I have a question for you all that I would like some feedback on. I have also created a poll for those who don’t have any particular remarks to comment but favour one opinion over another.
As many know, or have noticed, I write in the present state, save for events that have already happened. I grew into this style early on when I started writing. During the initial feedback from readers, there was one about “showing not telling”, along with some examples. I found it puzzling at first and was comparing the examples with my work, and also doing research on the subject.
I have learned about it now, but at the time, I had taken it as writing in the present tense was “showing” (involving the reader in the action as it’s happening) where as writing in the past tense was “telling” (telling the reader about what happened). I often mistook verbs back then and wrote as a jumbled mess of both present and past tense. Thankfully weakwithwords, then genericIntent, came along and helped me fix most of it in the editing process.
Since back then, I have gotten much better at writing in my present tense style. The difference between that and past tense often isn’t actually just changing the verb from present tense to past tense, but actually a restructure of the sentence, making them considerably different.
At one point, if anyone recalls, I had tried to write in the standard past tense format most writers do, but the general consensus of the readers was that “it read like a diary.”
I have gotten more skilled in writing present tense compared the then, and understand the differences between the two more.
One of the things I find to be holding me back as an author the most, is that many readers aren’t accustomed to the style, and find it somewhat difficult to read. There has been a bunch of reviews on my writing the complain it is written poorly, difficult to read, or a “poor translation”. I also won’t be able to reach my goal of a perfect 5 star rating book with negative reviews on the writing style.
I’m not mad or upset about this (unless they are fake reviews by people who simply dislike my work), and would rather take it and improve. As a writer, I am constantly trying to write better, sometimes losing my way, other times finding the right path, but it is a long journey.
I would like to know what your thoughts are on this, including whether you think I should keep to what I already know and continue writing in my style, or focus on writing in the general past tense format that you all are accustomed to reading. The poll above is specifically this.
I am aware that my writing may drop in quality slightly if I change it so suddenly, but in the aim and hope of future improvement, I am willing to work the hard yards.
End Online Novel 
I read on average a book every 2 days off kindle and i’ve never had any issues with reading either past or present tense. For me as a reader, as long as the author tells the story all the way thru in the same manner i’m happy with it. Nit picking because it isn’t the way you personally like is a poor review in my opinion, especially if you start by saying you liked the story. I prefer present tense, so it feels as if you there with the hero’s in the action, imagining what you would do to aid them as an extra member of the party helps to make the story more real. On the other hand there’s several of my favorite authors who write in past tense, one even writes as if your reading their hero’s diary, with the chapters broken down by date.
I say to hell with the negative reviewers who have nothing better to comment about then the style of writing the author used, thats no different then bashing someone cause they dont say tomato the same way you do.
Write the way your most comfortable, the way that lets your story flow smoothly and i’m happy.
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Thank you so much for that in depth feedback! I do get a lot of mixed reviews, and most of the positive things that are said are really good.
I’m surprised (according to the poll) how many people actually prefer my present tense format. I mean the percentage, not the actual amount, but as a small sample group, it is great feedback.
The negative reviews do hit me in the sweet spot, but it doesn’t bring me down. I just want to aim for a massive hit of a book, striking that five star home run. ^.^
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When I first started reading your work, I remember disliking the present tense style, but I haven’t had any bad thoughts about it in a while. At this point, you can pretty comfortably assume that your readers either like the present tense style or have gotten used to it, so switching it up in EO and CotE wouldn’t be worth it.
That said, in your next series, please do switch to past tense. Even if the quality does noticeably drop, you’ll learn things that will make you a better writer in the future. Also, it can draw in people who were turned off by the present tense of your other series, potentially converting them into long-term fans.
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I don’t intend to change it mid series, but I will probably finish EO next year and begin my third series.
What I think I will do is release a couple of chapters written in the classic past tense style to get some feedback from the readers, getting their opinion on which is preferable.
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Even within present and past tense forms there are different styles for each writer. What’s important to know are the basics of your style no matter what you write in so you can write to its strengths.
The ‘standard’ past tense story is where everything is written as if the end of the story has already occurred and the book is an accounting of it. This type is generally the easiest to read or listen to simply because it is the most familiar to most people, including those that rarely read, haven’t been through much schooling yet, or have English as a second language. It also allows one to imagine what happened and better look forward to the climax, since the telling of such a story is guaranteed to have one.
The diary format you mentioned is actually different, since it’s a mix of present and past. It happens when each part is written in past tense, but with a sense that the author does not yet know what will happen next. This can work when written as a deliberate first person narrative, but its more often the result of a writer trying to write a cohesive story on the fly and ends up more jumbled than anything.
The present tense form you’re using now is actually a good choice for ongoing series because it allows readers to follow along as if they are living the story. It’s fine if the future isn’t hinted at since it hasn’t happened yet. This kind of story can be especially exciting since there’s a real feeling that anything can happen. Once it transitions to a published book, though, that sense of following along gets dulled and so some readers might find it more awkward to read.
