Writing 101: Tense

One of the worst mistakes a writer can make -- and a sure way to anger a reader -- is not sticking with a firm tense. Make your work consistent by choosing which tense you're writing in, and find out exactly how to do it.

Tenses

There are three different tenses, but most authors use only two of them. Once you choose your tense, you're going to have very specific grammar rules to follow -- so choose wisely.

• Past

By far the most common tense in book-writing, past tense is used when the events being described have already happened. The narrator is telling the tale from some point in the future from when the book takes place. A book written in past tense doesn't have to be historical or even dated -- it can be contemporary, taking place even as the reader is working their way through the book. The narrator, however, is in the future.

That's important grammatically, because as a writer you have to be certain you're using past-tense words to describe every single action and event. He said, she said, they walked -- that sort of thing. The moment you slip up and write "says" or "walks," a reader is going to be gritting their teeth.

• Present

It's much more complicated grammatically to write in the present tense, but it can bring an exciting pace to readers and make them feel like they're involved in the story. When everything is happening in real-time, there's a certain element of drama and excitement to any story. A book that's being written in the past tense can't be changed -- the events are already set, and everything has already happened. When everything is unfolding in the present, the reader will feel very engaged -- almost as if by will alone, they can control the characters and events taking place.

But you, as an author, have set up a huge challenge for yourself. It's so natural to read and write in past tense, it's incredibly easy to mess up this style of writing. Remember that the narrator is experiencing everything as it unfolds. The waitress is walking toward the table, she hasn't already walked to the table. It gets confusing to write in the present tense, because the narrator still has memories of events that have transpired before the story began. In almost all cases, there are already relationships that have been established in the past (a character's mother, for example, has been their mother since the day they were born). Only careful editing and double-checking will keep your grammar clean when you're relating a past event in a present-tense book.

• Future

Writing in the future tense is almost unheard-of, but it has been done before. John Milton used the future tense a long, long time ago in the past for some of his epic poetry (which reads a little like book-style prose). Writing a book in the future tense is ridiculously hard, and it could easily be difficult to read as well. Just imagine it: Susan will walk into the bar and search every available face for John's eyes, her heart pounding furiously. She'll laugh when the drunk at the bar reaches out for her leg when she passes. A whole book of that could easily sound grating, so it has to be written very carefully. It's also a good idea to give the reader some explanation of why the book is in the future, and not the present or the past. Is this all someone's prophecy, or perhaps wishful thinking? Why are the events taking place in some yet-to-be-reached time, and not right now or yesterday?

Mixing it Up

Consistency is important, but there's always a possibility to mix in a different tense. This is most commonly done in the prologue or epilogue of a book. For example, you might start a prologue in the present tense and then relate a story that happened in the past. You might even write the epilogue in the future tense (Now that Winston and I have managed to get through all our problems, we will be married in the Spring.) But there's always a time and place for it if you're going to change the tense -- meaning you must have a reason for doing so. Only change the tense when you want to change the tone of the story, or perhaps relate something important to the reader.

Writing 101: The Book Cover

After you agonize over every word and debate plot points until nothing in your book makes sense any more, the last thing you want to do is worry about packaging. But at the end of the day, it takes a compelling cover to sell any book. A gripping image, a title that reaches through the screen -- a reason to buy, that's what every reader is actually looking for. And chances are, if they don't like your cover they're never going to read a word you've written...no matter how great the blurb may be.

Designing a Cover

Only very artistic people have the skills and know-how to create both the text and cover for a book completely from scratch, but you may not have to. There's lots of ways you can create a cover, and not all of them involve sitting down at a drawing pad or graphic design program.

• DIY

If you've got the skills and the materials, you can always use a program or a piece of paper to literally draw and create your book cover from a completely blank screen. This method will give you the most control over the design, and it'll give you the most agony. You could spend many, many hours attempting to create something from nothing, but this is by far the most ambitious means of creating a cover.

