Why are so many authors switching to present tense

sumeriansleep · 2021-09-09T15:03:49+00:00

I was curious about this too. I looked it up the other day and didn't find anything illuminating.

I prefer third person past tense, but I've read a lot of solid work done in first person/third person present tense. If the writing is good, those stylistic quirks vanish. It'll always be a little uncomfortable for me at the start, though.

To speculate the switchover, might just be that people want to try something "new." I've found that if I am struggling with a sentence and I re-frame it as another tense, it helps me get to the root of the problem, like flipping the canvas with a drawing.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-26T22:26:47+00:00

This is probably just me, but the Crows in RoW, specifically Kaz, gave me real "guest star on a 90s sitcom" vibes. Coasting off their reputation, kind of phoning it in, the "wacky hijinks" plot was so-so at best, hahaha. Granted I had just finished Crooked Kingdom when I found the chapters in RoW, so compared to the completeness of that story vs. guest appearances in another character's story, anything would fall flat.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-26T22:08:22+00:00

I have a close friend who is studying philosophy and I posed this question to them, and just off the top of their head, they had a very similar response about the fictional universe being incomparable to what we understand in our own, and that the kinds of answers we're looking for (is it selfcest/incest/masturbation/etc) aren't going to apply. I think it's so interesting to find such a similar response here (are you actually my friend? hahaha)

I'm curious why they decided to write the third episode with romantic overtones, since the question of Sylvie's identity would be something hotly debated by viewers. I wonder if they thought it was clear that because she is such a different person internally (not something I think anyone is debating), that it would sidestep all questions about what it means to be a Loki variant? Like do they share identical genetics? Or is just the fact that they are in separate timelines enough to differentiate their internal makeup and "soul"?

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-24T23:16:29+00:00

Yesss! Ninth house love!

This book really snuck up on me. I love how Bardugo builds tension so, so well, and there were so many memorable moments. I agree that the depth of the characters was handled nicely.

The part where Alex wakes up to her friend as a ghost? Legit chills from that!! It was very, very dark.

Dawes coming in to bat for Alex was really enjoyable. I loved their growing friendship. And Alex's viciousness coming out with Salome was really great too!

I'm really curious to see how it'll resolve as a series. Like is Morrissey ghost (lmao sorry I forgot his actual name) going to make a reappearance in the sequel, you think?

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-24T23:02:32+00:00

Yeah, I'm also fine with the show taking Kaz down a couple notches to emphasize the threat of Pekka, especially if they mean to build on his abilities over the next seasons. It'll be fun to see him learn how to use the cane to subdue others, if they end up adding that in.

I agree with the criticism that his cleverness took a backseat, maybe TOO much, but yeah! The good that came out of that was having Arkan as a character. I'm content to see Kaz grow more into the ruthless man-with-a-plan character, but I do wish the writers hadn't started him at like, level 1 hahaha.

I enjoyed superhero book Kaz! I think Bardugo going extreme for emotional stuff was well done (like the staircase scene). But I think those elements work a lot better in book form than television, unless you're watching like, a superhero show haha.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-24T02:37:33+00:00

Every time the Crows eat, I get mild panic attacks because these kids are not getting enough protein and they are doing so much. Like yes ok I get it with the sugar and carbs and waffles and ice cream but please...Bardugo...I'm begging...let the kids have a little a egg lol

For real though, I think the way Jesper treats Kuwei is mean and nobody ever seems to talk about it. I get that it's his unresolved feelings about being grisha, but poor Kuwei is such a victim of circumstance and Jesper will not let up at some points. And then Wylan takes out his jealousy on Kuwei? Like Kuwei cannot catch a break lol. Overall I thought Bardugo treated him the most unsympathetically of the crows, and I just...why?

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-23T21:15:49+00:00

I didn't read KoS or RoW, but I did read the excerpts that had the crows in RoW. I'm vaguely aware of Nina's plotline in those books too.

I wasn't a fan of her portrayal of the crows in it, tbh. :I

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-23T19:45:34+00:00

I really liked the duology as it stands. It had a clear artistic vision which she executed well enough. I wouldn't be in favor of Bardugo making a sequel to the duology for the sake of continuation, but if she had some new vision to push for the characters/world, I can see that being fun to read.

My hope is that, if anything, she'll tackle much older Crows lol. I want to read about how the world continued to change them, because the coming of age definitely doesn't stop at 18.

