Back in the olden days, storytelling was often limited to a shallow or omnipotent third point of view set in the past tense. Nowadays, authors utilise deeper points of view to submerge readers, and we’ve seen an uptick in stories written in the present tense. And I’m totally here for it.

But as storytelling changes, it can be tricky to pick the right combination of tense and narration for our books. Do we go with the more traditional third POV, simple past tense combination or the trendier first POV, simple present tense? And what happens when we write a flashback?

I adore a deep point of view in the stories I read. Cram me into the narrator’s head and let me live there because that allows me to relate to them so much more. And the more I relate, the more likely I am to fangirl over the story (which translates to sales for the author).

I also prefer deep points of view because they’re more likely to show instead of tell, and that’s always a good thing. Want to learn more? Check out this blog post detailing Three Easy Steps to Deep POV.

Today, though, I want to go back to basics.

As an indie author, I love supporting other indies. There are so many self-pubbed stories out there that I absolutely love. Many indie books are better written and edited with firmer hands than traditionally published books—and this is the hill I’m more than willing to die on. But others, as interesting as the story might be, fall short where the grammar is concerned.

A problem I’ve seen way too frequently lately is when authors deliver flashbacks/reports on past events in the same tense as the main story.

As a reader, this confuses the heck out of me. We realise that we’re being told a story within a story—that part is fine—but it’s often difficult to keep track of when we return to the ‘now’.

Tenses are there to help us communicate better, so why not utilise the grammatical structure that already exists?

So, grab a cuppa, and let’s get to it!

An Overview of Tenses

Novels are typically written in either simple past or simple present, with some continuous or perfect slipping in.

Simple Present Tense

We use this tense to describe an event or events that are happening now. The verb to be will be is instead of was.

We use the root form of verbs:

I love books.

He eats a hamburger.

They laugh at the movie.

The kids play in the arcade.

The dog chases the ball.

Negative statements:

For most negative statements, add the word do/does not (don’t/doesn’t) to the root verb.

I don’t think so.

She doesn’t drink coffee.

They don’t play sports.

For negative statements including the verb to be (am, is, or are), add the word not.

They are not/aren’t coming.

He is not/isn’t tall enough.

I am not sure/I’m not sure.

What about questions?

To ask a question in the simple present tense, we add the word do/does to the root form of the verb.

Do you know the answer?

Does she really think that?

How far do we have to go?

At what time does the show start?

Simple Past Tense

We use this tense to describe an event or events that happened in a time before now. The verb to be will be was instead of is.

Regular verbs will typically gain -ed or -d to the root:

The boy walked to the store.

She kicked the ball.

They danced all night.

We chatted over dinner.

I asked Mom to help me with my math homework.

Irregular verbs can’t be conjugated by adding -ed or -d.

Irregular verbs follow different conjugation rules and must be learned. For example, buy and bought, cut and cut, sing and sang, go and went.

He taught his students.

The girl put on her shoes yesterday.

They went to the market and bought fresh vegetables.

I wrote two thousand words last night.

Negative statements:

Add did not or didn’t to the root form of the verb.

He didn’t feed the cows last night.

I did not break his heart.

The cat didn’t catch the mouse.

What about questions?

For most questions, add the word did to the sentence, paired with the root form of the verb.

Did you wash the dishes?

Are you sure she did?

Why did they go to the game?

Where did he go after school?

But when there is a form of the verb to be in a sentence, we use was or were instead of did.

Was she there last night?

Were they kissing?

Was David angry?

The Right Tense for Past Events in the Story

Revisiting the past can be a powerful tool in our stories. Not only does it allow us to share some of our narrator’s experiences with the reader, thus deepening their character, but it makes the world/characters seem more real. They’ve been around. They’ve lived.

If the story is set in the simple present tense, past events should be told in the simple past tense.

Is becomes was. Verbs gain -ed/-d/or are conjugated to the past tense.

Most people instinctively switch to the simple past tense when telling others what happened to them. We’re in the cafe with our friends now, spilling the tea on what happened yesterday.

If the story is set in the simple past tense, past events should be told in the past perfect tense.

Was becomes had been. We add the word had to verbs in the past participle.

We were in the cafe with our friends yesterday, spilling the tea on what happened the day before. Sharing past events with the reader in the past perfect tense will look like:

She had been young then, perhaps only ten.

He had spoken to his councillor.

Their father had punished them for breaking the window.

I hadn’t heard the news yet.

If you don’t want to shift tenses when writing flashbacks, use asterisks to indicate a shift in time.

This way, readers will know when they are in a story.

What’s your favourite writing tense? I used to be all about the third POV, past tense, but I’m currently working on a project in first POV, present, and I’m in love. I guess all these years I’ve spent blogging are paying off because writing in the present tense is so much more natural to me. I feel like I don’t even have to think about the writing, it just kind of happens.

Until next time.

Yolandie