POV and Me: The dangers of a tense situation
Hello Lovelies,
I hope you’re all doing well today. How am I you ask? I’m torn between smashing my face into a brick wall and writing a post for Medium. I think you can figure out which one. Please do not believe that writing a post makes me want to hurt myself, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, writing this post will stop me from doing permanent damage, and may help you in the long run.
I typically tell people to never edit their work while they’re in the middle of writing the rough draft of their masterpiece. I live by this method of writing because editing while in the midst of writing will drive you insane. You’ll be hypercritical and prone to urges to self-harm. This is why we try to walk away before we begin the revision process. We need to be less emotionally attached to each word so we can cut and chop the detritus and make our words shine. Do you agree? You do? Good. Now would you like to know a secret? We’re all blithering idiots. Okay, maybe that was a bit too harsh. You’re not a blithering idiot…I am though.
I’m deep in the revision process on one of my novels. I love the way my characters have grown, the changes occurring around them, and even the trials they’re facing. Well, I did until about fifteen minutes ago. Picture this, I’m sitting at my computer reading my precious baby making detailed notes on changes needing to be made when I realize something is wrong. Not just a little wrong. We’re not talking a typo or an addiction to commas. We’re talking serious issues. An issue so huge (and embarrassing) that I’m risking humiliation on an epic scale just mentioning it.You see, I have a tense situation.
In several writing communities, the wisest sages advocate all newbies to first person present tense in their writing. I write some of my work in past tense, but for my series, it’s all first person present tense. Now some will argue the characters are not complex or fully developed in FPP, I personally disagree at least for my series. They might tell you it’s an overused technique and is often used by younger writers, this may also be accurate you’ll have to judge for yourself. Here’s an excellent article on the subject of FPP in novel writing. Yet, I still do it every time I set down to write the story of my character, Siobhan.
I made a choice to write the story from Siobhan’s perspective and voice, in the present tense because if felt right. It was not a choice I made because it is easier, because I’m inexperienced, or because I didn’t know any better. I chose it because I wanted the reader to feel as if they were working with Siobhan. I wanted their hearts to beat as one, for both the character and the reader to be so immersed in the urgency of Siobhan’s life and her choices the air around them hums with excitement. Was it the perfect choice? Nope. Would I do it again? After what I discovered today, maybe but probably not.
So there I am with my figurative machete hacking my way through my prose jungle when it hits me. “The next morning I stumbled down the stairs.” Geez, Vicki what were you thinking. A bit too telling versus showing don’t you think? (yes, I talk to myself when writing, editing, cooking, folding laundry…you get the idea.) Wait, there’s something wrong. Is that a past tense verb? It must be a typo. So I correct it and move on. Then I see another, followed by another until I realize there’s a whole chapter written in THE WRONG TENSE! Oh. My. God. I have to seek out each past tense instance and fix it.
Obviously, I get to work and repair the mess. Then I start on the next chapter, and there it is again! I keep reading and discover not one or even two chapters with tense issues. No sir. I have twelve chapters written out of sync with the beginning and the end of my book. I immediately start looking for the nearest available wall of brick to smash my face into while weighted down by unshed tears of humiliation. Oh, why did I have to hang on to my belief that editing while writing is a bad thing? If I’d reread what I wrote rather than moving on, I could have avoided this debacle in its entirety. But no, I had to stick to my guns and believe I was doing the right thing.
Now, do you want to know a secret? Do you swear on the Chicago Manual of Style [16th Edition] not to tell anyone my deep, dark secret? Good. Here goes nothing. I’ve had this same problem to some degree with all three of the novels I’ve written in the series and the prequel. Remember, how I keep saying letting your characters take the lead once in a while leads to magic? I feel this way because I believe it’s our subconscious trying to slap our conscious mind with a figurative two by four. So, what do you think writing in the wrong tense means? I’d your insight, feel free to leave it in the comments below.
I think for now, I’m going to stick to FPP for my series, but I’ll be taking its temperature daily when working on a rough draft. I’ll do a quick scan to make sure no past tense is creeping in where it’s unwarranted and unwanted. Everything else I write will more than likely be in past tense, what POV is anyone’s guess…even mine.
Until next time,
V. L. Cooke
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