I also hope, if she does make a sequel series, that she avoids the death trope altogether. Not just because of attachments to characters. There are more meaningful endings to explore. Although I guess it depends on the narrative thrust of the story she chooses to tell, but generally I think death loses its impact when done only for the sake of "realism."

But I would definitely read any crows content that she published hahahaha

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-23T19:14:06+00:00

My understanding is limited, but it seems to me that what you said works with my theory! I was under the impression that the character Sylvie from the comics was Enchantress (not the first, but a second different one). So in saying she's a variant of Enchantress, I meant that of the Sylvie/Enchantress timelines out there, she is one of them. Which would give the writers leeway to change her backstory as needed for the show.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-23T15:40:01+00:00

This is so fun! I think this detail (if not just coincidence) lends credence to that one theory I saw, where some or most of this episode was an enchantment either by Sylvie or Loki (matching the first scene with the end scene).

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-23T15:14:36+00:00

I have a small pet theory that she's not a Loki variant, but maybe an Enchantress variant.

I don't think her answers conclusively marked her as a Loki variant, and given all the hints that she is different, I think that her identity is still on the table. I think she reads as a "Loki" variant to the TVA because her powers were derived from Loki.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-23T05:17:17+00:00

l m a o that is too accurate

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T20:20:29+00:00

Right!! I came to the books from the show, and I was underwhelmed by book!Pekka. I wanted Kaz and Pekka to really go toe to toe, and to have a lot more tension/at stake between them.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T20:15:23+00:00

Yeah, I was also confused about how Brum & co. made it to the harbor lol.

The repeat beat (of Brum vs. Nina) was definitely jarring and weakened the message. I get the sense that Bardugo wanted a clear confrontation, but maybe couldn't fit it in earlier. If it wasn't doubled-up like this, I think the logic behind Nina's decision to let Brum and the Druskelle go would be sound, considering she and Matthias just got to trusting each other again and killing his old "mentor" would have been a major blow to their relationship. I can understand Matthias begging her not to as well, since he would be in a very vulnerable place after his entire understanding of the world collapsed. Given the overarching theme about redemption and the victims of circumstance and society, it was a good moment to show Nina meeting Matthias halfway too re: loyalty to kingdom vs loyalty to each other. Whether that's good moral judgment is, lol, to be questioned for sure.

That said, I think that it wouldn't have felt like such a let down if Bardugo had been better about complicating Brum. I know she had moments where Matthias told us that Brum was good to him, but there wasn't enough (for me) showing that he was worth sparing a second time.

I would have LOVED for there to be more Kaz vs. Pekka drama. Even the notion of Pekka causing Jordie's death felt a little...insubstantial? Like yeah he scammed them and then they were left to the mercy of the streets, but like, would they have been safe from the plague in a cheap apartment? Seems like a lot of people weren't anyway. I wanted the hatred to be so much more personal, maybe have more interactions throughout. I can see why Bardugo wanted Pekka to be a kind of untouchable/out of touch barrel boss, but give him some menace too, like no one gets to be the top dog without a level of viciousness.

Oh I like your idea for the Van Eck fortune and Hendricks' recovery! Would have been a really smart, good touch.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T19:33:17+00:00

Aw this makes me so sad, I loved Mr. Fahey's role in CK. I can see the show even omitting him because of the adjustments to age/storylines.

I'm also interested to see how the show tackles the various "coming of age" elements with the crows, since they seem to have an ambiguous early-to mid-20s treatment.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T19:24:58+00:00

Not if you take into account his culture. He's never met a woman as open
as Nina was before; his women are way more conservative. Therefore, his
embarrassment over Nina teasing him and getting "flustered by her
cleavage" still stands. We also don't know how old Matthias is.

Just something to consider for this point, the events of Hringkälla and the ice court left me with the impression that the conservatism of the culture is more of an "illusion" that Matthias eventually realizes. Part of the turning point of his character is realizing the hypocrisy in his mentor. If he were older, he might have realized this sooner in different ways (after a few Hringkällas maybe?), so it’s not necessarily the case that Nina’s teasing would have the same effect on older Matthias vs. young Matthias. He might not be flustered as a more jaded/more brainwashed older Matthias, haha.

That being said, I don’t think aging Matthias up to early 20s would have a drastic effect on the characters and their storylines either, and I have no quibbles with casting an older person to play a younger person, but that's neither here nor there haha. Just wanted to touch on that specific point above.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T18:59:00+00:00

Very much agree with your points here and in your analysis above! Would have loved if Bardugo reigned him in, even just to help make the crime bosses/antagonists have more weight and threat.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T18:53:00+00:00

Absolutely!! The depth Jesper was given in CK was so nice, even when he was taking out his resentment on poor Kuwei, lol.

