changing tenses

What I normally do if I want to tell the reader some of the character's past is incorporate it into their thoughts. Example: - She flopped on the floor, her arms redundant by her side and thought about what her daddy used to say to her, so long ago, when she was a child. "Stay in that cupboard, Janey," he would say, his words slurring with the alcohol. "Just till I get back. I wont be long, I promise you." But he never kept that promise. He would always return two hours later, when she was tired and hungry, her cheeks tear streaked. What do other people think? Do you think this works or not? I suppose its okay if its just a flashback but if you want to write a full scene from the past I would suggest doing it under a different chapter (if a novel) or *** . It depends what sort of thing you mean.

I had a story like that once. The chief character kept changeng tenses depending on whether she was telling it or reliving it - did all I could to make her stay in one tense or the another but it didnt work, In the end I had to let her get on with it. I dont think the rules matter that much. If it sounds right, then it is right.

I always try to keep to the same tense (not always easy!), but if your story really calls for it, you could try putting the past paras in brackets so it's clear that the tense is changing and the reader doesn't get confused. Or seperate the present and past tenses using *** between them (this'd work better on a longer story though. For a shorter one, I'd go for the brackets).