The Mad Tumblr

"It’s an abdication of narrative responsibility, in my view. The storyteller, in film or novel, should take charge of the story and not feel shifty about it. Put the camera in the place from which it can see the action most clearly. Make a decision about where that place is. Put it on something steady to stop that incessant jiggling about. Say what happened, and let the reader know when it happened and what caused it and what the consequences were, and tell me where the characters were and who else was present – and while you’re at it, I’d like to know what they looked like and whether it was raining."

~

Philip Pullman calls time on the present tense | Books | The Guardian (via robotnic)

Present-tense on its own doesn’t bother me so much…but first-person present-tense is just anathema to me. It tastes wrong in my head and I am not in favor of it.

(via linguaphile)

Still unsure on how I feel about the increasing use of present tense. What do you think, Tumblr friends?

(via idratherbereading)

I write nothing *but* present tense. I’ve tried past tense but things get shifty, strange, and my words won’t flow, won’t string together properly. I think that’s because I’ve found my narrative voice and am confident in it. I’ve seen people say they won’t read a story in present tense, and frankly, that makes me sad. GIVE ME A CHANCE, READER, I THINK YOU WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. (Yes, my confidence is high today, for no reason whatsoever.)

(via mazarin221b)

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I don’t normally write in present tense, either, but “Alone on the Water” is both first-person AND present-tense.

(via mazarin221b)

20 February 2012 ·