Answer me this

[hils]

I paid for more internet time because I am a freak but I need this answered

The handwritten version of my fic is written in the present tense. There is no real reason other than I don't seem to be able to not write Merlin fic in the present tense. It's weird. I read fics in the past tense and it feels weird. I am a freak.

So, tell me this, flist

[Poll #1361611]

Maybe I'll post my Merlin picspam since I just paid for 90 minutes of internet time just to ask this question

Comments

[notsowise-sage.livejournal.com]

Aww, there I was thinking you'd paid 90 minutes of internet time for your evil twin to take over the world, and to hear my terrible humour

[hils.livejournal.com]

No, I think you'll find that I paid for more internet time to SPAM THE WORLD WITH SLASH

Which I shall do right now

[lou-angel.livejournal.com]

OMG YES
and talk to me!
Er...hi!

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

If it's done right, then actually, I think fics in the present tense are more realistic to me, yet still have this ethereal touch, if that makes sense.

Now, if it's done WRONG, then I have a repeated desire to bash my head into the nearest hard object, like my desk or the wall. (Generally, wrong can include many things, but the worst is a person not understanding how to change verbs and sentence structure to stay in the present tense. Makes my inner grammar police shriek and howl and beg for something to throw.)

Not sure if that helped, but I figured I'd toss in my thoughts, for however much they may be worth. LOL

~Nebula

[hils.livejournal.com]

Well, that tells me I will need a good beta to make sure I get it right

Thanks!

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

I think writing in the present tense is the ONLY thing that makes me go looking for a beta. I love reading it, but writing it can be a total bitch. I'll start sliding into past tense, and then my muse and inner grammar police will start beating on me and...it's not pretty. ~_^

~Nebula

[hils.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do tend to suffer from wandering tense syndrome when writing in the present tense

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Wandering Tense Syndrome. You need to patent that, stat. Because that is gold. *luffs*

*intends to use that in the near future*

~Nebula

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hee! If I patent it will I become rich?

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Dude, every single writer would use it. You'd make MILLIONS from blog posts alone. ^______^ Ooh! And they could make it a medical thing that writers suffer from, like writer's block, or maybe something illegal that people could be arrested for, like DUI: driving under the influence. And you'll do the world a great service and it'll be in the dictionaries and encyclopedias and Wikis and it'll all be because of you. I totally know it. *grins*

~Nebula

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hoorah!!! In that case I shall patent immediately!

[incapricious.livejournal.com]

Present tense bugs me in some fandoms but not in Merlin. I have not been able to figure out why. Maybe it's TV-based fandoms that do better with present tense. Although past tense doesn't feel weird to me at all, just different.

Hmm.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Heh! Yeah, I don't mean it feels weird. I don't know what I mean really. I think I'm just in 'the zone'

[selinamoonfire.livejournal.com]

Normally I don't like present tense. Normally I can't stand it in books, but I'm more forgiving in fan fic, IF it's done well. I hate it when a writer forgets what tense they're using and switches back and forth. That drives me insane.

If that's the way your fic wants to be, then let it be in present tense.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Cool! I'll be sure to get a good beta to check I keep in the same tense

[zoeiona.livejournal.com]

I like present tense for very specific stream-of-consciousness stuff, certainly, but it's normally a turn-off in fics that aren't like that. For some reason I find it infinitely harder to get into the story when it's in present tense. But I'm wierd about reading and writingy things - all my first drafts are handwritten, for instance - so you can safely discard this as an aberration. :)

[hils.livejournal.com]

All my first drafts are handwritten too!

[zoeiona.livejournal.com]

Hurray, another Luddite! *hugs* (Handwriting... I can't get into the story when I'm writing it unless I handwrite. Also, desktop PCs are hard to lug around, and laptop keyboards are the work of Satan.)

[hils.livejournal.com]

I go through a very distinct editing process which suffers mightily if I type up without handwriting first. If you compare the handwritten version with the typed up version it's often like reading a totally differet story

[rohaa.livejournal.com]

I don't like present tense in anything except the SUPERBLY written stuff. In all other, my mind seems to automatically translate it to past tense without notifying me, and if the fic is long enough, I catch on somewhere halfway in between and then try to convince my mind to fool me a bit longer, which never works, and then I get terribly confused.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Oh dear! Maybe I should rethink this one...

[rohaa.livejournal.com]

Naw, it's fine, just don't tell me at the start and there's a good chance I'll be completely oblivious to it. My mind is quite good at this by now.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hee!!! *crosses fingers*

[yavannauk.livejournal.com]

I think present tense fics often have more of a sense of immediacy than those in past tense - you feel closer to the action. That said, if it's a long, plotty fic then I think past tense works better than if it's a more character driven piece. But I have no problem reading a fic in present tense as long as the tense usage is consistent.

For myself, when I first get a fic idea it usually comes out in present tense about 95% of the time, but that may be because I generally get dialogue first. Sometimes I change it into past tense when I expand it, other times not.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hmm...this one is shaping to be quite long and plotty. It should be fairly easy to switch tense when I type up and edit. This is why I'm asking now :)

[yavannauk.livejournal.com]

Yay for long and plotty fic! Are you doing Merlin Big Bang?

[hils.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, no! Writing fic of that length for any fandom fills me with terror

[yavannauk.livejournal.com]

Ah, but at least the Merlin one starts at a word count of only 15K, which is theoretically achievable!

Eeep! And why does your LJ suddenly have red text on a black background? This is not pleasant on the eyes on a soggy Sunday!

[hils.livejournal.com]

Theoretical for some, maybe. The longest fic I have ever written is 9500 words

[yavannauk.livejournal.com]

Really? For some reason I was sure you'd written longer than that.

[hils.livejournal.com]

It probably just felt like that when you were reading it ;)

[hils.livejournal.com]

Uh...it looks fine to me!

[yavannauk.livejournal.com]

Ah, it's back to the proper look now. Thank goodness! I guess it was one of those glitches LJ has sometimes where journals temporarily display in the generator style for no apparent reason. It was not pretty, though. *shudders*

[hils.livejournal.com]

*pets your poor eyes*

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

As I've written in the present tense, I certainly can't say it's a turn-off! XD

But I will say that I think it works better for shorter pieces where you want that feeling of immediacy and there-ness for the reader. An epic written in the present tense needs to be very well crafted or it just doesn't work as well, imho. Though it can be useful for effect--writing a flashback scene in the present tense while the rest of the story is in past tense, for example.

I think it really depends on the usage, for me. ^^; *is unhelpful*

[hils.livejournal.com]

No, that is very helpful actually! Thanks!

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

I've used present tense and past tense, depending on the mood of the fic. I marked yes, though, because I see so many people doing it wonky. It depends on what you're using it for, what reaction you want to get out of the audience, etc.

As long as you have a good beta, most people should be okay, but it is something that isn't used as often.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)

[ego-chan.livejournal.com]

But then, I can't say no to fanfiction in general. The more, the merrier, no matter what tense.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thanks!

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I need a button for 'sometimes'. It can be powerful, or it can be offputting. Depends on the story.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Hehe! Ok, thanks

[phoebesmum.livejournal.com]

Present tense seems to be the only way I can write these days. I don't know why.

[hils.livejournal.com]

I'm like that too! It's so weird!

[cordykitten]

I don't mind present tense fics but many people don't like it. No clue why they think it's wrong.

[hils.livejournal.com]

Personal preferences I guess