Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

OneWriter · Jan 25, 2011

In my native language you use yesterday, today and tomorrow when you are talking NOW. In novels, because they are mostly in the past, you see things like:

"She resolved to finish the report the next day."

But, I've seen numerous times used instead:

"She resolved to finish the report tomorrow."

Another example:

"She did it yesterday," whereas in my native (written) language it would have been: "She did it the day before."

Are they both correct? Isn't it colloquial/informal to use yesterday/today/tomorrow in a novel?

To me, when I read the word "tomorrow" I think of "my" tomorrow, which is obviously different from the book character's tomorrow, but then again, maybe it's just my language that's different...

(BTW: languages are not just structures; languages do mold the way one thinks...)

maestrowork · Jan 25, 2011

In dialogue, it's yesterday, today, tomorrow.

In narrative, it depends. If it's informal, you can use yesterday, etc. when you're writing in past tense. But usually, you should use "the day before" or "the day after" or "that day."

"Now," however, is permissible, as in "he wanted to go home now." Though you can also write "he wanted to go home that very moment."

OneWriter · Jan 25, 2011

Ha! Thank you! I have a native beta-reader (not AWer!) correct me all the time. That's funny...

OneWriter · Jan 27, 2011

Hold on, maybe she's right... What if the book is narrated in 1st POV? Then one uses yesterday, today and tomorrow instead of the day before, that day and the day after??

Thanks. Sorry, still very much confused...

Rowan · Jan 27, 2011

OneWriter said:
Hold on, maybe she's right... What if the book is narrated in 1st POV? Then one uses yesterday, today and tomorrow instead of the day before, that day and the day after??

Thanks. Sorry, still very much confused...

In first POV, you'd say something like (forgive my lame examples):

"I knew I'd see OneWriter tomorrow."
"I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. I made a fool of myself in front of OneWriter."
"Tomorrow is another day. OneWriter will forgive me."

I see a lot of writers actually list the day, as in "Mondays suck." or "I woke up late on Saturday morning."
Another example: "I last saw OneWriter the day before yesterday." But a lot of people will say, "I last saw OneWriter on Friday." You have some flexibility.

OneWriter · Jan 27, 2011

Thanks! But then they would be both correct, it's just a matter of how formal you wanna be, right?

Dawnstorm · Jan 27, 2011

It's not about formality, but point of view. The more you anchor your point of view in the story rather than in the context of telling, the more you'll want to use words like "today" instead of "the next day". Basically, when you say "today", you're lost in the story, but when you say "the next day", you're leaning back in your armchair and telling it.

This goes for all "indexical words", words that derive their precise meaning from context, time (today, tomorrow, yesterday, now...) and place (here, inside...). Generally, the point of reference for those words is the context of the speaker, but in narrative the frame of reference can shift to the context of the story.

maestrowork · Jan 27, 2011

Even in first person, if it's retelling a past story, I wouldn't use "tomorrow" etc. It sounds weird, unless it REALLY is yesterday or today or tomorrow:

"I found the dog yesterday, and today I took it to the shelter." -- that sounds fine as long as it is yesterday and today.

"Last week, I went to the park. And I forgot I had left my wallet at her place yesterday. I would have to get it back tomorrow." -- this sounds WRONG. Clearly everything happened some time back in the past. The correct usage should be:

"Last week, I went to the park. And I forgot I had left my wallet at her place the day before. I would have to get it back the day after."

OneWriter · Jan 27, 2011

I agree. It sounds weird to me too. To my beta, though, it sounds weird when I use "the day before". I wonder if it's just one of those things for which you can go with your guts and they are both correct, or if there is a hard-boiled rule that dictates one's "more correct" than the other.

Maybe I'm thinking too much about this...

FennelGiraffe · Jan 27, 2011

I wouldn't call it formality either. It's partly narrative distance, I think. It's more likely to work in a close POV than a distant one. But it also has to do with the temporal perspective of the narration. Not just past tense vs. present tense, but whether the story is being told in retrospective or as if it's unfolding now.

So the answer is, it depends.

maestrowork · Jan 28, 2011

OneWriter said:
I agree. It sounds weird to me too. To my beta, though, it sounds weird when I use "the day before". I wonder if it's just one of those things for which you can go with your guts and they are both correct, or if there is a hard-boiled rule that dictates one's "more correct" than the other.

Maybe I'm thinking too much about this...

Your betas are wrong, and it's known to happen....

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

OneWriter

Ubi dubium ibi libertas

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

OneWriter

Ubi dubium ibi libertas

OneWriter

Ubi dubium ibi libertas

Rowan

OneWriter

Ubi dubium ibi libertas

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

OneWriter

Ubi dubium ibi libertas

FennelGiraffe

It's green they say

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray