'Was' or 'Is' - Help please!

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Sat, 2012-01-28 11:43

Hi Everyone. I have another ‘technical’ question for you!

My MS is written in the first person, past tense (i.e. I walked across the room), but occasional I get my tenses mixed up – many I pick up on edit, but some are highlighted by people who read my work.

Critiquing is an invaluable tool and I really benefit from the feedback I am given, however I have an issue about one area and I’m hoping I will describe my confusion well enough for you understand what I mean!

I wrote the line, ‘The surface of the asteroid is uninhabitable so Angel Ridge exploited the caves and tunnels left behind by mining.’ The feedback given suggested that ‘is’ should be ‘was’ because technically my character is ‘telling’ the story from a future point.

My confusion is this… yes, the surface of the asteroid ‘was’ uninhabitable at the time of the incident, but it still ‘is’ at the point my character is telling the story. To me, saying ‘was’ suggests that it isn’t any more. Or am I just over thinking it?

Please help me before my brain explodes!
Sarah

Sat, 2012-01-28 12:55

Richard L. Prov...

I agree with Stan. Fretting over this issue did bother me for quite a while until I read my story out loud and realized in order to get a proper flow I had to mix tenses. Otherwise you could end up with this---He gets up, leaps across the floor, picks up his comb, flicks it through his hair, and belches loudly. I say it's better this way---He got up, leaped across the floor, picked up his comb, flicks it through his hair, and belches loudly. Good luck and keep writing. Richard LP

Richard L. Provencher

Sat, 2012-01-28 13:11

scratch

I think stan's right with this one it should be 'was' in this context :-)

Sat, 2012-01-28 13:30

TVR

Hello Sarah. I think the question of tenses in writing is one of the most tricky and confusing to deal with. The particular instance you refer to (and I do see your point) I think should be 'was' and your intended meaning will be understood by the reader. As Richard and Stan have already mentioned, don't get too stressed about it. Read it aloud, see if it sounds right. I find it more of an intuitive issue rather than grammatical. When you read the sentence... ‘The surface of the asteroid is uninhabitable so Angel Ridge exploited the caves and tunnels left behind by mining.’ ...you will see that it feels awkward in the context of everything else, and therein lies the clue. 'WAS' fits and feels much better that 'IS'. Don't let technicalities bog you down, keep your flow, and trust your inuition of what sounds and feels right to you when you read it back. I also find it much better if I do not edit right away. Leave the story (or whatever it is you are writing) to 'cool' for a few days. You will come back to it afresh and things will jump aout at you that otherwise you would have missed. All of us still get it wrong now and again, but hey... it's not the end of the world to make a few mistakes, is it? sue

TVR

Sat, 2012-01-28 13:33

scratch

Sage advice from Sue, leave it alone a while and things that confound at first seem obvious after the break.

Sun, 2012-01-29 17:06

MissTee

Thanks everyone. Once again, I knew I could count on ABC’ers to help me out. It’s difficult to get past something when it gets stuck in your head so I appreciate all your comments. I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets in a pickle with tenses! I think I will take Sue’s advice – leave it for a while and then go back to it with fresh eyes.

Mon, 2012-01-30 18:19

Indrani Ananda

Indrani Ananda Hello MissTee, This is the sort of thing I am constantly confused by. Writing in the first person seems to produce more of these dilemmas. I would have written "is", I think, because if the asteroid is in an uninhabitable state at the time of the author's narrative, it's not going to change overnight, is it? If something has been done to make the asteroid inhabitable since its former state and the present timeline of the writer, then it should read "was". If you get it wrong in a poem - just say "It's Poetic Licence." Indrani

Indrani Ananda

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