Mar
7th
2018
A change of tense · 3:34am Mar 7th, 2018
If you've been reading my fics, you've probably noticed that all of them are in present tense; "You do this, hug the pony, she hugs you and laughs" etc.
However, I also noticed the past tense is not only valid, but a preferred way of writing for most fics that aren't second-person; "You did this, hugged the pony, she hugged you and laughed" etc.
Would you guys prefer me to stick to my current present-tense method or writing? Or would you say shifting to past-tense would be an improvement?
I personally prefer present-tense, but I wont be put off if you use past-tense.
Consistency is what's important.
Personally, I prefer third person.
It really depends on the experience you would like your audience to go through while reading your stories. For example, I enjoy stories like Poison of Passion, More Than Buddies, and Desire and Deep Water because it puts me as the reader in the scenarios and mental states of the reader insert in real time as they progress throughout the story.
However in stories like Spreading Your Wings, Fabulosity in Fact, or Her Whole Darn Heart this can impede immersion somewhat seeing as these perspective characters seem to have more specified backgrounds and personalities that will guide their decisions and reactions throughout the story, and will not necessarily be how "you" as the reader will react.
So if you are considering switching tenses, maybe think about implementing a third person past tense when crafting more developed, individualised character types while using second person present tense for more reader insert class characters, whom the audience will be able to easily immerse themselves with and follow along with both their decisions they make and the experiences they go through.
But these are just my thoughts and you as the author should write as you see fit and what you are comfortable with.
So keep up the good work and thanks for reading!
Unless it's one of those 2nd person stories I strongly prefer past tense and immediately dislike a story (in my head, not as in down-voting) when I realize it's using present. I'm not sure why, but it just feels shoddy and wrong.