My Verb tense sux!

mysterymantis · Sep 9, 2016

OK, so it has been a while since my last real post, so be a little gentle please. (Only a little, I can handle it once the lube has been applied to the proper end).

I've always had trouble managing the verb tense in everything I write. I don't even know I'm doing it until I have a couple thousand words down, and go back to re-read. I can't even imagine what it's like to be on the receiving end of this. Actually I can, because it has always been my biggest criticism. In any case, I need some advice on how to improve on this. I'm willing to put the work in, even if it means doing exercises, or checking out a book or two, or even consulting the gods of grammar (that sounds like a good band name). If there are good post to check out links will be appreciated.

Thanks!
MM

Maryn · Sep 9, 2016

My advice, such as it is, is just common sense. When you finish a paragraph, or a page, or a chapter, reread it slowly, paying attention to the verb tense of every sentence. It's easy to do any necessary fixes in small doses, but doing a long chapter or a whole novel it utterly daunting, right?

This way the flow of you writing isn't interrupted by self-doubt, but you catch and correct right away.

LeftyLucy · Sep 9, 2016

It seems that you are able to recognize inconsistent tense when you see it, so here's what I think: Don't try to fix it in draft. Just write your story all the way through. Your meandering tense may be your narrator figuring out the best way to tell the story. Get all the way through the end of your draft, put the ms away for a little bit, and then read it again. See what happens with tense, and see in what tense your story flows the best. Then make a conscious decision about tense and correct on your first revision.

Quilliam · Sep 9, 2016

LeftyLucy has a point, maybe two.

Marlys · Sep 10, 2016

Grammar and punctuation form the foundation a writer needs to build a story effectively--you've identified a weakness, and that's great, because it means you can fix it. Suggestions:

--Take a class. A friend of mine took a technical writing class at a community college after he got serious about writing, and said it made a huge difference. Check community or other local colleges, continuing ed classes, local writing centers, online classes.

--Go to your local library and head for the 420s. Browse books and workbooks on grammar and usage; take home a stack. Study.

--There are online sites like Purdue OWL that will help you for free, and you don't even have to leave the house. If you want to cut to the chase, their exercises on tense consistency are here. Purdue OWL is one resource--Google will help you find others.

Best of luck!

BethS · Sep 10, 2016

No disrespect intended to anyone who has suggested otherwise, but rather than writing along unthinkingly and then trying to go back and fix it afterwards, I would suggest becoming aware of it as you write, so you can get it right at that moment and not have to fix it later.

This will probably slow you down a bit at first, but it will also help build the habit of being correct immediately. Eventually that will become second nature.

If you have trouble distinguishing between what is and isn't correct, by all means consult some good grammar books or websites. Purdue Owl is one you might try.

Marissa D · Sep 10, 2016

Good advice above (I agree with fixing it as you go along, scene by scene, rather than ignoring it till the end) but would add further that when you re-read, do it out loud. That might help train your "mental ear" for problems as you write.

Sage · Sep 10, 2016

Take a good trade-published book, one you like but don't love. Take a chapter from it and note whether it's in present or past. Transcribe the chapter, and note every time you reach a verb what tense it is in. Think about why the author chose that tense for that verb right there. Most likely that chapter will consist of present tense verbs with a few past if they talk about things that happened before or consist of past tense verbs with a few in the far past (past perfect, which uses "had"). Most non-YA books are written in past tense, so I suspect that's what you will find.

Now that you've transcribed and thought about the tenses the author used, try to convert it to a different tense. If a book written in past tense, convert it to present tense. Again stop at each verb and think about it. If you reach one that's in far past, you have to make sure that you convert it to past, not present.

Once this gets easy for you, work on your own novel. I would suggest editing tenses in the stuff you have already written for a while. Go over it a few times to make sure you're not missing anything. Eventually you'll get to a point where you can easily see that you've fixed everything and at that point you should be able to write it naturally. But still take your time on the first new thing you write. I think it's worth slowing down until it's second nature to you.

