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I am thinking of employing the historical present tense in a first-person narrative (to achieve a greater level of immediacy). The problem is that I am telling the story in a non-linear manner, i.e...
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T02:44:10Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/7283 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
Cliff Hangerson Page
·
2019-12-08T02:44:10Z (almost 5 years ago)
I am thinking of employing the **historical present tense** in a first-person narrative (to achieve a greater level of immediacy). The problem is that I am telling the story in a non-linear manner, i.e. there is a flashback, which I would like to write in present tense, as well: > San Francisco is just coming to life. I can see all of downtown from my hotel room. Ten stories below, the traffic is backed up on Powell Street. ... etc. ... etc. > > Two weeks earlier, I am sitting in a bar in New Orleans. The bartender asks me etc. etc. This sounds odd. Is there a graceful way of handling the transition into the flashback, while maintaining the present tense voice? Or should I stick with past tense, or choose a linear story structure?
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2013-02-15T01:04:33Z (almost 12 years ago)
Original score: 5