What tense do you use most often???

I read an article in Writer's Digest (WD) online yesterday that got me thinking and wondering - what tense do you write in most often?  The article was written by Brian Klems who is one of the editors at WD.  He was listing the pros and cons of writing in present tense and it got me thinking.

I had read a few articles/blog posts from other editors and authors who almost universally suggested that present tense was the way to go.  It lends and immediacy and in your face quality to the story and keeps it lively, or so the arguments went. It made sense to me at the time and I bought it wholeheartedly.  I even went back and am editing my novel, A Quarter Ton to Kona, rewriting it in present tense.

Klems' article got me thinking, though. Was this the right thing to do?  I'm not sure at the moment.  I'm just over halfway through the novel with the edit and its coming along slowly.  I don't think there should be a hard and fast rule about this.  Mixed tenses are great as they allow the author to bring in past events and manipulate time lines. I even think about the classic stories and fairy tales that start 'Once upon a time...' and realize that past tense is very useful in story telling.

So, I'm curious, when you write, what tense do you use?  Do you stick with one or do you use mixed tenses as appropriate to tell the story?  I would love to hear what you think!

Keep on writing.

To be a writer

In my mind, I've always had the ability to be a writer.  I can sit down and churn out many words about this or that topic almost at will.  Primarily these words are in the form of instruction manuals or training aids - what I would normally think of as "technical writing."  This is the easy stuff.  It has a specific purpose, a well defined framework and it has a very specific structure.  Where I falter is in the realm of fiction.

I love a good story.  I love to read stories where the underdog saves the day and does so through various trials and feats of self-discovery all encapsulated within a tale full of humor and light.  Piers Anthony is one of my favorite authors because he has a great sense of humor and incorporates that into his work.  I would love to write like him, but I am not as clever nor as quick with a quip as he seems to be.

My goal is to explore this realm of fiction writing and hopefully to produce something that others might feel is worth reading.  I know there are stories I need to tell, now I just need to tell them.

To be a writer isn't all that hard.  To be a writer, all one has to do is to put words on page or on screen.  What is hard is to be a good writer and that is what I want to be.  So forgive me as I practice and refine this craft and put forth small snippets of my writing here so that I may garner a bit of honest feedback.

What should I write about????

This is a question that has been worrying me for the last few weeks.  I thought I had it nailed down, until another thought struck me that just sounded so much better.  Right now my plan is to write on this new subject for my novel for NaNoWriMo.  the dilemma has me thinking though, what do author's do who produce multiple books per year, to get inspiration.

I would think they would try to stay on topics that interest them and about which they have some knowledge, but I'm finding, through research, that isn't necessarily the case.  I've read many tips and how to's that authors have put out that insist they start with a very vague notion of a topic or even just with a character and let the novel flow where it may from there.

Others have posted that they put together fairly detailed outlines and plots points and scene descriptions from which they build the story.  I guess what I'm really finding is there is no one right or wrong way to go about this creative process. Its a fairly organic and messy process, this creation and it often follows its own form regardless of how the author tries to shape it.

For this project I have a fairly loose plot with a few main points I want to introduce and make sure are included, but I'm not necessarily stuck on making sure any one point is included in the final story.  I'm going to put in what seems to fit and leave out the rest.  I know there will be many other things that will occur as the story is written that I can't even think of today.

My goal for the month is to create a first draft of what I hope to be an inspirational story with its roots in reality but still a fantasy.

They're here!

Dave couldn't believe others didn't see it.  It was so obvious to him.  There are aliens visiting us.

It was all over the news if one could just understand the stories behind the stories.  Flocks of birds found dead, having met with trauma in mid air and fallen to earth.  Fish dead in the millions in calm water with no biological reason.  It is so obvious.

Time to call Janet and let her know the truth.

His fingers tremble as he pushes the buttons on his phone.  Just as the phone starts to ring he hangs up.

What if I'm wrong.  What if she thinks I'm crazy.  What if there is some other "logical" explanation?

No, there isn't.  Just like in the scene in Star Trek IV where the birds littered the park next to the cloaked bird of prey, there were cloaked alien spacecraft causing these incidents.

He dials again.  This time he doesn't hang up.

"Hello?"

"Janet, its Dave."

"Hi Dave."

"Janet I have some thing important to tell you. Can I come over?"

"Dave, now isn't a good time.  I was just on my way out."

"Janet are you coming?" he hears in the background on the phone.  He recognizes Steve's voice immediately.

"This is important.  I really need to tell you this before you go anywhere."

"Sorry, Dave, now is not a good time.  I'll call you la" and the phone went dead.

"Janet?  Janet?  Can you hear me?"  He looked at the phone and it showed Call Ended.

He hit the buttons to redial, but it wouldn't go through.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

He looked out the window and noticed the day had gotten dark.  Then he saw the reason why.