Narrative Tense

One of the most important decisions an author needs to make before they start writing is what tense their narrative will be in. The feel of the story is dependent on the tense. This makes it very time consuming to change since the narrative tense influences every word on the page. The narrative tense affects how events that happen in the narrative past, present and future are written, with each carrying its own feel, strengths and weaknesses.

What is Tense?

The tense refers to the time period that a story is told from. The tense is determined by the conjugation of the verbs (action words) that tell you when things are happening in relation to our present. There are three basic tenses: Past, Present and Future. Within each of these tenses, there are several sub-tenses that are used depending on several factors, including the base tense of the narrative and whether the action being described is completed, in progress or yet to happen.

While every narrative will have a base tense, there are reasons within each narrative to use different tenses depending on the situation. The most common reasons to step outside of the base tense are within dialogue or to discuss something that occurs in the narrative past or future.

Past Tense

The past tense depicts events that have happened before the present moment. Using the past tense as the base tense gives the narrative a feeling of being settled, kind of like the narrator is recounting history.

The past tense is usually formed by adding -ed to the base verb:

Verb = Jump

I jumped We jumped

You jumped You jumped

She/He/They jumped They jumped

Note: English loves irregular verbs, with around 200 that are commonly used. Keep this in mind when conjugating verbs and when it doubt, look it up.

In fiction, this is by far the most common narrative tense. This means that even though it lacks the immediacy of the present tense, it usually creates a frictionless read where the reader can easily immerse themselves in the narrative. It is also the easiest tense for most authors to write in because it is so familiar. This makes it great for big, weighty sci-fi and complex fantasy narratives.

Past tense is the most flexible of the tenses. It makes it easier to juggle multiple viewpoints without confusing timelines and allows for more variation in narrative distance than other tenses. However, past tense can lack urgency and writing events in the narrative past can be clunky.

Present Tense

The present tense depicts events happening now. It gives a feeling of immediacy to the narrative, making it great for thrillers and mysteries.

The present tense usually leaves the base verb unchanged unless the subject is third person singular, which adds an s to the end. (The singular they uses the same conjugation as the plural they, just like the singular and plural you.):

Verb = Jump

I jump We jump

You jump You jump

She jumps They jump

He jumps

They jump

The present tense is great for getting really close to the point of view character and throwing the reader right in the action, but can feel jarring if it's not done well. The present tense can also make it difficult to juggle multiple points of view and it can make the timelines between narrative arcs unclear. But nothing can beat present tense for putting the reader in the moment.

Note: When it comes to dialogue, it is almost always written with the present as the base tense, regardless of what the primary story tense is.

Future Tense

The future tense describes actions that have yet to happen. This is a tense that is almost never used as the base tense of a narrative but can be useful in dialogue and short passages to depict events that will happen, or that characters hope will happen, beyond the narrative present, making it great for fortunes, prophecies, hopes and dreams.

The future tense is usually formed by adding will (or won't for the negative) in front of the base verb:

Verb = Fall

I will fall We will fall

You will fall You will fall

She/He/They will fall They will fall

Note: All above conjugations are for the simple version of the tense. Each tense has several more nuanced conjugations depending the base tense and the event's relation to the narrative present.

Narrative Present vs Actual Tense

The narrative present is the base tense of the narrative. This is different from the actual tense, which refers to the tense of the verb in question. The narrative present can be written in either the past or present tense, regardless of when the events are happening within the context of the narrative.

Present tense narrative

When the narrative is written in the present tense, the narrative present is pretty straightforward: It is written in the present tense.

She runs toward the dragon and draws her sword.

This means that the character is, at this moment, running toward the dragon.

The tense of past events is also pretty straightforward: It is written in the past tense.

She ran toward the dragon and drew her sword.

This means that the character ran toward the dragon in the narrative past. It is not actively happening.

Past tense narrative

Things with the narrative present get a little more confusing when the narrative is written in the past tense. In this case, the narrative present is written in the past tense:

She ran toward the dragon and drew her sword.

This means that the character is, at this moment, running toward the dragon.

When describing actions that have happened before the narrative present, the past perfect tense is used:

She had run toward the dragon and had drawn her sword.

This means that the character ran toward the dragon at some point in the narrative past. It is not actively happening.

The past perfect can be clunky and, as a result, it is often edited out by writers trying to smooth out their prose. However clunky it may be, it is necessary when writing in the past tense.