Firstly, a big Hello to everyone, this is my first post.

Apologies if this should be in the beginners’ group forum; it seems a little dead over there...

I'm currently writing my first Novel, and I'm wondering how to handle the tense and POV of it.

I want the story to start near the end. In the first couple of chapters the main protagonist is in the present, but after that (until about two thirds of the way through the novel) it is back-story and subplot as flashback.

Do you think it would work to have all flashback in past tense and the rest of the action in present tense? Or would this be confusing? The action in present tense is a lot more tense and immediate, so I was hoping this would add to the drama.

Also, I have one main character (in both the past and present) but also I want to follow other characters in the subplots. I think it will be fine to have multiple viewpoint when the characters have separate storylines, but how would I handle this when they mee?

Thanks in advance for your onions

Zaphod

Zaphod, assuming your novel is being written in third person, can you not just write into the flashbacks? The narrator can play with words and time and situations and do what he or she wishes. It shouldn't require a change of tense, but there should be a change of tension. A shift in mood, pace and/or perspective can signify events past. Is the idea of using chapters and chapter headings inappropriate for the format? If it's proving difficult for you to mark the time shifts as the writer, it will be impossible for the reader to work a way through them. That said, if it were me I'd just keep writing and getting the structure in place because that's what bears the load of the story. Style should sort itself out as you plough on. The first draft of a novel rarely bears any relation to the final, so it's the perfect time to experiment. Too much changes in the rewriting to give yourself stomach ulcers striving for perfection at this stage. Good luck. Shyama.

Shyama, thanks for your comments.

My novel is being written in third person. I started the novel all in the past tense, but have sinced changed to present for all the action that happens at the cureent time.

Although I understand a change of tense is not nessesary, do you think it could work?

The flashbacks (Im not sure if flashback is the right word, as this seems to suggest a short snippet of a past event, rather than a large portion of the book) are a much slower pace, spread over 3 years, where as the 'now' events are just a few days.

I don't think it will be a problem for the reader to see the time shifts, but I'm basically trying to use past and present tense to emphasise the shift. If it would be confusing I think past tense would work at lot better for the whole book rather than present.

RE: chapter headings (I assume you mean dates, etc?) This would be alittle complicated as the main character has lost a year of his memory, and actually starts the book thinking it is a year before it is! This memory loss is hidden intitially from the reader, and I think adding dates would spoil the twist.

Am I making any sense here?

Also, if I have multiple POV, what is a good way to handle it when two charaters who POV we have been following meet? Coose one, and lose the thoughts of the other?

Zaphod

So the problem is of emphasis, not style? You say you think the change of tense works, but you effectively want that change showcased for ease of understanding. If you're not willing to change the style, would visual emphasis help? I'm currently working on something where diary entries fill in the back-story, and those are italicised on the page to make clear the differentiation. Might a visual mark like that, work for you? It's a tough one, but i'm a great believer in problems resolving themselves within the writing - that another 10,000 words into the book, the answer will suddenly make itself clear. If it doesn't, ask yourself if the writing is too stylised for the complexity of the plot. You've got a storyline that's clearly beguiling and it may be that the use of simpler language is the solution. Less is often more at all levels. Yikes! Not sure about your question on POVs coming together. I always assume that an omniscient narrator has access to all areas of the characters so that's the only vehicle I can think of... Not sure if any of this is of help, but thanks for getting the old brain cells slowly but surely reigniting, Zaphod. Shyama:-)

Zaphod, you’re getting some excellent advice from Scoops but I’d like to chuck in my two-pennorth.

If you want a brilliant example of switching POVs and times, read ‘After You’d Gone’ by Maggie O’Farrell. It’s not sci-fi but that doesn’t matter. She writes in the present and in the past. The main character is written in both POV1 and POV3. When you consider the structure of this novel, it should be impossible – but it works beautifully.

Dee