Writing Tips & Guidance

General: Before You Begin

There are important things to consider before writing a single word. Yes, I said before. Too many writers on this platform make mistakes with tense and POV to let it go unmentioned. Those things are difficult and time-consuming to fix after the first draft, so it's best to address them before starting.

The most important thing about these is to choose and to stick to that choice. You have to cling to it and make it an integrated method of your stream-of-consciousness. Please, just make the active decision.

I'll break down all the options for you and give you general advice. There will also be a third decision you must make after these, but please focus on these two foremost. 

Tense

Past Tense. The past is used to describe things that have already happened. Fantasy, science fiction, and most other genre novels are all written in this tense because of the flexibility and familiarity.

Example: "Harry adjusted his glasses."

Example: "Hermione punched Draco in the face."

Present Tense. The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now or things that are continuous. Short stories and some genre novels are written in the present tense, though isn't usually suggested. It can be jarring and off-putting for readers since it is an unusual choice. Regardless, there is nothing wrong with it and it is a completely viable choice. There has actually been an uprising of present-tense novels, stemming from the success of the Hunger Games. 

Example: "This is your life and its ending one moment at a time."

Example: "The things you used to own, now they own you."

Example: "I am Jack's complete lack of surprise."

Future Tense. The future tense describes things that have yet to happen. Novels are generally never written in this tense, though there are supposedly rare short stories in the future tense.

Example: "He is about to die."

Example: "I will walk."

Example: "There is to be an investigation into the mayor's business affairs."

There are also things called "perfect" tenses, but you can research those yourself if you wish. They're fairly technical and seem out of place for this discussion. Please correct me if I am wrong, and I will write them in.

Point of View

First Person. The first person is used when the main character is telling the story. Many stories and novels are written in the first-person point of view. In this kind of narrative, you are inside a character's head, watching the story unfold through that character's eyes. However, as a reader, you can only experience the story through this person's eyes. So you won't know anything about the people or events that this character hasn't personally experienced.

First Person pronouns include I, me, my, mine, and myself.

Example: "I ran."

Example: "I love cake!"

Second Person. It is told from the perspective of "you." It is thought to be unsuitable for creative writing. I feel as though reader-insert fanfiction is a rare example of how people make it work.

Second Person pronouns include you, your, yours, yourself, and yourselves.

Example: "You run. You can hear them behind you."