I'm Sorry If This Is A Stupid Question. I'm Struggling With Tenses And Making Sure I'm Writing In The

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question. I'm struggling with tenses and making sure I'm writing in the correct tense. But, in reading about tenses, I've found out they breed quicker than rabbits. Any chance you could explain all the tenses like talking to a 5-year-old (my real mental age) Thank you kindly

Hiya! Thanks for your question! Sticking with one tense is something that a lot of writers struggle with.

Depending on how you define a “tense” (there’s actually a bit of a debate about this in the English grammar community), there are anywhere from 2 to 18 tenses in the English language. For the sake of this question, I will define the main 12 used in narration.

The Different Tenses of Narration

Past

The most commonly used tense when writing. Past tense is used to describe events that happened in the past. There are four different types of past tense: simple past, and past progressive, past perfect simple, past perfect progressive. In general, when writing a story in the past tense, stick to simple past as much as possible. The other tenses are formed by using modal or helping verbs, which can weaken your prose.

Simple Past:

The standard past tense. This is used to describe a regular completed action that occurred in the past.

Formation: past form of verb

Example: He went to the store yesterday.

Past Progressive:

Similar to simple past, but the past progressive is used to describe a continuous action in the past. If you study foreign languages, this is usually referred to as the “imperfect” tense.  

Formation: past “to be” (was/were) + present participle of the verb

Example: They were watching the news all morning.

Past Perfect Simple:

Used to describe an action that occurred before another action in the past.

Formation: had + past participle of the verb

Example: I had already read the book before going home.

Past Perfect Progressive:

Used to describe a continuous action in the past that is completed.

Formation: had been + present participle of the verb

Example: She had been sleeping for ten years before waking up.

Present

The other tense used in writing, though not as commonly as the past tense. The present is used to describe what is currently happening. There are 4 types of present tense: simple present, present progressive, present perfect simple, and present perfect progressive. Like with past tense, stick to simple present as much as possible.

Simple Present:

The standard present tense. This is used to describe usual, regular actions in the present.

Formation: present tense verb

Example: We jump in the lake.

Present Progressive:

Used to describe an immediately occurring action in the present.

Formation: present “to be” (am/is/are) + present participle

Example: You are running.

Present Perfect Simple:

Used to describe actions that have happened in the past, but are still relevant to the present and for actions that were done many times in the past, but just now stopped.

Formation: present “to have” (have/has) + past participle

Example: I have made several cupcakes until now.

Present Perfect Progressive:

Used to describe actions or events that are habitual or actions that started in the past, but are still occurring in the present.

Formation: present “to have” (have/has) + been + present participle

Example: She has been playing soccer since noon.

Future

Personally, I don’t know any books that are written in the future tense, but I’m sure it’s been done. For the sake of this post, I will go ahead and define the different future tenses. Future is used to describe an action that will occur at some point, but has not happened or started yet. There are 4 types of future tenses: simple future, future progressive, future perfect simple, and future perfect progressive.

Simple Future:

Used to describe a regular action that will occur in the future.

Formation: will + present form of the verb

Example: My brother will clean his room tomorrow.

Future Progressive:

Used to describe a continuous action in the future.

Formation: will be + present participle

Example: Your friends will be dancing at prom.

Future Perfect Simple:

Used to describe an action that will be completed in the future.

Formation: will have + past participle

Example: By this time tomorrow, I will have written my essay.

Future Perfect Progressive:

Used to describe a continuous action that will be completed in the future.

Formation: will have been + present participle

Example: The author will have been touring for three months tomorrow.

There are 2 other categories of tenses, imperative and conditional, but they are not commonly used in narration. The imperative is only used in dialogue when giving a command. The conditional can be used in narration (rarely) or dialogue and is used in “if” phrases.

Every author struggles with staying in the same tense. Always go back and reread your work and edit it to make sure you stick to one tense.

There is no “right” tense when it comes to writing. Use whichever tense fits your writing style or story tone best.

Thanks again for your question! If you need help with anything else writing-related, feel free to send in another ask. Happy writing!

