Storytelling Verb Tenses: Past, Present, and “Literary” Past Tense
Last time, I shared that one of the questions we can ask ourselves to determine when we should italicize our characters’ thoughts was:
- What verb tense do we want to use? Although some authors like to write in present tense, most stories are still written in literary past tense. That means for a direct quote, the verb tense would change to present tense.
My mention of “literary past tense” prompted Anne Kaelber to ask for more information, especially as her Google search didn’t result in easy answers. Surprised that her search didn’t reveal anything, I did several searches as well to try to point her to a good resource. Nothing. Huh.
Alrighty then! Let’s dig into the term. *smile* What does literary past tense mean, and how is it different from normal past tense?
Past Tense: The Default for Storytelling
As writers, we should all be familiar with the basics of verb tenses. The default tense choices for storytelling are:
- The narrative of most stories is written in past tense:
She ignored the knock on the door. In these days of social distancing, she didn’t want to take any chances. - Dialogue (including direct internal dialogue) is written in present tense:
“I need some chocolate to get me through this day. Stat.” - Backstory (events that occurred before the story present) is written in past perfect tense:
She had eaten all the snacks in the house already.
All the Rest: Verb Tenses
The English language actually has 12 tenses, but the three tenses above cover the majority of our writing needs for most stories. For more about the other tenses, check out these charts from this grammar lesson.
The 12 verb tenses and how each are constructed with a Subject Verb Object sentence
How each of the 12 tenses are used and what they’re each meant to explain or indicate
What about the Exceptions to the Default?
As I mentioned above, the “default” tense for storytelling is past tense. We’ve all seen past-tense storytelling our whole life, so it’s the easiest tense for us to use correctly.
In addition, we all use past tense every day as we share our personal stories. Think of how we answer questions like “How was your day?” or “How was the movie?”
Past tense feels normal to us, so it’s easy for us to get it right. Past tense is so normal that it’s “invisible” to readers—not calling attention to itself—so readers focus only on the story. But it’s also not the only tense we can use for our story’s narrative.
Present Tense
Some stories, particularly in certain genres, use present tense for the narrative (and simple past for earlier events like backstory). For example, Hunger Games uses present tense, which many readers said made the story feel more immediate or emotional. Some also think present tense can make a story feel more like a movie.
What choices do we have for the verb tense to use in our stories? Share on XPresent tense tends to work better with deep point of view stories, as the character gives a play-by-play of their experiences. That makes it hard to say how many of those advantages above are actually due to the tense or just a benefit of the deep POV. (So don’t feel pressured to write in present tense if you’re already comfortable in deep POV.)
Also keep in mind that many readers say they dislike present tense, especially as writers often struggle to get present tense right. The bad examples out there make it hard to say how many who claim they don’t like present tense are actually fine if the story uses it so well that they don’t notice its usage. *smile*
However, due to the risk, if we want to write our story in present tense, we should read a lot of present tense stories to see how it’s done and help the tense feel more natural to us. If we find ourselves noticing the use of present tense, we can try to figure out why it stands out.
Did the author use it incorrectly? Do some types of narrative flow better with present tense than others? (For example, narration and time shifts are often tricky in present tense, which works best with action and real-time experiences. The cost of immediacy is that present tense is more limiting.)
What about Other Exceptions?
A few stories, often those of an experimental literary style, use an even more unusual tense: future tense. This choice is so uncommon that I couldn’t even find examples to share, but I know they’re out there somewhere…*cough*…being pretentious.
Also, some styles of storytelling use past tense but tense-shift to present tense for reasons beyond dialogue (or direct internalizations). For example, if we break the fourth wall in our past-tense story to speak directly to the reader, those passages could be in present tense.
To tense-shift in a way that doesn’t just feel like a mistake to readers, however, the shift should occur only with and during a break in narrative style, such as breaking the fourth wall or being in a dream, etc. That break in narrative style provides a transition from one tense to the other—and back again.
Some new writers try to tense-shift during action scenes, thinking it speeds up the pace. (And honestly, we do sometimes verbally make this shift when telling exciting parts of our day. “So I told him to just go back to his car. And then he hits the guy!”)
But in our written stories, these shifts are sloppy, especially as there’s no good way to transition back to past tense at the end. Consistency is key for creating good writing. (An alternative is to instead use tenseless noun phrases to create a sense of action: A quick jump, a fast sprint, a hard punch, and the guy he was chasing went down for the count.)
What Is Literary Past Tense?
All that brings us back to our original question. Literary past tense describes how most of us use past tense in our stories.
That is, most past-tense stories are written as though the events are happening now. Even though we’re using the past tense forms of verbs, within the story itself, events are happening in the present.
