Tension when writing a book?
If I use the first-person perspective and write the action in the past, but the first-person narrator's thoughts only sound normal in the present, is that wrong?
e.g.:
"I really like you, Till," she murmured shyly. Right now, I just want to hide my face and sink into the ground. This girl is driving me crazy.
Should I just put all my thoughts in italics?
Special question: Do you think a first-person perspective in the past is better than the present in an adventure, crime, or romance story? I find the present tense very difficult to write and often annoying.
(2 votes)
Loading...
I think in the context it is wrong because the feelings and thought relate to the described moment in the past.
But you can write thoughts in the present when they are true at the time the narrator tells the story. “This girl makes me crazy” would be right if the girl still makes him crazy. However, this becomes confusing quickly if you do not have a defined narrative point.
I basically find it hard to read everything in the present. Inexperienced authors make mistakes at some point. And your story is also inconsistent. You can’t mix! But what you want to write cursively, locked or big is your decision.
The story must have already happened when you write it down. So, past form. No matter what perspective. Everything else is clever.
So in your example, you could theoretically write in the past: At the moment wanted I still hide my face…
It’s really good in the past.
But it’s your decision.
And yes, I find the I perspective in the past much more practical than in the present, because the words are somehow better shaped and it sounds much more beautiful, in my opinion.