The whole present tense thing; it really is a preference. I do normally adhere to the personal preference of "past tense, third person limited" line of writing unless it's Tolkien, or Phillip Pullman, when all of a sudden I realize that I'm reading third person omniscient. Which I'd never dare try on my own.
I think that the past tense element is a subtle one, but I really do prefer it. Not sure why, except that it seems cleaner, somehow. That said, I've found that while writing, I've occasionally dropped from past tense to present, as well as the (perhaps more disturbing) going from third person limited to first person singular, for a couple of paragraphs, and wondering who the hell took over my purple pen. Very not cool.
Maybe it's the sense of distance that I appreciate in past tense versus present, or that present tense seems too 'hip' for me, and too exhausting as a reader. I'd much rather read from one character's POV, and it be past tense. That said, I acknowledge that 'head-hopping' isn't grammatically wrong; I just feel that you're abusing your readership if you do so.
Personal preference, as a reader: I'm in X character's headspace. I'll stay in X character's headspace from here on out unless there are typographical ornaments which may or may not herald a change in POV (but warning would be lovely), or it's third person omniscient. Even with that, though, as a fellow writer, I find that I obsess to figure out how the hell you do that. I really want to be in third person limited. I want to be in this person's headspace, and experience the narrative in her/his understanding, and if there needs to be documentary outside of that, fine, that can be put in without relative fuss. And then I want to be back with that one character and her/his relative limitations, precisely because that's how each of us as human beings experiences the world.
That said, it's transcendent to go beyond that, into the mind and heart of alien beings, or life forms, or whatever else.
But if you want to snag me from the get-go, pick third person limited, and stay there. ♥ And not present tense. ;)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regna
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-11 03:25 am (UTC)I think that the past tense element is a subtle one, but I really do prefer it. Not sure why, except that it seems cleaner, somehow. That said, I've found that while writing, I've occasionally dropped from past tense to present, as well as the (perhaps more disturbing) going from third person limited to first person singular, for a couple of paragraphs, and wondering who the hell took over my purple pen. Very not cool.
Maybe it's the sense of distance that I appreciate in past tense versus present, or that present tense seems too 'hip' for me, and too exhausting as a reader. I'd much rather read from one character's POV, and it be past tense. That said, I acknowledge that 'head-hopping' isn't grammatically wrong; I just feel that you're abusing your readership if you do so.
Personal preference, as a reader: I'm in X character's headspace. I'll stay in X character's headspace from here on out unless there are typographical ornaments which may or may not herald a change in POV (but warning would be lovely), or it's third person omniscient. Even with that, though, as a fellow writer, I find that I obsess to figure out how the hell you do that. I really want to be in third person limited. I want to be in this person's headspace, and experience the narrative in her/his understanding, and if there needs to be documentary outside of that, fine, that can be put in without relative fuss. And then I want to be back with that one character and her/his relative limitations, precisely because that's how each of us as human beings experiences the world.
That said, it's transcendent to go beyond that, into the mind and heart of alien beings, or life forms, or whatever else.
But if you want to snag me from the get-go, pick third person limited, and stay there. ♥ And not present tense. ;)