Quinn_Inuit · Sep 10, 2016

Sage said:
I think it's worth slowing down until it's second nature to you.

I concur. This is going to be hard, but you _need_ this to be second nature or it's going to hobble your writing for the rest of your life.

CJMockingbird · Sep 10, 2016

I had a similar problem. Over the last year I forced myself to erase passive writing and recognize it. This includes phrases like "He had been" or "He was going"

BethS · Sep 11, 2016

SWalden said:
I had a similar problem. Over the last year I forced myself to erase passive writing and recognize it. This includes phrases like "He had been" or "He was going"

Neither of those are examples of passive voice, if that's what you meant by "passive writing." Just so you know. And in the right context, there's nothing wrong with either of them.

CJMockingbird · Sep 12, 2016

Then I was misinformed. Still, I try to avoid those when possible.

BethS · Sep 12, 2016

SWalden said:
Then I was misinformed. Still, I try to avoid those when possible.

Maybe try looking at it a different way. Each is useful, even needful, in the right context. You don't need to avoid them; just don't use them when they aren't needed.

Myrealana · Sep 12, 2016

I think a lot of people have particular writing quirks that they have a hard time getting past.

Mine is the word "something." I use it all the time. She felt something strange. She saw something unusual. She felt something she had never felt before. ARGH! Enough with the something. Tell me what the thing is or stop talking about it!

For me, the solution is easy. Write it all out, then do a search for that word and fix it.

For verb tense, that isn't going to work, because you can't do a search for every verb, but there are some very good suggestions here on how to address it.

Whatever method you choose, the point is that you recognize the problem, and that's the most important step. You know what you want to work on, now you can attack it in the method that best suits you. And if you try one method and it doesn't work, try ~~something else~~ a different approach.

tammons · Sep 13, 2016

mysterymantis said:
OK, so it has been a while since my last real post, so be a little gentle please. (Only a little, I can handle it once the lube has been applied to the proper end).

I've always had trouble managing the verb tense in everything I write. I don't even know I'm doing it until I have a couple thousand words down, and go back to re-read. I can't even imagine what it's like to be on the receiving end of this. Actually I can, because it has always been my biggest criticism. In any case, I need some advice on how to improve on this. I'm willing to put the work in, even if it means doing exercises, or checking out a book or two, or even consulting the gods of grammar (that sounds like a good band name). If there are good post to check out links will be appreciated.

Thanks!
MM

If you are just starting out like me, my opinion is just to write and get your thoughts down.

I am almost finished with my first novel, after editing it 15 million times. When I first started writing I intended to write in 1st person past tense, but I continually slipped into present tense, over and over. I chalked it up to the way my brain works, which is flip flop. I say just write, and get it out as fast as possible. When you start editing, and editing, and editing, it will probably sink in enough that on the next go around, you will most likely write cleaner more organized proper tense text.

One thing that might help is writing until you get to a natural stopping point which happens to me. Maybe a page or two, then edit that bit of text, but you will most likely end up changing everything anyway in editing.

At least, that's my opinion, but I know next to nothing in actuality.

Chris on Eclipse · Sep 14, 2016

I've been working through some tense issues as well (I'm trying to bounce back and forth between present and past and make it a smooth transition). I agree with the "Just Write It" theory. Then print it and sit with a pen or pencil and correct all the verb tense issues like you were a teacher.
Can't do that either? Get a teacher to do it. Buy a local english teacher lunch or dinner someplace and ask them to Correct your paper - probably only a chapter or two, but it will give you the idea.

Also - make a list of common conjugations and tape it up in your workspace! Or use this website I just found when in doubt... http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-english.html

Good Luck!
Chris

My Verb tense sux!

mysterymantis

Maryn

At Sea

LeftyLucy

Quilliam

Marlys

Resist. Love. Go outside.

BethS

Marissa D

Scribe of the girls in the basement

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Quinn_Inuit

Not a real eskimo

CJMockingbird

BethS

CJMockingbird

BethS

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

tammons

Chris on Eclipse