Switching from past to present tense?
I'm thinking of writing a novel where my character narrates flashbacks through the hardest times of his life written in past tense, leading up to the present tense. I was considering switching to present tense only directly before and throughout the climax of the book so that the reader can understand the character's actions.
By writing the beggining of the book as a series of flashbacks I can skip through many years without boring the reader. Then, when he has described the events up to the present day, he will describe his current location and condition and proceed to initiate the climax.
So would this kind of switch be ok for a book written in first person point of view?
By the way, I'm not a pro writer at all this was just an idea that I had and would like to try.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/6895. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
That actually might be really interesting. Particularly if you label the flashbacks as "1958" or "Forty years ago," and then the present is "now" or "Present day." And if your flashbacks get closer together (one year ago, six months ago, four months ago, six weeks ago, three weeks ago, one week ago, three days ago, thirty-six hours ago...) and speed up, that adds its own tension.
I say go for it and see if you can make it work. At worst, if it fails, you'll only have to change the last part to past tense.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads