piece and there ARE difficulties because you shift from present to past and back again. (Not a mistake in itself, because you're talking about the present, then a little about the past, then return to the present... but it's caused you to make mistakes. That's why Callisto and Victoria advise that writing in the past is tricky.) I hope that my comments help.
I mostly write in past and find present difficult, but I did use it for one novel. I found changing scenes more difficult because you are right there with them and it's hard to just be somewhere else in the present. I also wrote that story in first when I normally write in third person so it read very differently to the rest of my work, but I like it for that reason. I think it's a good idea to experiment with different points of view and tenses to find out what works best for you and your stories. Sometimes you will find a story demands a different point of view and that certain POV lends itself to a tense.