Dialogue and tense help...please

L.Blake · Apr 30, 2012

I'm writing in Past Tense and got told that in dialogue tense doesn't matter only the tag or beat.

Yesterday I got told that the speaking has to be in past tense as well. I would appreciate any help with this.

Thanks,
L.

alleycat · Apr 30, 2012

The person speaking is in the present. He or she might be referring to some event that happened in the past; in that case the speaker would use past tense. Or he or she may be speaking of some present event.

"I'm watching television," Jim said. (Even if the story itself is set in the past.)

"I watched television," Jim said.

"I will watch television," Jim said.

Just ask, relative to the character himself, is the action or event happening now, or in the past, or is to happen in the future.

Bufty · Apr 30, 2012

No actual dialogue has to be in past tense.

Any character speaking uses whatever tense is needed to express whatever it is they are saying.

Are you sure you heard the suggestion correctly?

Maybe the person meant that if you were writing in past tense whatever dialogue tags you use should also be in past tense - said, whispered, asked, shouted.....

heza · Apr 30, 2012

Actual dialog can also be in present tense, even if the character is talking about something that happened in the past; usually it contributes to story telling or characterization.

FalconMage · Apr 30, 2012

When you're presenting dialogue, the dialogue itself is in the character's perspective, right?

So:

He said, "That is one ugly dog!"

He said, "That was one ugly dog!"

They mean different things. The first, the character is experiencing as he speaks it. The second, it's a past event to the character at the time he speaks.

So I'd guess the real question is, when the character speaks, is the subject a past event? Is it present? Might it even be a future event?

Jamesaritchie · Apr 30, 2012

Dialogue should be in whatever tense the character would naturally speak. This means you have to know and trust the character. Some people speak in past tense, some in present, and some mix the two.

Have any character speak just as he would if he were real, and you met him on the street.

Once! · Apr 30, 2012

Yup - agree with everyone else on this. What the character says is ... well, what the character says. It stands on its own and is inviolable. The tense of the story does not change the speech.

Standing on the moon, Neil Armstrong said: "That's one small step for man ... (oops) ... and one giant leap for mankind."

That's what he said, no matter how much he tries to say that he squeezed "a" in front of "man".

And it remains what he said whether you report this in the past, present or future tense.

L.Blake · Apr 30, 2012

Thank you all...big squishy hugs. I about lost it when I thought I had to go back and change the speaking parts. All my characters have their own speaking quirks...like real people

*Wiping the worry off my face*

I did go back to his notes to make sure I read them right. He was noting my dialogue didn't match the tense of the story.

L.

Bufty · Apr 30, 2012

Ask him to give you a specific instance where he feels that occurred.

I suspect there's a breakdown/misunderstanding in the communication between the two of you somewhere.

L.Blake said:
Thank you all...big squishy hugs. I about lost it when I thought I had to go back and change the speaking parts. All my characters have their own speaking quirks...like real people *Wiping the worry off my face*

I did go back to his notes to make sure I read them right. He was noting my dialogue didn't match the tense of the story.

L.

Cliffhanger · Apr 30, 2012

Once! said:
Yup - agree with everyone else on this. What the character says is ... well, what the character says. It stands on its own and is inviolable. The tense of the story does not change the speech.

Standing on the moon, Neil Armstrong said: "That's one small step for man ... (oops) ... and one giant leap for mankind."

That's what he said, no matter how much he tries to say that he squeezed "a" in front of "man".

And it remains what he said whether you report this in the past, present or future tense.

"When we arrive on Mars I'll stand on the surface and look back at that shimmering blue-green speck and say, 'That's one small step for man... and one giant leap for mankind', just like Neil Armstrong did."

Kenn · May 1, 2012

I wonder if this is a confusion over what is dialogue. For example, when talking to someone you might say: I told him I was watching television rather than I told him, 'I am watching television'.

L.Blake · May 1, 2012

Thanks everyone.

L.

Fallen · May 1, 2012

Kenn said:
I wonder if this is a confusion over what is dialogue. For example, when talking to someone you might say: I told him I was watching television rather than I told him, 'I am watching television'.

Maybe the reader is applying narrative tense as a blanket statement to everything? "You're narrating in past-tense, therefore every verb has to be past tense." Which would be... concerning.

L.Blake · May 2, 2012

I see where you're coming from Fallen. When he comes home in ten more days I'm going to ask about it.

L.

Jamesaritchie · May 2, 2012

Kenn said:
I wonder if this is a confusion over what is dialogue. For example, when talking to someone you might say: I told him I was watching television rather than I told him, 'I am watching television'.

It's still just dialogue, and the character can use whatever tense he wishes. "I told him I was watching TV" is fine. "I told him I'm watching TV" is also fine.

Real people often speak in past tense, and real people often speak in present tense, or mix the two. As long as it's being spoken, it's dialogue, and tense rules go out the window.

All that matters is dialogue matching character.

blacbird · May 2, 2012

L.Blake said:
Yesterday I got told that the speaking has to be in past tense as well.

Whoever told you this is an idiot. Go listen to people actually speaking, and you'll know.

caw

Dialogue and tense help...please

L.Blake

Soaking up information.

alleycat

Still around

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

heza

FalconMage

Jamesaritchie

Once!

Still confused by shoelaces

L.Blake

Soaking up information.

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Cliffhanger

Kenn

New kid, be gentle!

L.Blake

Soaking up information.

Fallen

Stood at the coalface

L.Blake

Soaking up information.

Jamesaritchie

blacbird