I have been challenged by Venita to address the topic of will it throw a reader to change tenses? If you are not sure what tenses are, I wrote a very long post that takes a deep dive into tenses and narrative viewpoints.
The short answer is that it depends on how you do it.
Change tenses deliberately
There are many good reasons for changing tenses mid story. Most stories are set with the past tense but a static background – such as a city might justify a switch to present tense.
For example, “Jack lived in London. London is a large and crowded city where house prices are very high. Jack did not have nearly enough money to afford a house.”
In that example, we switched from the personal – Jack – to the larger view of the unchanging city. By definition, this had to be telling rather than showing but that change is nevertheless stylistically acceptable and the meaning is never confused.
The reason the change works in our example is that we broke with the convention of past-tense deliberately. We were clear that this was to impart information and we do so in a way that suggests that what we have described has a permanence to it.
Change tense to end the story
Another way to use a tense shift is to quickly wrap up the denouement (ending).
Movies of real-life events often end with a message of what the people portrayed are doing now. For example, “Jack went on to obtain a first-class degree in law. He works at Some Law Firm PLC. and is an active advocate for affordable housing.”
There is nothing stopping you winding up your story with a quick “where are they now”. This is a stylistic choice but one that can be effective for brevity.
Character tenses
While you, the author, may be writing in the past tense, characters will frequently speak and think in the present tense. For example, “Jack was leaning on the table. This is taking too long, he thought.”
Especially in a character-driven narrative, you will be slipping back and forth between tenses all the time. For the characters, these events are the now; for the story’s narrator, this has already happened. As a result, two or more tenses in a single paragraph might well be something you need.
These character to narrator switches of tense should be invisible to the reader. The fact that this has already happened will not stop readers getting caught up in the moment with the characters. Unless, of course, you break the spell with a clumsy misplaced tense (which should be picked up on in beta reading).
When tense changes throw readers
On the whole, changes in tense will throw readers when it is unclear why you have changed. Perhaps you have simply slipped up or are bobbing back and forth in a way readers cannot follow.
Take this example, “Jack lived in London. Jack lacks enough money to afford a house.”
This is disconcerting because we have been inconsistent. How does Jack’s past in London and his current lack of funds relate? Is this actually a present tense story? What’s going on?
In short, that last example is an unclear mess. We would expect it to throw a reader clean out of the story.
Should you change tenses?
You can change tenses and get a lot of good effect from it but there are some “rules” that apply.
- Be sure that your change of tense is deliberate.
- Make the change serve a purpose.
- Less is more. Few changes are easier to read.
- Be consistent about how and when you change.
- Test out the section with some beta readers.
That last point – test it with a small audience – is important. Especially if you plan to do something a little more avant-garde. Sometimes, the only way to know for sure if readers can follow your changes is to ask some readers.
If you follow the other four “rules” (actually, they are only guidelines), your test reading is likely to go smoothly with few reported problems. At least with the tense changes.
Over to you
What is your opinion of narratives that employ tense changes?
Have you used tense changes yourself? How did the story go over?
Did I miss anything that you would have added?
Use the comments to let me know what you think.