After author JH Mae commented on my post “Critique Groups for Self Editing,” I asked her to share her thoughts about Scribophile, the online critique group she uses. JH was gracious enough to not only write a great guest post, but she also arranged for a special giveaway from its founder, Alex Cabal. Without further ado, here’s JH: Continue reading “Online Critique Karma: Scribophile”
Tag: fiction writing
Present Tense: Breathlessly Waiting to Read About What’s Already Happened
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.”
Do you find present tense engaging or off-putting? #writers #authors #writing Share on XSo 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:
Continue reading “Present Tense: Breathlessly Waiting to Read About What’s Already Happened”