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I think it's a mistake. You certainly can do it and probably get away with it. But why make a tonal shift so severe if there's no real reason for it? Even though these are different characters, ...
Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-20T00:40:45Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45589 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T12:02:35Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45589 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
## I think it's a mistake. You certainly can do it and probably get away with it. But why make a tonal shift so severe if there's no real reason for it? Even though these are different characters, presumably interacting with each other, your reader will assume you're indicating different timelines with the tense switches (or the reader won't notice consciously but will just feel that something is "off"). You can write fast-paced action in either present or past tense. If this is your only reason for choosing to switch some of the narration, just practice writing past tense action. If it still doesn't work, consider switching the entire book to present tense (though really only do it if it works better overall, as present tense isn't used often for good reason).
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2019-05-30T19:15:52Z (almost 5 years ago)
Original score: 0