Anyone else find sticking to present tense a real bastard ! I'm half way through a screen play based on the battle of the Somme, it's around 40 pages is total as I'm using it as apart of my portfolio for my interview atPlymouth college of arts studying BA honors in film! I'm a tad rusty I'm the writing game but have wonderful ideas, is it me or sticking to the correct present tense is bloody difficult. Isn't it? I write in present tense but if I remember rightly back to my school days which was over 10 years ago! I'm sure there were different types of present tenses or forms! I speak Italian fluently after living there for 6 years and just like Italian I'm sure the English language has different forms of present tenses just like Italian, doesn't it? Anyway I think I'm over thinking the situation and hit a wall for now as I'm becoming frustrated, so time to hit the piano as I'm learning that! It eases stress levels to I've noticed
Screenwriting : Present tense perfections by Joe Bedford
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Well....it's a good thing you didn't hit a wall in Italy....they are mostly plaster and even concrete, marble or granite. Si rompe la mano, giovane....si romple la mano!
Google a bit about present tense....in English, there are four types of present tense. In narration, I'd stick to present simple and present continuous. In dialogue, I'd use all four in the appropriate ways.
Buona fortuna e scrittura felice, Giuseppe!
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A lot of industry people confuse "Active Voice" with "Present Tense." You should be writing screenplays in both. When you reread your screenplay, it should be happening - as in it should be unfolding AS you read it: "CHARACTER picks up the gun" - not, "CHARACTER picked up the gun," or "CHARACTER is going to pick up the gun" -type stuff.
If you're writing prose, never use present tense (use past-tense), but still avoid passive voice. Write really short sentences until you get the hang of it.
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Your story played out on the big screen is ALWAYS in present tense (even in flash backs) - all your action is written in present tense, it's not as difficult as it sounds after you get used to it. Try to eliminate all the adverbs (find a stronger verb) and avoid using verbs ending in "..ing". When it comes to dialog - that's a whole 'nother matter.
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Thanks guys, and the annoying thing is I have just edited all action scenes wrongly. Turns out i probably had it written in the correct form to begin with... dio mio! che palle ho sbagliato
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Not at all. It's a matter of getting used to that style of writing.