- Mod Kellie

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I'm developing a story in my head and I'm thinking about writing it down. The thing is, I have it in my head like a tv show, each episode something new happens and it has a theme around it (It will be a detective story, each episode there is a new crime and new things revolve around it) but if I want to write it down. The chapters will be so short and it will be hard to keep up with it. Do you have any idea to basically how to turn a tv show (in my head) to a novel with decent chapters. TIA!

Turning Episodic Ideas (Like a TV Show) Into a Novel

Guide: All About Story Arcs in Television and Novels

In order to tackle this question, I think it would be helpful if we dive into the concept of “arcs” and what they mean in television vs what they mean in books. Because as much as it may seem so at times, TV dramas are almost never only episodic. Each episode ties to the rest of the episodes through various types of story arcs.

What is a Story Arc? 

Story arcs are a series of events centered around a particular conflict or theme that plays out from the beginning to end of a specified time period. In TV, that time period may be an episode or a few episodes, a season, or the entire series. In books, that period may be a part/act, book, or series. Both books and television juggle these different kinds of arcs simultaneously.

Story Arcs in Television

Episode arcs are the story arcs that play out from the beginning of a TV show episode to its end. So, in a detective show, it would be whatever crime they’re solving in that episode. The crime is introduced at the beginning of the episode, investigated throughout the episode, and solved by the end of the episode.

Season arcs are the story arcs that play out from the beginning of a season to the end of the season. In many TV dramas, this conflict revolves around a “big bad” that will be defeated by the end of the season. The “big bad” is typically introduced at the end of the previous season, is battled throughout the season, and is defeated by the end of the season.

Series arcs are the story arcs that play out from the beginning of a series to the end of the series. This is the conflict at the heart of the show, that is introduced at the beginning, plays out throughout the entire series, and is resolved at the end. In speculative fiction shows like The X-Files, Once Upon a Time, or Lost, this conflict revolves around the mythology behind the story. Such as the alien conspiracy Mulder and Scully are constantly up against in The X-Files, the curses and battle between light and dark in Once Upon a Time, and the Jacob vs The Man in Black/light vs dark conflict that tie together the fates of the characters in Lost. In contemporary drama, such as family dramas or crime dramas, the series arc may be based on the overall story’s mythology (such as with This is Us or Blindspot) or it may be situation/character based, as in something like Designated Survivor.

Character arcs are the arcs that center around the internal conflict of each main character. 

Story Arcs in Novels

Section arcs are conflicts that are specific to a section of the book, such as a part or an act. In a heist story, the section arc of part one might revolve around the conflict related to planning the heist and recruiting the crew. In Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, for example, it was breaking Mattias Helvar out of Hellgate because they needed him for the bigger heist. Not all books have section arcs.

Story arcs are what we call the arc of the whole book/story (book one, book two, book three, etc.) that is introduced at the beginning of the book, plays out through the book, and is resolved by the end of the book.

Series arcs, in books just as in TV, are the story arcs that play out from the beginning of the series to the end of the series. In George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones series, the series arc was the conflict of getting “the rightful ruler” on the Iron Throne.

Character arcs (just as in television) are the arcs that center around the internal conflict of each main character.

Turning Episodic Ideas Into a Novel

So, now that we’ve had a recap of different kinds of story arcs, we can tackle the heart of your question, which is how to turn episode-like ideas into a story with chapters.

The answer is this: you need to figure out a story arc to tie all of these “episodes” into a bigger picture, and if you want this book to be a series of books, you’ll want a series arc, too. And, whether you do a stand alone or a series, you’ll need to figure out some internal conflicts for your main characters so you can have character arcs, too.

These arcs are what take your individual “episodes” and ties them into a bigger story that spans the book from beginning to end. You could choose to make the story arc and your protagonist’s character arc one and the same if you want something more character-centric. Or, you might choose a “big bad” who is somehow behind all of the episodic conflicts, even if indirectly. You might even go with a situational conflict, like cleaning up crime in a particular part of the city and/or overthrowing a corrupt police chief.

I hope this helps!

ETA: golden-apple said: Or making it an anthology of short stories

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