tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post649656924428534263..comments2023-09-22T18:24:22.356+01:00Comments on Lexi Revellian: Aagh, not the present tense...Lexihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404818053292364819noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post-23751078328101506702009-03-17T10:11:00.000+00:002009-03-17T10:11:00.000+00:00Yes, Norm, and I think the majority of readers fee...Yes, Norm, and I think the majority of readers feel the same.<BR/><BR/>I read of one author whose publisher got her to rewrite her entire book in the past tense...Lexihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14404818053292364819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post-17161071516658270632009-03-16T23:43:00.000+00:002009-03-16T23:43:00.000+00:00I agree. Somewhere I read that William Gibson's"Pa...I agree. <BR/><BR/>Somewhere I read that William Gibson's"Pattern Recognition" was a terrific read. I have read several others of Gibson's scifi stuff and liked it, so I picked up Pattern Recognition. It's written in present tense. I kept waiting for the story to get better because I'd read it was haunting. It is. I'm haunted by present tense nonsense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post-65813543810621446032009-03-15T10:30:00.000+00:002009-03-15T10:30:00.000+00:00Yes, HJ, I've read some good books - or the start ...Yes, HJ, I've read some good books - or the start of them - in present tense on Authonomy. <I>Deep Water</I> is one. But I'd like it even more in the past tense.<BR/><BR/>I've never quite latched on to Penelope Lively, for the same reason.Lexihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14404818053292364819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post-80936194392637613572009-03-14T20:41:00.000+00:002009-03-14T20:41:00.000+00:00Oops. Typos in previous post!I like the present te...Oops. Typos in previous post!<BR/><BR/>I like the present tense, although I wasn't always fond of it. But have read some cracking books written that way. An Equal Music by Vikram Seth, for example.<BR/><BR/>It's also quite common in YA these days, and I've read a couple of YA books recently where it's used really well.Welshcakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11345530288844655569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post-68516573139115138352009-03-14T20:39:00.000+00:002009-03-14T20:39:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Welshcakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11345530288844655569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post-30747106894035579442009-03-14T18:15:00.000+00:002009-03-14T18:15:00.000+00:00How true - it has happened, of course, so it shoul...How true - it has happened, of course, so it should be in the past tense. Now how can we convince everybody else?Lexihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14404818053292364819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250078125607062288.post-48996427716753963112009-03-14T17:38:00.000+00:002009-03-14T17:38:00.000+00:00I'm with you on this one, that's for sure. I have ...I'm with you on this one, that's for sure. I have no idea what the attraction or even the intended positive effect present tense is supposed to have when relating a story. It ain't happening now. It happened. That's why it can be told as a story. Even if the story is taking place in the future, it already happened. Really.<BR/><BR/>Maybe writers who use this thinks it brings a sense of immediacy, a feeling that we are peering in a window and watching things as they unfold, but I can't recall a single instance where the effect it had on me was anything other than to make my eyes roll and reach for something else to read. Or maybe go pull weeds.Alan Hutchesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03880999192085868408noreply@blogger.com