Writing Style

[Vigilante]

This is a question I thought of while trying to write my story. I couldn't quite get the sentence sounding write and then well, I had to ask this question. Err rather these questions.

What tense do you write in, why?
I haven't really written anything but essays in a while, and the essays are rather different than a story. It seems weird to write in present tense though.
What view do you write in, why?
In most essays, first person. But in stories either first person or third.

 

[Haruka of Hoenn]

What tense do you write in, why?
Past tense, because it comes easiest to me. Occasionally, I'll try to experiment with present-tense, but when I proofread my work, I catch myself switching tenses :P

What view do you write in, why?
It varies, actually. Depending on the story, I'll write in either first person or third person. If my story is more event-based, I'll write it in third. If it's more character-based, I'll write it in first.

 

[Feign]

What tense do you write in, why?

Usually past or imperfect (okay well they're almost the same thing)

What view do you write in, why?

Only in 3rd person omniscient or limited, depending.

Wait till you have to write essays in 3rd person. Actually I can't even recall a time since I've written an essay in first person... Just sounds too awkward and too personali-ish... Plus it doesn't help to say "I think that..." etc. Teachers that I've spoken to, just want to see first person in terms of not what you think, but what you want to do. Like present a position...

 

[Bay]

What tense do you write in, why?
Depends on the writing. Nonfiction writing, like my uni essays, I go present tense because usually the research you're doing is as if you just recently found out and such. For fiction writing, past tense since it's easier for me also. I tried doing present tense though recently and it's not easy doing it in fiction writing. XD

What view do you write in, why?
I go with first person in essays because many times the essays asks for my thoughts on this topic and such. For fanfiction, I usually go with third person omniscient because I usually like to write about the thoughts on all characters.

 

[InvisibleGoldenBulbasaur]

What tense do you write in, why?
Past tense, usually. Stories are an account of something that happened in the past, usually, so it comes naturally.

What view do you write in, why?
Third person limited. I go overboard with third person omniscient and I think it just kills a lot of the suspense. And I find it hard to work with first-person, mainly because it tints all the events through that character's point of view.

 

[txteclipse]

Hey, haven't seen you in a while. Anyway:

What tense do you write in, why?

Past, typically. Future tense is weird, and I just don't use present-tense a lot.

What view do you write in, why?

I've written in third-person limited, third-person omniscient, first-person, and a hybrid of first- and second-person that turned out really interesting (see "The Perfect Team" in sig). My favorite is probably first person, because I like to get into the heads of my characters a lot.

 

[SkyBlue]

What tense do you write in? Why?

Past tense, usually. Present tense for essays. Stories are different from essays, see, because essays don't need a narrator, dialogue, plot, and stuff.

What view do you write in? Why?

Third-person. Sometimes, I use first-person to make people see the character's thoughts about the situation, and second-person to make them see through the character's eyes.

 

[Giratina ♀]

In my stories I use past-tense, but stage directions for roleplay applications are done in present tense for obvious reasons. I usually write in third-person omniscient, which means a third person narrative who can observe all characters' thoughts... unless Giratina happens to be in the scene, in which case I will do first person through her perspective.

 

[Lana.]

I'll normally use plain old past tense for normal stories, but when I want something a little different (like for prologues or something), I'll go with present. It's fun to write in. =3

As for POV, I just go with whatever is natural. I like first-person for some weird reason, but then sometimes third person just works better... normally I just write and whichever comes first is how I continue writing.

 

[Zeta Sukuna]

Me? Well, I believe I use either present or past tense in writing fanfics, and I usually use 3rd person limited, although the first story I ever finished was written in 3rd person omniscient. Very rarely do I use first person in a story, and I never use second person.

 

[Glaceon_]

What tense do you write in, why?
Past for story writing - at one point, I had the problem of occasionally switching tenses as I progressed through the story, which led to my starting some of my work over, but I've managed to stick to past tense now. I just feel more comfortable writing in past- than I do in any other tense.
What view do you write in, why?
Third person/omniscient. I just find it to be a more comfortable perspective to work with when storytelling. If I ever did a short story, I'd probably work in first person, to see how it goes. Really, I'm just experimenting with writing and seeing where I fall more comfortably; at current, third person is my safety net on POV.