Tales of the Parodyverse >> View Post
Post By
HH

In Reply To
Spaztic Chyld

Location: USA
Member Since: Tue May 18, 2004
Posts: 44
Subj: Re: The problem with Tenses
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 at 09:28:54 am EDT (Viewed 3 times)
Reply Subj: The problem with Tenses
Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 at 12:18:38 pm EDT (Viewed 627 times)



    Quote:

    When you're writing, do you find it hard to stay in the same tense? I write past tense, but I always mix it with present tense. How do you avoid switching between tenses?



    Quote:
    It's driving me mad, and I'm looking for some advice from my fellow Parodyversers.



    Quote:
    Please take this seriously.



I'd suggest that on the first draft you don't stress about it. Concentrate on getting the story out. Go back and weed out the tense issues after.

Then try reading the stuff out loud. Tense changes are easier to spot when you're speaking than reading; I have no idea why.

I'm told some grammar checkers spot this stuff too, but I'm not sure which.

If all else fails, do a final edit using a Search for present tense keywords like "goes", "says", and "thinks".

That's the best I can offer.