Charlie StrossApr 5

#writersCoffeeClub Apr. 4: Do you switch between past and present tense? How do you make it work?

Present tense: generates a sense of immediacy, useful for action sequences, but also for regular narrative with uncertainty about the future.

Past tense: conveys certainty about the past.

Now, writing fiction in *future* tenses is stunt writing!

(And yes, I've done all three.)

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@cstross I'm curious, have you ever done a substantial work of fiction (short story or longer) entirely in the first person?
Show threadCharlie Stross
@ZDL Sure: My novel "Glasshouse" (which made the Hugo shortlist in 2007). Also some of the early Laundry Files novels. I've even done a couple of novels in the second person.
Apr 5 at 7:58amWeb
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@cstross Cool. I wish I could get more of your books here. I like adventurous authors. ๐Ÿ˜
Show threadJens FinkhรคuserApr 7

@cstross I have to admit that I have read your novels *a lot less* than I've read your blog (and now stuff here), and this thread reminds me yet again that this is Not Right. There's a Stross-shaped hole in my bookshelf though, as it were.

@ZDL no idea if it's workable, but I can buy double and send you a copy or something? Any in particular you'd like?

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@jens @cstross Thanks for the thought, but I was going to instead just keep the name in mind for my next trip to Canada. :D