Not all past-tense stories are written in literary past tense, however. Some are written in a normal past tense. So let’s do a few comparisons to show the difference…
Normal Past Tense vs. Literary Past Tense
Normal Past Tense
In a normal past tense story, the events have already happened within the story itself. In other words, the story experiences normal past tense just like how we experience our own past.
What is literary past tense and how does it differ from normal past tense? Share on XWhatever POV we use, the narrator already knows how everything turned out. This means that the story could be told by a narrator sharing a story from their past or an omniscient POV could give a preview of events yet to come because the story’s future already exists.
For example, stories told with a framing device might start and end in literary past or present tense while the main story is told in normal past tense. The narrator might even interject with “I didn’t know it yet but…” insights during the story.
Normal past tense adds distance to our storytelling. A normal past tense story is automatically more retrospective, as the narrator already knows what happened, so there’s less suspense and tension.
That’s one reason why “if she’d only known” type of lines don’t usually belong in deep POV stories. Those lines pull readers out of the immediacy from the story, remind them that they are reading a story, and make the POV shallower.
Literary Past Tense
In a literary past tense story, the events have not yet happened within the story itself. The viewpoint character doesn’t know how things are going to turn out, as events are happening for the first time right in front of them (and in front of the reader).
Have you heard of literary past tense? Do you know what it means? Share on XIn other words, even though literary past tense uses the past tense forms of verbs, the narrative unfolds like it’s in the present. There’s no bigger perspective that knows the future, as the story’s future doesn’t exist yet.
Not surprisingly, that means literary past tense stories are filled with more suspense and tension than normal past tense stories. The characters don’t know what’s going to happen any more than the reader does. In addition, the verb choice doesn’t add distance between the story and the audience, as readers experience events right along with the characters.
It’s counter-intuitive that a story written in literary past tense should feel so much like it’s happening in the present to readers, but it does. In fact, a literary past tense story, especially one in deep POV, can often feel more tied to the “here and now” than present tense stories.
(Need examples of what makes normal past tense and literary past tense different? Check out my replies to Pamela’s question and Cynthia-Reyes’s question below. *smile*)
Can Understanding the Difference Help Our Writing?
All of this means that literary past tense stories, especially combined with deep POV, feel immediate to readers. So while some stories are in present tense or normal past tense, there’s a reason the most common tense—the default tense—is literary past tense.
Chances are, we’ve been writing in literary past tense this whole time and had just never heard the term before to describe our approach. So why was it important for us to understand the actual meaning?
The benefit of knowing the term is that now we better understand our choices. We can consciously decide what tense works best for our story, and we’ll know if some techniques we’ve seen others use (such as one of those if she’d only known lines) might not be good for our story. *smile*
Had you heard the term literary past tense before, and if so, did you know what it meant? What are your preferences as a reader for the tense of the story? Does the explanation for literary past tense make sense? Do you understand what makes it different from normal past tense? Can you think of other pros or cons to using any of the tenses?
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Thank you for making that a little clearer to me. When I’m devouring another author’s book(s), I love first-person, deep-POV, present tense. For me, a story told in past tense removes some of the tension — it reassures me the narrator will live through the events about to unfold. (For fun present-tense, first-person, deep-POV, check out Lauren Blakely’s Big Rock, especially if you need a good dose of humor. *grin*)
While I sometimes question whether a project would be stronger in literary past tense, I want the reader to feel they are right there as the action happens. So I tend to use present tense with deep-POV first-person narrator(s). I would love some reader recommendations of romance novels written in literary past-tense, yet still in first-person, deep-POV.
Now back to banging my Emotional Wound Thesaurus against my head, even though I know impact-osmosis isn’t going to work.
Hi Anne,
As I mentioned in the post, unlike normal past tense, literary past tense actually doesn’t have a future yet. So that means stories written in literary past tense can kill off the POV character! 😀
While that would be rare–after all, killing main characters is rare overall–I’ve seen it happen. 😉 There’s just as much opportunity to kill off the POV character with literary past tense as there is with present tense. The end of the story can be told by a survivor, a ghost/spirit of the character, etc.
As for your question, most modern romance novels are 3rd person limited or deep POV in literary past tense. Most don’t use 1st person (although some do!) because the current standard in the genre is to switch POV between the two+ love interest protagonists. While it’s possible to switch between two 1st person POVs, it’s less common.
The YA and/or New Adult genres would probably have more 1st person literary past tense. For example, I recently finished Sharing Hunter by one of my editors, Julie Glover. That’s a dual 1st person deep POV (the high school best friends, not the love interests) that I believe uses literary past tense.
