Picture this...
Recently, someone asked me the reason why I write about events that take place in the past and talk about them like they happen in the present.
The reason is three-fold.
First, I would rather describe what goes on in my life in an active, not passive voice (this ain't no "Dear Diary" shit). The feeling is evocative of having someone else sitting there and participating in the event.
Second, I find passive tense comes across as boring, and not exciting or entertaining. “I’m stripping in front of a crowd of oglers” sounds much better than “I stripped in front of a crowd of oglers” in my opinion.
Third, even though most of my posts are current, there are days when nothing happens and others where several things happen. God forbid if I went a week with only, "Nothing happened today. Nothing happened on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Now, Friday... well, nothing happened on Friday, either."
To put it simply, if the post sounds angry, crazy, frantic or funny, it's recent. If the post asks a series of questions (of which, I answer each of them with an assertive flair), then it's not as recent.
To me, stories are memories. Some stories are told once a week, sometimes several a day. You pick one off the shelf and dive into the narrative, going with the current, feeling the story wash over you.
In a way, it’s almost as if Sophia Petrillo, from the Golden Girls, is telling you a parable.
Now, picture this… Present day.
You’re sitting in front of a computer screen, fingers diddling on a mouse, adjusting yourself in your seat. The witty words are entertaining and you don’t turn away. You’re mesmerized by the content…
Note: To all those south of the border, have a happy 4th of July.
The reason is three-fold.
First, I would rather describe what goes on in my life in an active, not passive voice (this ain't no "Dear Diary" shit). The feeling is evocative of having someone else sitting there and participating in the event.
Second, I find passive tense comes across as boring, and not exciting or entertaining. “I’m stripping in front of a crowd of oglers” sounds much better than “I stripped in front of a crowd of oglers” in my opinion.
Third, even though most of my posts are current, there are days when nothing happens and others where several things happen. God forbid if I went a week with only, "Nothing happened today. Nothing happened on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Now, Friday... well, nothing happened on Friday, either."
To put it simply, if the post sounds angry, crazy, frantic or funny, it's recent. If the post asks a series of questions (of which, I answer each of them with an assertive flair), then it's not as recent.
To me, stories are memories. Some stories are told once a week, sometimes several a day. You pick one off the shelf and dive into the narrative, going with the current, feeling the story wash over you.
In a way, it’s almost as if Sophia Petrillo, from the Golden Girls, is telling you a parable.
Now, picture this… Present day.
You’re sitting in front of a computer screen, fingers diddling on a mouse, adjusting yourself in your seat. The witty words are entertaining and you don’t turn away. You’re mesmerized by the content…
Note: To all those south of the border, have a happy 4th of July.
Authored by S at 12:00 am
4 Comments:
it's your damn blog, dammit. the hell with people who don't like the way you write!
i personally like reading all your posts, who cares if its things that happened in the past that you use present tense?
keep doing what you wanna do, when ya wanna do it!
Yeah, yeah, I know.
The post almost sounded defensive. I'm not defensive. Ok? I said, I'm NOT defensive. LOL.
Isn't that the way a blog is supposed to be?
Your approach is a great work-around for the problem of tense. I am bad for using the passive voice... I'm constantly chatching myself using it. It's why, at the end of a long day, I sometimes sit in front of a draft post for an hour and just abandon it. Pure shite. Too tired.
GAWD I miss The Golden Girls.
Post a Comment
<< Home