People who aren't designers or artists can still DIY their book covers, however. Turn to sites with license-free imaging to collect pictures for your cover, and use a design program (like Photoshop) to put all those elements together in a pleasing way. Design programs also offer many different fonts so you may add text to your cover.

It's possible to get original artwork even if you aren't an artist -- just grab a digital camera and go take a picture. A beautiful bit of nature, a person of your acquaintance who looks like your main character, a startling image you create using sticks and twigs -- doesn't matter. If you take the photo, it's yours to use as long as it doesn't contain any copyrighted material. This means you should avoid photographing any logos, slogans or imagery that was produced by someone else (a movie poster or a television playing an actual TV show, for example).

• Farm it Out

All the digital cameras and license-free photos in the world won't help some people (I'm one of them). Writers are definitely artistic people, but that doesn't necessary mean they can create or even judge aesthetically-pleasing images. We paint with words, not with...well, paint. So you're just going to have to hire someone who is an artist.

Look for cover designers through writers' forums and websites. Often, cover designers gravitate toward these online locations because they want the work, so they shouldn't be at all hard to find. If you're acquainted with other indie authors and you admire their covers, ask them about their designers and contact those designers directly if the authors give you permission to do so. If all else fails, you can always take out a free ad on sites like craigslist. Simply advertise for what you need, and you'll get responses.

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Writing 101: POV

Point of view is the most basic element to any book, and the first thing you're going to have to decide when you sit down to write (or stand, I'm not here to judge your style). Are you going with classic fly-on-the-wall, personal firsthand storytelling...or something even more bold? POV isn't something you should determine on a whim. Know who exactly is telling the story, and why.

Perspective

There are only three types of POV in book-writing, and that makes it easy to pick one. Perspective in books changes everything, so you have to make a decision when you pick your POV. Each option has its own advantages, and disadvantages that will limit you as a writer.

• First-person POV

When you're telling a story from the first person, a single character is relating the tale. You'll be writing lines like I looked her straight in the eye, or I took a deep breath before speaking. But when you're in a character's head, you've got to get inside their head. Know what they're thinking, feeling, experiencing every moment -- and put all of that on the page. Do it correctly, and you'll draw readers deeply into the head of a single character with the first-person POV.

Usually, the main character is the one telling the tale (think Twilight), but it's not unheard-of to write from the first-person POV of a secondary character. Doing this can be a much bolder choice, but difficult to write. When you write in the first person, you're immediately limiting yourself because the character you're writing knows only what they, themselves, are thinking and feeling. The character has to figure out every other character based on mere observation and interaction. Insights may be wrong, motives may be second-guessed, and the reader will be on the exact same journey with your character. You as a writer have to be in every character's head, but the character you're seeing through in the book probably doesn't have that skill.

• Third-person POV

When you write in the third person, you take a fly-on-the-wall perspective on everything that's going on. No one is "I," and every character must be described by their name or a pronoun (you know, she, he, all that good stuff). The third person you're writing through may be a Godlike person who sees and knows all, easily slipping in and out of the heads of every character to deliver insight on what they're thinking, or it can be someone who only clearly sees one or two main characters in the book. The third-person POV is usually removed from the events and characters of the book, relating the tale after the fact or as it happens -- but rarely, it may be revealed later that the third-person narrator of the book is actually a character within the story itself. 

• Second-person POV

The rarest of all perspectives in books, second-person POV is also the hardest to write. When you write in the second person, you are directly addressing the reader (as I'm doing now) with words like you and your. The second-person POV, also called second-person narrative, is most often used in self-help and spirituality books, but some bold writers have authored entire fiction books by actually maneuvering you -- the reader -- as a character in the story. Bright Lights, Big City is a famous example of this style. A line from the book reads as follows: You are leaning back against a post that may or may not be structural with regard to the building, but which feels essential to your own maintenance of an upright position.

It's incredibly daunting to write an entire book in the second-person POV, but you can sprinkle it into books written from another perspective. Directly addressing the reader infrequently can add a powerful element to any story, and further draw the reader into the book. Acknowledging that the narrator knows he/she has an audience can make the reader pay a little more attention to what they're reading, but don't overdo it.

