Hello! In our last lesson, we explored how to manage narrative flow by alternating between immersive scenes ("showing") and efficient exposition ("telling"). We saw that this balance is key to controlling the pacing and rhythm of a feature story.
Today, we'll examine another crucial tool for controlling the reader's experience: verb tense. Our goal is to apply consistent tense usage appropriate for news versus feature writing contexts. This might sound like a simple grammatical point, but in journalism, the choice between past and present tense is a powerful strategic decision that signals your story's intent to the reader. We'll explore the conventions, the reasons behind them, and how you can use tense to enhance your narrative style, particularly in the realm of entertainment features.
1. The Cardinal Rule: Tense Consistency
Before we dive into the stylistic differences between news and feature writing, we must establish the most important rule: whatever tense you choose for the main narrative, you must maintain it consistently. Unintended shifts in tense are jarring for the reader and a hallmark of unpolished writing.
This is especially true when telling a story that moves between different points in time. Let's start with a quick refresher on maintaining a clear temporal anchor in your prose.
1-HOUR LESSON - Improve Your Writing ✍️ (Academic, Professional, & Descriptive)
This clip from Interactive English covers the fundamentals of tense consistency. While some of the grammar points may be familiar, it provides a clear example of a passage with shifting tenses and demonstrates how to fix it.
Watch the section from the discussion on tense. Pay close attention to how the speaker uses "time words" (like every day, yesterday, tomorrow) to justify which tense is appropriate for each sentence. This principle of using clear time markers is vital for guiding your reader.
The key takeaway is that shifts in tense must be deliberate and logical. If your main narrative is in the past tense and you flash back to an even earlier event, you'll use the past perfect ("she had decided"). If you flash forward, you'll use the future tense. But the main thread of the story must remain in its chosen tense.
2. The Journalistic Divide: News vs. Features
In journalism, the choice of tense for the main narrative thread often depends on the type of article you're writing. There's a well-established convention that separates hard news from feature stories.
Let's look at a clear, concise rule from a professional newsroom style guide.
This excerpt from the WHYY News Style Guide provides a direct and practical rule for tense usage in a professional journalistic context.
Read the entry under the subhead "tense." It lays out the standard practice for news writing versus feature writing regarding attribution verbs like "said" and "says."
As the style guide states:
- News Writing: Generally uses the past tense (e.g., "The director said..."). News reports on events that have already occurred. The past tense reinforces the story's nature as a factual account of a completed event.
- Feature Writing: Often uses the present tense (e.g., "The director says..."). This is a stylistic choice designed to create immediacy, making the reader feel as if the story is unfolding before their eyes.
This choice between "said" and "says" is a classic newsroom debate. To understand the reasoning more deeply, let's explore the perspectives of several professional writers and editors.
Ask Chip: Says vs. Said. - Poynter
This article from the Poynter Institute, a leading journalism organization, unpacks the "says vs. said" debate, giving you insight into how professionals think about this choice.
Start by reading the first few sections, from the beginning down to the line "Excerpts of these two articles are available here." Focus on the concept of the "vivid continuous dream" and how present tense helps achieve it. Then, skip down to the section titled "A QUESTION OF IMMEDIACY." Read Ken Fuson's explanation of how "said" can "break the spell" of a narrative scene.
Fuson's point connects directly to our last lesson. When you are "showing" the reader a scene, using the present tense can help sustain that immersive experience. Using the past tense ("said") can subtly shift the mode back to "telling," reminding the reader that they are being told a story about something that already happened.
3. Deconstructing Immediacy: A Deeper Look
So, is it as simple as "present tense for immediacy, past tense for reflection"? For the most part, this is a reliable guideline. However, the best writers can manipulate these expectations. A well-written past-tense narrative can feel incredibly immediate, and a present-tense story can still contain deep reflection.
Let's explore this nuance. The following video, though focused on memoir, offers a sophisticated analysis of how tense truly functions in narrative writing.
Past or present tense? That is/was the question.
In "Past or present tense?", the presenter challenges the conventional wisdom about tense and its effects on the reader, using examples from celebrated authors.
First, watch the introduction to understand the commonly held ideas about tense: present for immediacy, past for reflection. Next, see how this is challenged. Watch the segment from immediacy in past tense, which compares a present-tense and a past-tense passage and argues they can feel equally immediate. Finally, watch the section from reflection in present tense. It demonstrates how a writer can use an "older, wiser narrator" to reflect on past events, even while writing in the present tense.
The key insight here is that while tense is a powerful tool, it works in concert with other craft elements. Vivid, sensory detail and a strong narrative voice are what truly create immediacy. Your choice of tense should be a conscious decision to support your overall narrative strategy.
For an entertainment journalist:
- A straight news report on last night's Oscar winners should use the past tense.
- A "day in the life" profile of a showrunner, designed to make the reader feel like they're in the writers' room, would benefit from the present tense.
- An in-depth feature on the making of a classic film could be written in the past tense but still use immersive, scene-based writing to feel immediate.
4. Practice Exercise
Let's apply these concepts. Here is a neutral set of facts about an event.
Scenario: Actress Anya Sharma won the "Best Actress" award at last night's ceremony for her role in the film "Starlight." In her speech, she thanked her family and director. It was her first nomination and first win. After the speech, she walked offstage and hugged her co-star.
Your Task:
- Rewrite for a News Context (approx. 40-50 words): Craft a short, hard-news paragraph for an online report about the awards. Use the past tense.
- Rewrite for a Feature Context (approx. 40-50 words): Craft a short, scene-setting paragraph for the beginning of a profile on Anya Sharma. Use the present tense to create a sense of immediacy.
- Analyze Your Choice: Briefly explain how the shift in tense changes the feeling of the paragraph.
Take your time to craft each version, paying close attention to your verb choices.
Conclusion
In this lesson, we've moved beyond a simple grammatical understanding of tense to see it as a deliberate stylistic choice in journalism.
Key Takeaways:
- Consistency is paramount: Avoid unintentional tense shifts that can confuse and distract your reader.
- News writing uses the past tense ("said"): This reflects its function of reporting on events that have already concluded.
- Feature writing often uses the present tense ("says"): This is a technique to create immediacy and a "vivid continuous dream," making the reader feel they are experiencing the event in real time.
- Tense is a tool, not a cage: While these are strong conventions, the ultimate goal is effect. The quality of your prose—your use of detail, action, and voice—is what truly creates an immersive experience.
Mastering the use of tense gives you another layer of control over your narrative. It allows you to signal your intent and shape your reader's journey through the story.
In our next and final lesson of this module, we'll focus on endings. We will learn how to write a 'kicker' (a final, impactful closing paragraph) that leaves a lasting impression on your reader.