Why Tense Isn’t Enough

Unlocking Temporality & Narrative Distance in Fiction

We don’t see a lot of discussion about temporality, sequencing, and temporal shifts in fiction, but it really is a subject that deserves discussion.

In the simplest terms, what I mean is whether or not the story on the page is over or is unfolding in real story time. And I know you’ll be shocked when I tell you that it also depends on narrative schema. T…