I think we just have to pick whatever tense works best for us and our story. I’ve written one (as yet unpublished) short story in 1st person present tense, and I didn’t mean to–that’s just how it came out. LOL! Anyway, I hope all that helps and thanks for the great idea for a post!
Hey Jami, I’m surprised that you say most modern romances are written in third person rather than in first person! Almost all of the modern romances I read, are LGBTQ, and there seems to be an equal distribution of third person vs first person stories. Some of them are told from the POVs of both protagonists, while some of them are told only from the perspective of “the main protagonist”. Are cishet/ mainstream romances much more commonly told in third person? I don’t mind either first or third person, but I like first person a bit more, both as a reader and as a writer, because you can hear the character’s attitude and tone of voice too, by seeing how they talk in the narration.
Thanks Jami and I hope you are staying well.
American authors often don’t use past perfect, which makes the story confusing.
Hi Clare,
Yes, you’re right that many authors struggle with past perfect. They either throw “had”s everywhere or nowhere, so that’s a great idea for another post. 😀 Thanks for the idea!
Verb tenses can be quite confusing to me sometimes. I read somewhere that after writing “had” once, you don’t have to keep writing “had” for the next sentences, because the reader already understands that you are describing an event that happened in the past. Plus, seeing “had” in every sentence is very tedious.
For me, I’ve always felt more comfortable both reading and writing in the literary past tense. I don’t hate present tense stories, but I feel a bit weird, maybe because I’m not used to it. But I usually get into the story, and forget what tense is used. Sometimes I don’t even realize that there was a tense shift, because I was too focused on the story events, and didn’t notice the word changes.
Hi Sieran,
Yes, I explain how we can make that shift to dropping “had”s–and why the technique works–in another post. 😀
Like you, when present tense is done correctly and smoothly, I’m so into the story that I don’t even realize what tense it uses. Then I don’t mind present tense at all. If I notice it, present tense feels odd, like clothing that doesn’t fit right. LOL! Thanks for chiming in!
This is another topic I wish I had learned years ago. In the beginning, I went back and forth between past tense and present tense. Fortunately, I realized my mistake. My next challenge was deciding whether to write the entire story in past tense or present tense, then with being consistent. Now I’m pretty good at writing consistently in past tense deep PoV. Isn’t it strange how we still feel like we’re in the moment of a story written in past tense?
Hi Dawn,
Yes, in researching for this post, I came across one article that said there was a psychological reason for why past tense can feel like the present, but I can’t remember the details. So I don’t know how it works, but it’s good for us to learn that it does. 🙂 Thanks for chiming in!
I need to see examples of literary past tense compared to regular past tense. Can you provide some?
Hi Pamela,
Both literary past tense and normal past tense use past tense verbs, so most sentences would look the same. The difference is in the context we add around the verbs.
Most importantly, does our story’s narrative include any context from the story’s future?
This context tends to show up in lines like:
Because literary past tense is the default for most writing, readers will–without thinking about it–assume every story using past tense verbs is in literary past tense…until the story’s writing proves otherwise. Most stories trying to be normal past tense will reveal themselves early.
Those that wait to include future-context until later in the story can cause a disconnected feeling with readers. Even if just subconsciously, readers will notice a “speedbump,” feel more distanced, and sense less tension from the story (now that the future has been determined already).
Does that help? 🙂 Thanks for the great question!
Thanks for your clarification.
Jami, I was with you the whole time but I still don’t know what Literary Past Tense looks like. Could you please add an example in the relevant section? Your post is a gem otherwise and Useful.
Hi Cynthia-Reyes, As I mentioned in the reply to Pamela, the verbs look the same, and it’s just whether we include context of the story’s future. To avoid throwing readers out of the story, most books that use the normal past tense will add that context sooner rather than later. Think of books where the very first line or paragraph have something like: * The last time I saw my father, he was… * She didn’t learn the truth until later, but… * The first hint that the situation had changed was… All of those include context beyond the story present. For example, in the first one, unless the father dies immediately after this line, how would the narrator know that was the last time they’d see their father unless they’re telling a story now about their past? For the second one, how does she know she’d later learn the truth? For the third one, how does the narrator know what this hint means? Those early references of knowledge or context from the story’s future let readers know that events have already happened and that the story is being told to them later. If that type of context didn’t show up until 2/3 of the way through the book, readers would momentarily be taken out of the story, as their mind adjusts to a fixed future, rather than still yet to be determined, like with a literary past tense story. In other words, I can only give examples of what… — Read More »
Thanks for taking the time to do this, Jami. I appreciate it. I wish you a good week, Stay safe.
Thanks so much for this useful information Jami! you have help me to understand the differences between past, present and literary past tense. I had little troubles with identifying past tense verb but this is an amazing recourse to use in my ESOL classes. Thank you.