As another commenter mentioned, you might want to try planning well ahead for your next story so you can write it in the standard past tense format. If nothing else it would at least make for good practice and give you a script that transitions more easily to a sellable published book.
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As a writer and someone that writes in present tense, I have studied the past tense writing of a lot of books and come to some understandings. My view may be a little different from yours though.
I find the classic style to be third person past tense, which actually contains a mix between present and past tense depending on the sentence structure. An example of this would be “John escaped from the stern scolding of his history teacher by jumping out the second story window, revealing a never seen before ability to fly as he instantaneously broke the sound barrier and shot into the distance. All the windows of the classroom also shattered in the process while the students and teacher stared with their jaws hinged to the ground.”
It becomes a muddled sense of the two tenses, but is predominately written in past tense, hence it is designated as that. I have seen it in many well known Author’s published works, and if done correctly, flows well. Of course, it is like an art to do right, so whether I can or not, we shall have to wait and see. Present tense is currently ingrained in me so it will be more difficult for me to do compared to someone else.
The diary approach is more first person past tense, where everything is written like a recounting of events during that period.
I also replied to said other comment, and I hope to try writing in past tense, even if just for feedback. Changing it to present tense afterwards is quite simple for me after all.
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The example you give has no changes to present-tense. ‘-ing’ verbs like ‘scolding’, ‘jumping’ and ‘revealing’ are used in a connective sense with other verbs and don’t carry a tense on their own; i.e. you could be running right now, you may be running later, or you might have been running earlier. All the other verbs in that sentence are in some form of past-tense. Tense should normally ever really be broken in dialogue.
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There are some differences. It isn’t as notable in a single sentence, but I will provide some more examples.
Original:
“John escaped from the stern scolding of his history teacher by jumping out the second story window, revealing a never seen before ability to fly as he instantaneously broke the sound barrier and shot into the distance. All the windows of the classroom also shattered in the process while the students and teacher stared with their jaws hinged to the ground.”
If I was to write this in my usual present tense, it would be, “John escapes from the teacher sternly scolding him, jumping out the second story window before revealing a never seen before ability to fly as he breaks the sound barrier and disappears into the distance. The windows of the classroom shatter as a result while the students and teacher stare with their mouths agape.”
If it was written in pure past tense, in which case I would replace “by jumping -> as he leaped” “window, revealing a never -> window. He then revealed a never”
The latter example however isn’t what most books conform to. They have a mix of present and past tense, but predominately past tense. Many sentences are complete past tense, but others has present tense verbs in conjunction to past tense. It is difficult to explain this, but I picked up one of my all time favourite books, Magician(Raymond E. Feist) and picked out a few lines for reference.
“Thomas’s father made a great show of considering the playful drake a plague from the gods visited upon his well-ordered kitchen, but on several occasions both boys spied Megar lavishing some of the choicest dinner scraps upon the beast.”
As with this father, it is predominately past tense. You will notice “both boys spied Megar lavishing some” within the sentences. “lavishing” is a present tense verb, but it is still read in the past tense because that is defined by the “spied” before it.
“The snow fell in flurries of heavy wet flakes, melting slightly during the day, to refreeze at night, making a thin crust of ice.”
This one it is more obvious. “Melting” “Making” are both present tense, but the line is read in the past tense as defined by the beginning. This is also an excellent time to point out some differences in present and past tense. If I was to write this in present tense, the majority of the sentence would have to be reworded. Something like:
“The snow falls in flurries of heavy wet flakes, melting slightly beneath the sun and forming puddles which will surely refreeze at night and form a thin crust of ice.”
I would probably write the sentence differently in my own words if it was in my writing, but I simply changed the tense format while keeping it close. “Forming puddles” is not in the original sentence description, it is included because we are writing about the current situation in present tense and that is exactly what is happening at the time, while the remainder of the sentence is a future speculation viewed from the present tense.
That said going back to my original example, by using “jumping” isn’t creating a present tense format, as it is already defined in the past tense by “John escaped”. Not going to lie, it could have been a better example as I also used “revealing” as well, but I included both tenses in the sentence to show an example containing both.
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Again, ‘ing’ verbs are not present tense; they have no tense. Rather, the ‘ing’ ending connects them to whatever verbs surround them. Since the other verbs are past tense, the ing verbs are taken to have occured at the same time.
‘By jumping’ and ‘as he leaped’ have two different meanings (as do the other example pairs). ‘By jumping’ provides context, in that ‘with a jump, he escaped’, while ‘as he leaped’ is a separate action, in that ‘simultaneously, he committed to his escape and leaped’.
To give a reverse example of what I mean by ‘ing’ verbs, ‘he commited to his escape’ can be rewritten as ‘he committed to escaping’. As you can see, ‘escaping’ here functions as the object of the sentence, not the verb. It is intrinsically linked to the verb ‘committed’, which is past tense, so there is no blending of tenses here.
tl;dr: ‘ing’ verbs are not present tense; rather, they have no tense.