Writing 101: Naming Characters

Writers are creative by nature, but that doesn't mean they can pull a thousand names from their heads without breaking a sweat. Naming characters can be pretty stressful, and we've all suddenly changed a name at the last minute for one reason or another. When you're drawing a blank, there's lots of resources out there that will help with naming characters.

 Name Resources

The simplest way to find names for your characters is to turn to sites designed for expectant mothers. Type "baby names" into any search engine, and you'll discover a wellspring of name resources that just won't quit. In fact, it can get overwhelming. Narrow the field by choosing a certain letter or combination of letters that speaks to you, and type that into a search string on the baby site itself. Baby sites are very helpful, and many of them will organize names by gender, origin, letter, popularity and a host of additional categories. If you want to write a character with Irish origins, for example, these resources are absolutely priceless. Use the sites to come up with last names as well, as many last names are derived from first names anyway. If you're struggling to find a suitable last name, try smooshing two first names together to create an melodic-sounding combination. 

Writing 101: Converting to eBook

It's an exciting feeling to finish a book, but once all the writing and editing are done you've still got more work ahead of you -- so don't start celebrating just yet. Your book might look great in a document file, but there's all sorts of things that can go wrong when you try to convert it for eReaders. Software really helps when you want to make your book look great electronically, not just on paper.

Get Some Software

Your book isn't going to look the same on an eReader as it does on your computer. But even if you don't have an eReader, you can find out what your book looks like to your readers (and make sure it's perfect before it's published). First, you've got to convert your book into a format that eReaders can actually read. For that kind of thing, having the right software really helps.

• Mobipocket is free, and it converts .html, .pdf, .txt and .doc formats into the Mobi format used by Kindle. Upload the book directly through the software, and you can edit the html file to remove any errors before the book is published. Add pagebreaks using the <mbp:pagebreak/> code and blank spaces with <br>. The software allows you to add the cover, author information and even the blurb.
• Calibre is an ebook management program that converts .txt, .pdf, .html and all ebook formats (but not .doc). You cannot edit the book's html with this program, but you can easily convert your books into additional mobile formats. I use it to change my Kindle-friendly books into ePub books, the only format that B&N accepts.

Viewing Your Books

Always, always take a look at your books before and after you publish them online. If you don't happen to have an eReader, it's no big deal. Amazon, B&N and lots of third-party sites offer free software that allows readers to view ebooks on their computers. You can even download add-ons for web browsers that make it possible to view ebooks. Once you've converted your book into the formats you want, give them a good once-over before uploading them to a bookstore. Once the books are published and live online, download them and take another look at them just for good measure. You cannot double-check your book enough times. Readers want perfection, and perfection takes a whole lot of attempts.

Bah! Who Needs Software?

Not everyone has a great computer system, or the skills to download and organize a bunch of different software programs. Free software is all well and good, but free doesn't make it easy to use. So if just can't download a whole bunch of stuff, don't panic. There are ways around the problem.

Smashwords accepts .doc files all day, every day, and they'll convert your books for you into just about every format any reader could ever want. You've got to list your books on Smashwords to take advantage of this, but you'll get a lot for creating a free account and adding your books to this site. Before you upload to Smashwords, take a look at their style guide because the site has extremely specific formatting requirements.

After you upload to Smashwords, you'll receive emails regarding any stylistic problems with your work, so you'll know what needs to be changed. When all is said and done, go straight to your Smashwords page and download ebook copies of your own work. Even if you can't use it, places like Amazon and B&N can. You can take your downloaded, eformatted book and upload that straight to the other sites where you'd like to sell.

Smashwords will allow you to view certain formats of your book online, but to see it in eReader format you'll have to wait until you're uploading to another site. When you upload to Amazon or B&N, for example, before you complete the publishing process you'll have the option of previewing your work. Do so to see exactly what your readers will see when they download your book -- no software required.