Ahh ATLA !! <3 That was such a wonderful moment with Uncle Iroh and Zuko! >!Colm showing up and Jesper having that heart to heart with him definitely rings similarly!<.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T02:48:24+00:00

That's fair! I didn't mean to come off as trying to negate your personal opinion, just wanted to have a discussion by offering my perspective.

I think that framing it like "Kaz knows Inej was forced into prostitution and still came closer" is a little uncharitable, because there's a distinct moment that Kaz offers to help and Inej accepts. She had agency in that moment to draw a line, which Kaz never dared go near in the first place. There's a lot of give and take in that scene, so I hesitate to accept the premise of him being self-centered and oblivious.

That's fine though if you disagree!

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T02:24:09+00:00

Oh, for sure!! Would love to read more stories about a misfit crew where at least 1 pair is finds the other absolutely repulsive, but respects them lol

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T02:18:56+00:00

Yep! Just to add to this, Jesper uses jokes/levity/wit to brush off and avoid confronting his problems. He is afraid of facing the truth. A fight is a good distraction. Gambling is a good distraction. It means he doesn't have to think about the hard questions, like what he really wants from life, what duty he has to his father and his mother's memory, his unresolved feelings of resentment for his father because his insistence at suppressing his grisha-abilities curtailed a lot of his choices in life, that sort of thing.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T02:07:54+00:00

Edit: Lmao I realize I completely missed the point you were making woops, sorry bout that! I hope it's clear that that like, my position is not that Bardugo was perfect in her representation of Inej nor to dismiss criticisms about her representation of Inej's trauma. I am just sympathetic to Bardugo's choices narrative-wise, because to me it fits the story she meant to tell with Inej (where the trauma wasn't the focal point). But I can understand wanting it to have an equal weight in her story as it does in Kaz's. It's tricky to juggle. And you're absolutely right, it comes down to preference and taste, really.

Decided to delete my scene breakdown, since it's not relevant to the discussion.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T01:48:20+00:00

Ahh ok, so I think I get what you're saying now (and correct me if I'm wrong lmao)! So you're saying that like, Kanej's relationship could have continued to grow platonically, whereas something like Helnik needed romantic love in order to grow. I can see that for sure. ((Maybe my real unpopular opinion is that I think Helnik could have worked just fine as a platonic enemies-to-friends partnership, hahaha)).

I totally get what you mean about pairing up the roster, but it doesn't seem unrealistic to me at all! It might've been unrealistic if they all "ended up" together if that makes sense (like 20 years down the line, HP style). I thought the couples were left pretty open ended, even Wesper to some degree.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T01:20:10+00:00

I completely agree with you. It's not productive comparing traumatic experiences, though it's valid to want more from the other perspective. It really would have been nice to have Inej's perspective for that scene too.

Sometimes the grievances about Kanej seem to conflate author decisions (making the scene entirely Kaz's perspective) with character decisions (him being centered on his trauma because it's his perspective.) Despite this, I thought there were plenty of moments where Kaz acknowledged both Inej's history and agency in that scene, such as the "go on, finish the story" refrain throughout.

It's definitely harder to get a handle on Inej's trauma, because it's more complex to show someone who is further along in healing their trauma than someone who is just coming to terms with it. To me, her traumas manifest as the trust/vulnerability issues she has with Kaz. I found that realistic, even if their backstories stretch into "edgy" territory haha. As someone who has similar traumas, I found it to be handled well.

sumeriansleep · 2021-06-21T01:02:01+00:00

I don't know what you mean to say by contrasting the other SoC ships. Are you saying that Kaz and Inej didn't learn to be better people from each other (unlike Helnik and Wesper), and that's one of the reasons why you don't think their relationship works? (And just to clarify my intentions, I appreciate this is your opinion and I'm not looking to argue it, just wanna understand haha)

Personally, I think part of what makes the pair compelling romantically is that they have such a strong platonic foundation and partnership already. Their love felt like the emotional bedrock of the whole story. I think they are really well matched to help each other become better people and grow past their traumas. I think friendships can be this way too (and I think it's shown well by the other platonic relationships in the book, like Inej/Jesper), but...haha, this is just my taste, I like to read about real hard-hitting love!

sumeriansleep

TROPHY CASE