"What implications derive from a screenplay being written in the present tense?" For me, writing in the present tense makes the actions being described seem more active - as if they're happening right now, in front of my senses. Even if the narrative is set in the past, present tense writing gives events a contemporaneous feel. [Your mileage may vary.]

What implications derive from a screenplay being written in the present tense? Stories that take place in ancient history or science fiction or fantasy its as if its happening right now which is the way drama should be experienced I think.

Clarification please. As I read the question, it means the difference between these two lines: (i) He staggers to the window [ present tense]. Versus (ii) He staggered to the window [past tense]. Is this the difference you are implying in the question, and therefore what are the implications of using (i) over (ii)?

Seems like such a tiny difference: He "staggers" [present tense] vs. he "staggered" [past tense], but the implications are huge in relation to a screenplay. One of the key points has been noted by davidbishop and blknwhite: Scene description in a screenplay -- written in present tense -- conveys action that is happening right now. The Narrative Voice is 'speaking' within the context of concurrent action, as opposed to most novels or short stories which are told in past tense and the NV talking about something that has already happened. That sense of immediacy works beautifully with screenplays because that's how we experience movies: Events unfolding before our eyes and ears in the here and now. While a significant implication, that is just one. There are many others.

Scott, yes I agree. I simply wasn't clear about the question. As a former lawyer, I sometimes "parse" words - or worse - I can infer meanings other than what people may or may not have implied (There's a lawyer';s weaseling for you). ARGH. So yes, I agree. Your example of writing in past tense as opposed to most novels etc. was my thought too.

would one would write a flashback in the past tense?

shawn, I have a friend who is former lawyer. He calls himself a "recovering lawyer"!

Good question. I've never seen a flashback in past tense. Not saying you can't do it. But again, even if it is in the past tense, you almost assuredly want a reader to experience what happened in the past as if the reader is experiencing it in the moment. Of course, that's one point of a flashback: To have a character re-experience something in a way that makes it present to them. So another reason to write in the present tense, even if the event happened in the story's past.

Because present tense is in the 'now' the implication is that it is more visual: immediate action, visible decisions. Screenplay, although a mass of words, is a visual medium for story. Thus the 'now' translates to 'visual'

Agree with all of that, but I think it's also about the impression we're giving to the reader. A sense that we're describing events that are happening on a giant film screen in our heads - in other words, a sense that this film already exists. A novel exists in its finished form (barring some rewrites) as soon as the novelist puts pen to paper, but a film... doesn't. By writing in the present tense, we're trying to convince the reader - and ourselves - that it does.

I wonder about the psychological implications of writing in the present tense; e.g., if a reader experiences a great sense of possibility because events are unfolding before her eyes and thus are not yet decided? I wonder if it may create a different kind of participation and engagement, and by extension emotional investment (like cheering for a live sports match vs watching a tape-delayed broadcast, even when you don't know the final score). Likewise, I wonder how these dynamics change when the story includes a voiceover from the perspective of a character speaking after the on-screen events have taken place.

I hear people say a lot that the present tense makes them feel like it happens 'now', but I tend to disagree. For me, it conveys a post-now, because for 'he staggers to the window' to work, there had to be a now moment of him not staggering. More accurately would be 'he IS staggering to the window', which for me, is more accurately describing him doing it right now. As far as the past tense, this most instantly creates the visuals in my mind because a great deal of work we read throughout life is told in the past tense. I would go so far as to say that the telling of stories began with it in the past tense. The present tense is really only used in screenplays as a set of instructions for what the actors and technicians are to do on the day the script is shot. i.e. 'right now, as we are on set and the camera is rolling....he staggers to the window.'

> I hear people say a lot that the present tense makes them feel like it happens ‘now’, but I tend to disagree. For me, it conveys a post-now... Interesting that you should say that, Blue Night, because it turns out that neuroscience is discovering we all experience time "post-now" (i.e., "postdiction").