#writersCoffeeClub Apr. 4: Do you switch between past and present tense? How do you make it work?
There are only two reasons to switch tenses:<li>For the sake of dialogue.</li><li>For the sake of flashbacks or flashing before an <i>in media res</i> beginning.</li>
My understanding is tense issues are one of the most common for newer writers and it's because they're putting past tense in dialogue. If you're not already comfortable with tense, but want to write, present tense, while less common, will let you keep it straight more easily.
As for how I make it work, we'll just say dialogue is about hearing the voices of the characters and switching tense for chronological reasons is a flex I've engaged in, but largely unnecessary if you're already writing in past tense.
