Past-Future and Present-Past

Playing with verb tense

I am writing the Going East book in present tense. This brings the reader along with us, as if they are sitting on the bicycle seat along for the ride.

I recall my English classes, being taught not to mix my tenses. And yet, as a creative writer, that is exactly what I’m learning to do. I’m learning to be intentional about my use of tense, but also using tense as a way to shift time.

In the Going East book, I use the present tense to talk about events that happened in my past. If I were to describe it in a journal, I would use the past tense, because they are events that have already happened. But in the story, the present tense represents where the reader is.

I struggled with how to introduce reflection into the story, since I was telling it in present tense. Would I need to use a future tense? I found that rather awkward, and then it dawned on me that I didn’t need the two tenses to align on the same timeline. So, I don’t need to use the future tense to share reflections. I actually find that using the past tense to share reflections feels more natural.

So within the context of the story, the present tense represents something that happened in the past, and the past tense represents something that happens in the future.

Previously, I never would have thought to use tense in this way.

Here is an example:

It’s July 7th, my father’s birthday. We finally manage to get the last bits of the house packed up. We have been trying to depart for a week now, but there’s always one more thing that just needed doing before we could leave. The day is coming to an end and we are still at home, inertia holding us back. We are both itching to leave, so we call a friend who lives on the other side of town along the cycle path. This means that even though it is getting dark, we can leave and mostly ride on cycle paths.

Six years later, I’ll reflect back on how July 7th is a day of transition in my life. It was the day we left on our round-the-world adventure, and then it became the day I started chemotherapy. When we decided to go on this adventure, a part of me knew that I needed to do it while I was still young and healthy. I watched as my parents age prematurely, my dad’s illness making him retire early. My mom had her first hip replaced in her 40s. I was healthy, but I only saw a downward spiral as I aged. Looking back, I’m very glad we did this trip when we did.

As we prepare to get on our bikes, our neighbours come out to wish us well on our journey. Riding down our street, we hear a short horn burst. Normally, we don’t like it when cars honk at us, as it can be jarring and cause a loss of balance, but this is different. This is a farewell greeting and it fills our hearts.

The sun sets before we get to downtown Ottawa. Once we pass the downtown core, there is a short segment where we need to ride on the road. The back of our bikes are now adorned with the orange triangles that indicates “slow moving vehicle,” thanks to my in-laws. These signs turn out to be very effective at slowing down traffic. Cars pass us with plenty of space, which is not what we have come to expect from Ottawa drivers. It is nice to feel safe driving on the road, even when we are driving after dark.

Three hours after departure we pull into our friend’s driveway. They greet us, we jump in their pool for a quick cooldown, and promptly find our pillows. Sleep comes easily.

What do you think? Does the Past-Future work with the Present-Past?