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

If you need advice on general writing or fanfiction, you should maybe ask us!

I feel like there’s needs to be, like, handbook for authors who post on Ao3 for effective metatext.

By metatext I mean like tagging, summary, and authors notes (especially initial authors notes at the beginning of a fic). The means by which we communicate to our readers what they’re getting into.

Because we kind of all have to learn it by osmosis and there are conventions but nobody’s really taught them at the start, so there’s inconsistencies and misunderstandings or people just not knowing things through no fault of their own.

This ends up breeding frustration and confusion and in the worst cases resentment, hurt, and aggression.

I’m severely tempted to make such a handbook and get it circulating.

I think it would do fandom a lot of good.

inhale, exhale

Resources for Mending Clothes

We toss out over 80 pounds of textiles each year. These textiles are often made of plastic materials (polyester, nylon), made in unethical conditions, dyed with harsh dyes that often get put into the rivers, etc. Even a single cotton shirt releases carbon emissions and uses tons of water. 

So the best thing to prevent the unsustainable growth of the fashion industry is to make sure that your clothing lasts as long as possible. To do so, mending clothing is a must. So here are some resources to help you learn how to do various things, such as sewing a button, to tailoring clothes, or even upcycling old clothing into new styles. 

* How to sew on three different types of button

* How to hand sew on a patch on a torn pair of jeans

* How to sew up a hole in an old shirt

* How to sew a simple T-shirt

* How to upcycle old clothing into new clothing

* More upcycle and sewing techniques

* How to repair a damaged sock

* How to do an invisible stitch

* 3 different stitches to work with for different results

* How to make a T-shirt smaller so it fits you better

* How to make repairs to your shoes

These are just a few of the things that you can do in order to make sure that your clothing lasts for a long time. Nobody wants to keep buying new clothing, as it is expensive and wasteful. 

So making alterations to your clothing, or fixing small holes hen you see them can be hugely beneficial to your wallet, to garment workers, and to the environment in the long term. 

Hey i’m a fashion design student so i have tons and tons of pdfs and docs with basic sewing techniques, pattern how-tos, and resources for fabric and trims. I’ve compiled it all into a shareable folder for anyone who wants to look into sewing and making their own clothing. I’ll be adding to this folder whenever i come across new resources

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16uhmMb8kE4P_vOSycr6XSa9zpmDijZSd?usp=sharing

Found this chat for you on Tumblr

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Hudson and Rex - Group Chat on Tumblr

This is a Group Chat on Tumblr that chats about: #Donovan, #rex, #jesse mills, #sarah truong, #charlie hudson, #hudson and rex.