Local Revision: Tense Usage

This post made me realize that I use the past and present tense a great deal in my writing but not the future tense. To portray the future I should begin using the future tense more often.

Past: wafted, swooped, cawed, played, walked, put, got, was, was, intrigued, gathered, prepared, passed, marked, was, threatened, hurt, cut, deserved, felt, were, were, paid, connected, hoped, involved, were, would, would, wanted, would, involved, aided, classified, created, wanted, drafted, was, presented, overlooked, passed, realized, worried, harmed, dedicated, thrown, have, increased, experienced, related, provided, interacted, was, was, have

Wafted: 1                 
swooped: 1               
cawed: 1                   
played: 1

walked:1                   
put: 1                       
got: 1                        
was: 6

intrigued: 1               
gathered: 1               
prepared: 1               
passed: 1

marked: 1                 
threatened: 1             
hurt: 1                      
cut: 1

deserved: 1               
felt: 1                        
were: 3                     
paid: 1

connected: 1             
hoped : 1                  
involved: 2              
would: 3

aided: 1                     
classified: 1              
created: 1                 
wanted: 2

drafted: 1                  
presented: 1              
overlooked: 1           
passed: 2

realized: 1                 
worried: 1                 
harmed: 1                
dedicated: 1

thrown: 1                  
have: 2                      
increased: 1             
experienced: 1

related: 1                  
provided: 1                
interacted: 1

Present: Is, are, is, are, seen, revolving, eat, comes, is, sweeps, enjoys, is, go, enjoy, crashing, is, look, are, see, spittle, rinsing, going, remain, sign, agonizing, provides, rise, allowing, increase, changing, hope, began, struggle, weaken, put, work, fight, changes, seems, be, seems, surrounding, there, keeping, there, being, trying, give, raise, including, leading, is, struggling, grow, affect, tell, does, is, increasing, is, represents, is, takes, approaches, stands, know, do, realize, there, is, encounter, be, come, how, run, sees, is, broken, gives, own, own, provides, explain, is, protect, enhance, promote, keeping, see, fighting, keeping, unionizing, pushing, suing, does, want, make, be, wants, recognize, are, are, feels, are, being, be, affect, ends, increase, is, are, are, struggling, live, make, work, working, working, paying, see, working, are, require, is, do, do, feel, are, are, hand, are, aid, are, goes, able, employ, loses, afford, is, be, does, want, live, feel, are, fighting, want, make, are, talking, react, include, causing, reducing, employ, is, making, are, pay, offer, shopping, stop, struggle, start, shopping, go, driven, keeping, need, fire, will, depends, in, think, believes, get, deserve, get, prove, earning, feel, have, are, grow, follow, see, give, feel, deserve, claim, is, providing, is, increase, is, stating, do, is, are, employ, are, are, are, affect, continue, visit, be, survive, mark, put, stops, changing, are, determine, debate, back, tear, measure, causes, gives, support, hope

Is: 23              
are: 22                       
revolving: 1               
eat: 1             
comes: 1                       

Sweeps: 1     
enjoy: 1                     
go: 4                           
crashing: 1    
look: 1

See: 6             
spittle: 1                    
rinsing: 1                   
remain: 1      
sign: 1

Agonizing: 1 
provide: 2                 
rise: 2                         
allowing: 1    
increase: 3

Changes: 1    
seem: 2                      
surrounding: 1         
there: 3         
keeping: 4

Be: 8               
trying: 1                     
give: 4                                    
include: 2            
leading: 1

Struggle: 4    
grow: 2                      
affect: 3                     
tell: 1              
do: 7

Realize: 1      
represent: 1             
take: 1                       
approach: 1  
stand: 1

Encounter: 1 
run: 1                         
broken: 1                  
own: 2           
explain: 1

Protect: 1      
enhance: 1                
promote: 1               
fight: 3           
unionizing: 1

Pushing: 1     
suing: 1                      
want: 4                      
ends: 1           
work: 5

Require: 1     
feel: 6                         
hand: 1                      
aid: 1              
employ: 3

Lose: 1           
afford: 1                    
react: 1                      
cause: 2         
reduce: 1

Make: 4         
shopping: 2              
stop: 2                       
need: 1          
believe: 1

Follow: 1       
claim: 1                      
providing: 1              
stating: 1       
mark: 1

Debate: 1      
tear: 1                                    
measure: 1               
hope: 2

Future: become

Become: 1

1.    Which tense is the most prevalent in your draft?

The present tense is the most prevalent in my draft.

2.    What effect or tone/quality does the current usage of tense have on the reader/viewer/listener?

This current usage of tense creates a more present and urgent tone compared to a passive and future or past tense.

3.    If you're using more than one tense in the draft (which is not a bad thing at all), do the shifts between different tenses in the piece make sense? How do they flow? Are there any jarring or discordant shifts in tense?

The shifts between verb tenses make sense because part of the controversy happened in the past but there are events still happening. These events are clearly stated as in the past or in the present.

4.    If you have not employed any present tense verbs in your piece - why not? Are there any moments of crescendo or dramatic action in the story you're telling that could benefit from being described or told in the present tense? Remember, present tense has an immediacy to it. It puts the audience right into the story as it is unfolding. It's a powerful technique. Could your piece benefit from that technique? How and why?

I use a great deal of present tense.

Rotman, Steve. "Musk, Verb, What" 8/30/08 via Flickr
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