In a post on Writer Unboxed, Sophie Masson shows how verb tense can increase dramatic tension and suspense. “Varying it within a story, from past to present and vice versa, and even adding a touch of the future, can really help to increase tension/suspense, even within a short span of text, and even if we mainly stick with one tense or the other,” Masson says.
Masson uses twists on the “once upon a time” story beginning to show how changes in tense can add some mystery, tension, and suspense, and alter the mood of your story. “Each variation of tense offers a different narrative path, despite the sameness of the basic material,” she says.
