Present Tense: Breathlessly Waiting to Read About What’s Already Happened?
Last month I wrote about why I believe writing in the present tense is problematic for many writers. Today’s guest blog is from talented author C. B. Wentworth, who confidently uses the present tense in her writing. I asked her to share her thoughts on the subject, and she graciously agreed to do so. Be sure to visit her blog at http://cbwentworth.wordpress.com/ for some wonderful posts on a variety of subjects.
We all know a period comes at the end of a sentence, but there seems to be some confusion about its placement when quotation marks or parentheses are involved.
I love to start my day by reading other bloggers posts. I usually find at least one gem to post on my Facebook page (check it out—lots of great writer-related stuff there!). Lately, though, I’ve also found the same mistake made across numerous blog posts: the incorrect placement of a period. It’s a simple mistake and one I’m particularly aware of, since I too made it a million times before I got the rules through my thick head!
Simple Rules for Periods with Quotation Marks and Parentheses
Periods and commas precede closing quotation marks, whether double or single. Example: “Mary wore red shoes,” he told us, “because she doesn’t own a pair in black.”
The exception to #1 is when a parenthetical reference follow. Example: “Mary wore red shoes,” Smith wrote. “She doesn’t own a black pair” (13).
When an entire independent sentence is enclosed in parentheses or square brackets, the period belongs inside the closing parenthesis or bracket. Example: Mary wore red shoes. (She doesn’t own a pair in black.)
When text in parentheses or brackets—even a grammatically complete sentence,—is included within another sentence, the period belongs outside. Example: Mary word red shoes (because she doesn’t own a pair in black).
But WAIT! I’ve been speaking of American English . . . what about British English? And what about less “formal” writing, like text messages and blog posts?
What about Texting or in Social Media Use?
According to Slate.com, “Indeed, unless you associate exclusively with editors and prescriptivists, you can find copious examples of the “outside” technique—which readers of Virginia Woolf and The Guardian will recognize as the British style—no further away than your Twitter or Facebook feed.”
Hmmm . . . so is this Slate.com writer saying common usage trumps the rules? I don’t agree; common usage and proper usage aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m as relaxed as the next person when I’m quickly typing a text message, but I’ll continue to correct those outside-the-quotes periods when I’m editing a manuscript.
What about you? Do you care where those pesky periods show up? How do you remember if they go inside or outside other punctuation?
Candace Johnson is a professional freelance editor, proofreader, writer, and writing coach who has worked with traditional publishers, self-published authors, and independent book packagers on nonfiction subjects ranging from memoirs to alternative medical treatments to self-help, and on fiction ranging from romance to paranormal. As an editorial specialist, Candace is passionate about offering her clients the opportunity to take their work to the next level. She believes in maintaining the author’s unique voice while helping them create and polish every sentence to make it the best it can be. Learn more here.
Today is Groundhog Day, the day in the United States when a little groundhog named Phil becomes a media star. Phil emerges to check for his shadow, and millions of Americans find out if they have to suffer six more weeks of winter OR if they will enjoy an early spring. Phil might be the solitary prognosticating groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania today, but as a writer, you are not alone.
courtesy of Banyantreestudio.com
In Phil’s honor, I am unveiling a new bookmark today. It’s filled with descriptive verbs you can use for creating great dialogue, moving descriptions of Phil’s antics, or great sentences in any style or genre you write. Print this out on card stock for a handy reference that’s always at the ready—and another big thank you to artist Ginny Millard at www.banyantreestudio.com for creating it. Please visit Ginny’s website and let her know how much you appreciate having all these fantastic word choices at your fingertips.
And don’t forget to “bookmark” Change It Up Editing and Writing Services for all your editing and writing needs in 2013. Let me help you say it the way you mean it!
As an editor, I’ve made no bones about my preference for past tense in both fiction and memoir writing. And I know I’m not alone. Yet there seems to be a movement toward writing in present tense, and there have been some passionate blogs written about the past versus present debate. In a blog titled “Does (or Did) Tense Matter?” D. Thomas Minton wrote:
“Stories in the present tense feel more urgent and immediate to me—I feel like I’m there with the characters, instead of listening to the story after-the-fact, while sitting in the cozy comfort of a coffee shop. In contrast, the temporal distance that comes with past tense removes this immediacy, but past tense is more conducive to reflection, as if the narrator has had a chance to digest what has happened to him or her prior to telling me.”
So maybe I prefer the reflective aspect of writing? Or perhaps I’m just an old dog who doesn’t want to learn new tricks—the author of The Singularity Sucks blog suggests it’s an age thing:
Twice a day I check Twitter and WordPress for information I think my followers will appreciate, and when I find valuable content, I post links to articles and blogs on my Facebook page. The information on that page is quite different from my blog posts, and if you’re not there, you’re missing some great stuff!
Image courtesy of tungphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
If you’re reading this and you haven’t already “liked” my Facebook page, please do so now–I know you’ll find valuable content there, and I try not to duplicate what you’ll find on my blog. Thanks for the follow! And please tell your friends! 🙂 Click here to join today–you’ll be glad you did! —Candace
You write for many reasons, but whether writing is your passion, your vocation, or something you are just beginning to do, I’m willing to bet that you write because it makes you happy.
I love my editor!
Think about the way you feel when you know you’ve nailed a page of dialogue . . . or your article is accepted for publication in a national magazine . . . or you’re offered representation from a literary agent.
I recently had to write some copy for the back cover of a client’s book, and I avoided this writing for days. Sound familiar?
As writers we often find ourselves at the mercy of the ideas that one day flow faster than we can type, yet the next day apparently have a strong desire to hide like dust bunnies under the bed—they scatter as soon as we get close to them.
Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
When the latter happens, we find a million and one things to do other than write (I see you nodding!). I’ve noticed many bloggers writing recently about NOT writing—and I totally get it. Whether you dabble at writing as a hobby or you make your living this way, you’ll always have days when you reach The Procrastination Station* and just can’t get going.
(*Thanks to my good friend, Angela Rose, founder of PAVE: Promoting Awareness/Victim Empowerment for the use of this phrase. Learn more about Angela and PAVE here.)
From Friday, January 11 through Sunday, January 13, you have a chance to download a free Kindle version of What’s Your Book?, an aspiring author’s guide to completing the dream to become a published author. This comprehensive guide gives you the best info from innovative publishing professional Brooke Warner, who is one of my personal heroes in the publishing world; learn more about her here.
In five chapters, What’s Your Book? will help you discover how to:
embrace the art of becoming an author;
get over common hurdles that prevent you from finishing your book;
From Candace: Here is some great advice about writing from fellow blogger Oliver at Literature and Libation. I hope you’ll check out some of his other posts–you’ll be glad you did!
Candace Johnson is a professional freelance editor, proofreader, writer, and writing coach who has worked with traditional publishers, self-published authors, and independent book packagers on nonfiction subjects ranging from memoirs to alternative medical treatments to self-help, and on fiction ranging from romance to paranormal. As an editorial specialist, Candace is passionate about offering her clients the opportunity to take their work to the next level. She believes in maintaining the author’s unique voice while helping them create and polish every sentence to make it the best it can be. Learn more 
