FITNESS TRAINING ASSIGNMENT FORUM

Hi everyone,

Olivia, how do you order your thoughts so well?

Rayn ~ You read my stories, do I lose credibility?

Shaara ~ I like your present perfect tense attitude. I don't mind being labeled the fool

I prefer writing in the present tense, but my characters are tortured by their pasts and they have to look back all the time. I switch tenses, because I play with time and I might fast forward a story and regress another character, but the story remains in the present, building to the future ending.

That said, I'm in deep trouble with verbs. I am recovering from a four month bout of comma convulsions. Out of nowhere, I forgot how to use them. Now, verbs stick their tongues out and torture me. Someone is always calling ,me on verb tense switches, a problem unknown to me until a month ago.

Caressa knows her stuff and it turns out that in some cases, the verbs are not strangling me, but my sentence order is off. However, I'm not off the hook. The more I read, the more confused I feel.

I wrote stronger stories before I started analyzing every word and thought. I wrote with abandon and fifty-seven edits, but I never worried like I do now. It's been a long time since I graduated English Lit and trying to re-learn grammar at age fifty-two challenges me.

I read mostly sci-fi or CIA type stories and they are written in the present tense. Right now, I'm reading A Dean Koontz and his stories move in the present, so I seem to be the odd one out, or I am imprisoned in vocabulary and verb transitions.

I am learning German, does that give me any credit or excuses for making mistakes? The language fascinates me, but frustrates as well. Anyhow, what's the point in learning on my own?

May I show my ignorance? Simple tense basically means writing without the dreaded "to be" verb, yes? If so, then I strive to write in simple tense, but once in awhile, I am so relieved to read a story that starts with "It was a dark and stormy night." I'm missing that little guy "was" and I think too much consideration for losing the verb will ultimately hinder good writing.

I ramble, but to the best of my knowledge, I write in the present tense and read books in the present tense. After reading everyone's thoughts, I feel like a singularity and a possible deranged author.

Can I just go home?

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