#figuring out what verb tense 2 use in my non-native languages is often confusing bc what feels intuitive in my native language

[rollercoasterwords]

rae do you have any tips on like verb tenses when it comes to writing? as an immigrant who never properly learned english grammar i struggle with it so much when im writing fiction especially. i feel like i always mix up tenses and never know when is appropriate to use one over the other idk.

hmmm well i may not be the best person 2 advise on this bc english is my first language so bear that in mind but! it might help to like. consciously pick a single tense that ur gonna write the fic in & then read back over & just pay specific attention 2 verbs & make sure they're all in the same tense. & when doing this i will say i think present tense is generally easier to write in than past tense (even though past tense tends to be the norm in published fiction) bc like. if ur writing a fic in simple present tense then it's easier to be like "ok here i'm talking about past so i can just use simple paste tense and here i can just use simple future tense," whereas if ur writing in past tense u have 2 start pulling out the "had" phrases etc if ur talking abt the past in past-tense & things get more complicated...like it's easier to conjugate "He says it's true. But earlier, he lied." than "He said it was true. But earlier, he had lied." y'know?

i've had cases before where i forgot what tense i was writing in & had to go back through & change everything to match the same tense so i know it can def be a pain lol but that's also why i think like...consciously going "ok i'm writing in present [or whatever u choose] tense" at the beginning of the writing process makes it a bit easier, bc then u know that no matter what ur writing it should be in that tense. & where it gets tricky is when u have to start talking abt past/future/conditionals/etc but like i said i think writing in present tense makes that a bit easier bc it's usually the tense that we're most familiar with & so it can sometimes be easier to figure out "weird" verb conjugations within the present tense. basing this advice also from my experience learning other languages where like...i have a way easier time conjugating simple present/past/future tense than trying 2 get into any of the more complicated grammar lol