I just had a professional editor review and critique a memoir book I've written. One of the comments was "Watch out for mixed tenses." Events are described using past tense as the memoir is about a time when I lived in another country, so events are in the past. But the people and the places still exist so I use present tense to describe them. Is it correct to use mixed tenses in that case? An example:
<em>She has one of those faces you need only to look at to get a feeling about her, to know she is a pleasant woman. Although we are nearly the same age, her genteel and wise ways, and quick but quiet sense of humor often reminded me of my grandmother. A sweet and soft-spoken lady with kind eyes, it was always peaceful and pleasant to be around her.</em>
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Thanks Peachy.
Hi Jane,
The problem with mixing tenses is that the narrative jumps back and forth through time without any warning. This just makes the story difficult to follow and makes your thoughts seem disorganised. Don't be misled by "the people and places still exist" - this is where writers go wrong. If the story is placed in the past, then report the events and situations <em>as they were at that time</em>.
When you suddenly jumped into the past at the end of the paragraph, you left me wondering when these events happened. I'd also change the last sentence, as the two clauses seem unconnected: just change "it" to "she" and rewrite the sentence accordingly.