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Well, Epithetic has this well covered, and this conversation is closing in on a month old, but I thought I’d chime in anyway with some links, seeing as there isn’t a newer post yet and i think sources are genrally helpful. Plus I find language somewhat fascinating. We use it all the time but most people (and I’m certainly included here) have nothing more than an instinctive grasp of the underlying principles.
This http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/ing-forms/ gives the formal definition of -ing verbs as either present participles or gerunds. We’re talking about them as present participles here. The trick is that “present” doesn’t mean that the tense is actually going to be present though – the tense is formed from the helping verb. This site http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000365.htm says the same thing, and let’s us see that these types of tense is called the continuous tenses of the verb.
In a more general sense this http://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/present_participle.htm gives us another source confirming how present participles are used in the continuous tenses, and gives us a few other tense types for past/present/future. This site https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/tenses gives us even more tenses.
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For most readers, I imagine reading different tenses does not really affect how much they enjoy a book and/or make it harder to read. Personally, I like both, but sometimes present works better than past, etc. I also generally like a storyline reason for the past retelling – take for example the Nightlord series with the mental study documenting things that have happened.
My main concern with tenses, however, is which the author prefers to write in, and is best at writing in. From what I’ve read of your works (quite a lot xD) you seem to write better in present tense, and recognize it. For that reason, and because it generally suits what you write, and helps with suspense, and other effects, I would reccomend you staying with the present tense, as I really enjoy your work, and don’t want a sudden large drop in quality, and a tense change in the middle of a story can be quite strange and perhaps even worse than staying with a less-preferred tense. By all means, if you want to, try writing something else on the side in the past tense, to accustom yourself to it, to use it later, but with EO and COTE, at least, stick with what you know.
And think of your editors xD
Thanks for asking for our opinions and all, but don’t feel pressured by us to change if some people dislike it. You are the author, and we wouldn’t have your awesome content to read if you didn’t do all the writing, and give those who complain something to complain about!
Thanks for all the awesome content you give us!
-char11e
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I have replied to earlier comments with my thoughts and future plans of the issue, please have a look and see if you agree. ^.^
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Can you put the first chapter of the seco d volume out? Please?
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I hate this keyboard. The first chapter of the, 2nd volume of Chronicles of the Eternal please.
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You will have to wait a while for that to happen. I have been thinking of releasing the first few chapters when I am halfway through writing the book, but that is still between a month or two away. ^.^
But as you asked nicely, I will think on it a little harder, perhaps release an extra one when I get to that stage!
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I only have 1 thing to offer, if you start a series in present tense keep it on present tense, if you start in past tense, keep it in past tense, for the rest
WHO CARES!!!!! THE BOOKS YOU WRITE ARE AMAZING!!!!!! KEEP THEM COMING!!!!!!!
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hey wolf thank you for always dedicated on your writing 😀
i’m a fan of your work from your early update ( I think it was from EO chapter 4-5) and i here just want to say thank you for your hardwork all this time…
Also, when EO vol.7 will be updated? 😀
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slow
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I know!! The guilt driving me crazy 😥
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Yeah, could we possibly just get an update on what ur doing so far.
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I haven’t updated anyone because to me, it just feels like excuses, which I don’t want to have to say.
Just finished Chapter 5 of CotE, starting Chapter 6 now. Hoping to have Chapter 6 done by tomorrow.
I am happy to announce my new computer is fantastic and it plays games great, but that doesn’t really help my writing! I have closed everything unrelated down for the time, hidden my playstation controllers, and I’m pretty sure I’m out of good things to read. There is a lot of catching up to do, but as compensation, I am planning to release a large dump of chapters, including CotE, as compensation.
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Thanks, I wasn’t particularly angry or disappointed I just wanted to know where you’re at.
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I’m afraid il have to stop supporting this story like so many other readers have,
as is apparent in the topweb fiction rankings, it seems every other story has a consistent release schedule. Sorry and I hope you can find the motivation to get back on track because you are definitely one of the more talented authors.
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That’s understandable. I will ask of you to wait until I make a comeback and say hello again ^.^
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Don’t worry I may have commented a little harshly I’m just missing the story 😛 I want to see EO at the top of the list just like you, keep up the good work! maybe you could propose a target amount of votes per week/month say 250 the reward being a bonus chapter or early chapter release. Cheers
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Really? The free entertainment you get is not fast enough for you? Read something else in the meantime.
Keep up the good work Wolf and don’t sweat the small stuff. Truly enjoy your series.
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The map of continent looks like a stretched version of Australia. Just now noticing this
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did wordpress break? On all the authors i follow posts end before september.
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I recently made a site wordpress and people have been viewing and commenting on it. None of them follow my though so I don’t entirely know.
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None of them follow my *site*
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if i must wait for an update, then i shall!
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Some sites that are powered by wordpress.org seem to have trouble, but I haven’t noticed any wordpress.com sites having issues with it.
I haven’t updated in too long and have a bunch of nearly completely edited chapters in my back pocket so I’m not too sure if mine is having problems. We will find out soon though.
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