Hi Jami,
This post was really helpful! I ended up here because I’ve written an entire 100k word novel in first person present tense, and now I’m wondering, mainly due to how grating some people can find it (though I note your observation about this perhaps being due to how well it’s done), if I should have written it in first person past tense.
I’m playing around with editing the first few chapters to see how it flows, but one thing I’m struggling with, which your post doesn’t address (and I’ve done a google search and can’t find exactly what I’m looking for – maybe because it isn’t a thing!), is if it’s ever appropriate to use present tense within a past tense story (during the narration, not dialogue or internalization). For example, if the narrator is stating some kind of universal truth that wouldn’t change no matter if the events were happening now or in the past.
Because I’m so used to reading and writing in first person present tense, it’s actually really hard for me to go back to literary past tense! I can provide an excerpt/example of what I’m talking about, if that helps…
Thank you!
Hi Jasmin, For the most part, first person POV narration is still considered the character’s thoughts. If they didn’t think about something — at all (as opposed to thinking and then pushing away the thought) — it wouldn’t be in the text. So your question about what to do with “universal truths” that aren’t internalizations isn’t quite as straightforward as it would be with other POVs. If you’re writing in literary past, common phrases would still be in past tense unless they’re a direct internalization thought, and thus italicized. (This post has more about that case.) For example, we often say/think a phrase along the lines of “yeah, and who knows when that will be” (or even just “who knows”…whatever). Notice the tense: knows/will be. In past tense narration (and not direct internalization or dialogue), we’d translate that very common phrase into past tense with knew/would be like so, “yeah, and who knew when that would be.” (Believe me, I know how weird it can be to think that way, but my grammar-expert copy editor has dinged me about that…er, numerous times. 😉 ) So, I’m not an expert in present tense by any means, but I think universal truths would be similar. Inconsistency causes problems in narration, so even though we might think we have a justification for changing verb tenses, the inconsistency–without the italicization to make it clear that it’s on purpose–would likely just look sloppy and poorly edited. (Some readers would likely get a subconscious “sloppy” impression… — Read More »
Hi, Jami! Fantastic article. I kept getting stumped on the same thing Jasmin was talking about until I scrolled down and found this thread. I think I’ve come to terms with it now, but I’d love just a little more clarity. The way I’m reading it, barring dialogue and internalization, to write in a literary past tense is to force the narration into past tense (including universal truths and the like), in both first-person and third-person narratives. Writing in literary past tense, we’re essentially ruling that (just as in present tense) there is only one focal point on the timeline: the one that moves forward as the story progresses. In a first-person narrative written in literary past tense, despite the narration appearing in past tense, the narrator does not exist ahead of that focal point; i.e. the temporal distance is zero, and the viewpoint character and the narrator are the exact same entity. In this way, the narrator cannot reflect upon the events of the story; there’s no forward focal point from which to reflect. It make sense, then, why we wouldn’t include any present tense (again, barring dialogue and internalization) in a literary past tense narrative. We’ve FORCED the narrative into past tense for consistency. We’ve forced it because we believe past tense simply reads better. Does that make sense, or have I lost my mind? To illustrate the difference between regular past tense and literary past tense, I’ve provided some examples from my current (and very messy) WIP:… — Read More »
Hi Nick,
Oh yes, that’s a great way to put it. So it sounds like you’ve got it. 😉
As for your question, you’re right about that blurry line between standard narration and internalization. For the most part, we can decide what we want to emphasize and use verb tense to match.
The phrase you asked about is present tense if we consider f*ck to be the verb–LOL!–rather than seeing it as a tenseless phrase. So by italicizing it, you’ve got it exactly right. 🙂 Glad you found this helpful!
[…] Most stories are written in “literary past tense”—rather than normal past tense—which means that story events are described as though they’re happening in the story present. However, some stories use normal past tense, which means that the events have already happened within the story itself. […]
What are present day tense verbs within this story.
Hi Ladina,
Well, I’m not going to do your homework for you (and even if I wanted to, I can’t access the link to the curriculum you have the question about). 😉 But let me point you to where you can find a list of present tense verbs.
Good luck! 😀
[…] we’re writing in normal past tense rather than the default literary past tense, we can directly say what’s to come, such as: He didn’t know it yet, but that would be his last […]
Paradigm shifting. One of the revision tasks I addressed last year on my mystery manuscript was changing from past to present tense. I thought I was okay with that but now I am considering my verbs in light of literary past tense. Thanks for the clarity!
[…] Past tense creates a distance between a reader and a story. But the present tense can bring things much closer or more vividly to a reader’s mind. […]