Currently viewing the tag: "tense"
I keep getting confused when dealing with past tenses.
Are both of these sentences correct and essentially the same? :
a) John remained behind the wheel, peering down at him with a calm smile.
b) John remained behind the wheel and peered down with a calm smile.
Is this just a stylistic choice?
I get confused as to when it’s acceptable to add “-ing”.
I was thinking of using the literary present, but on the sites I’ve been to, they seem to only apply to fiction? I guess I can consider a work such as “Narrative of Frederick Douglass” history, but I’d only do that if I were using it as a secondary source.
I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone responded to me with “literary present,” but I’d like a pretty thorough explanation. 
One of the sites I went to: http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/WritingGuide/14prtens.htm
When you are writing a fiction book, are you suppossed to always write in the past tense?
For example: “Jen let’s go to the store,” Ryan SAYS as he REACHES for his wallet.
Or are you suppossed to write it this way: “Jen let’s go to the store,” Ryan SAID as he REACHED for his wallet.
Does it matter if I choose to write in the past or present tense?