Ensure Consistency in Tone, Tense, and Point of View In a Manuscript

Last update on: March 12, 2023

Ensure Consistency in Tone, Tense, and Point of View In a Manuscript

March 12 , 2023 Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma
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To ensure consistency in tone, tense, and point of view throughout your manuscript is one of the most important things you can do in your manuscript. Consistency in these areas can greatly enhance the reading experience for your audience, making your work more engaging, coherent, and enjoyable to read. In this blog post, we’ll explore some tips and techniques for ensuring consistency in tone, tense, and point of view throughout your manuscript.

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Tone

The tone of your writing sets the overall mood or attitude of your piece. It can be serious, humorous, formal, informal, or any other number of things. To ensure consistency in tone throughout your manuscript, start by identifying the tone you want to set for your piece. Is it a serious academic paper or a lighthearted blog post? Once you’ve identified your desired tone, make sure it remains consistent throughout your manuscript. This means paying attention to things like word choice, sentence structure, and overall writing style.

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Tense

Tense refers to the time frame in which the events of your writing are taking place. There are three primary tenses in English: past, present, and future. When writing in the past tense, the events of your piece have already happened. When writing in the present tense, the events are happening in real time. And when writing in the future tense, the events have yet to happen. To ensure consistency in tense throughout your manuscript, choose one tense and stick with it. If you’re writing in the past tense, don’t switch to the present or future tense midway through your piece. Doing so can be jarring for your readers and disrupt the flow of your writing.

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Point of View

Point of view refers to the perspective from which your story is being told. There are three primary points of view in English: first person, second person, and third person. First person point of view is when the narrator is a character within the story and uses the pronoun “I” to refer to themselves. Second person point of view is when the narrator addresses the reader directly, using the pronoun “you.” Third person point of view is when the narrator is outside the story and uses pronouns like “he,” “she,” or “they” to refer to the characters. To ensure consistency in point of view throughout your manuscript, choose one point of view and stick with it. If you’re writing in the first person point of view, don’t switch to the second or third person point of view midway through your piece. Doing so can be confusing for your readers and disrupt the overall narrative.

In conclusion, ensuring consistency in tone, tense, and point of view throughout your manuscript is crucial to creating a compelling and coherent piece of writing. By paying attention to these elements and making conscious choices about how to use them, you can greatly enhance the reading experience for your audience. So take the time to carefully consider your tone, tense, and point of view, and make sure they remain consistent throughout your manuscript. Your readers will thank you for it.

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Read my ebook WRITE. EDIT. PROMOTE. to learn the basics about becoming an author – from writing your own book, to editing your first draft, and to promoting your book yourself! You can also read my ebook How To Write A Story Effectively and learn some valuable lessons about how a story can go from average to extraordinary. This book is part 1 of the series.

In fiction, I have two short stories for children in an ebook called Bedtime Stories.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter. Send me an email at editor@samarpita.in  for editing, content, coaching, or social media planning.

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