#Lesson -Tense and Perspective-
Requested by @BaneOfGods

-What this lesson will cover:-
The basics of using wording to signify time (tenses), how to use them in first, second, and third person, and how I write RP.

-Tenses-
First of all, I am not going to lie: I had to look this up. Being a native English speaker, this is something I do without even thinking about it.

That being said, I will only be explaining the most commonly used tenses. You English majors can look up specifics here: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/english_tenses.htm

Past- Something that already happened
Ex: "I shot the sheriff."
Present- Something happens in the now
Ex: "I shoot the sheriff."
Future- Something that will happen
Ex: "I will shoot the sheriff."

The above are simple tenses. There are also the progressive tenses:

Past Progressive- Something that was happening in the past
Ex: "Three months ago, I was reading a book about symbolism."
Present Progressive- Something that is happening at the same moment as something else in the present.
Ex: "Today, while doing laundry, my homemade bomb accidentally went off in the basement."
Future Progressive-Something that will be happening
Ex: "In the future, we will be burning buffalo droppings for warmth."

And these are what I will cover. They are the most commonly used and the easiest to explain.

-Perspective-
Now, we have perspective: First, Second, and Third Person.

First person- you are the one doing the action.
Ex: I sneezed and the building shuddered.
Second person- You are addressing the person who performed the action.
Ex: "John, you set off a volcano during recess!"
And Third Person- You are talking about the person who performed the action.
Ex: "Did you hear about Billy? He set another ship on fire!"

We don't use second person much in fiction writing unless we are, you know, addressing someone in first person, but I thought I would give it a cursory glance.

That being said: Sometimes perspective affects the way you would write something. Usually the only difference is between "am", "is", and "are": I am, he is, we are, they are.

-My Personal Experience-

This is from the very particular perspective of story writing and RP.

Myself, I prefer to write in third person, present tense when I RP. This is simply easiest for me. For one thing, it draws the reader in better if it is happening right now; for another, I, as a writer, find myself concentrating more on the surroundings and the reactions to the character, filling out the world better. Frankly, it is also easier to write.

Also, in the third person, you distance yourself from the character and thus have less of a problem writing scenes that, inevitably, you don't agree with.

The disadvantage is the same as the advantage: it distances you from the character, you get into its head less. Past and future presents are just easier to write from the present perspective.

Questions?
Ask.fm/professorRP

Reply · Report Post