Writerthreads

Have you ever wanted to re-write the perspective and tense of your work 50k words deep into a WIP? Because I have, and it was one of the Top 10 living crises of my life. Tenses and perspectives always came naturally to me and I never truly studied the nuances of each one until my Creative Writing class, where my instructor briefly explained the differences of each combination. Naturally, I scrambled to write down (computers were FORBIDDEN) golden knowledge from my instructor, and drew out a table.

This table is in this post, but as per a lovely follower’s request, I’ve elaborated on the topic with some examples to emphasise the effect of each combination. Feel free to skip this to the table, but the table honestly gives a nice overview and guide to see which tense and perspective best fits the tone, storyline, and genre of your work.

And as always, you might not agree with everything said in this post, and that’s okay. It’s just another way to go about writing.

PAST TENSE

Enhances objectivity, creating distance and suspense BECAUSE it’s told like a story. The narrator knows (or doesn’t know) what happened, but the reader doesn’t. Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, and most works are written in past tense, because it’s simply easier to wield.

1st: I slammed the door and ran under my bed

2nd: You slammed the door and ran under your bed

3rd: She slammed the door and ran under her bed

PRESENT TENSE

Creates intimacy with the character’s mind with an immediate quality to it (quite a few y/n fanfics are written in this tense), but gives a limited perspective on the plot. If you’re used to reading in past tense, present will feel odd and unnatural to read. Could use for stream-of-consciousness styles.

1st: I slam the door and run under my bed. He is coming.

2nd: You slam the door and run under your bed. He is coming. (Joe from the Netflix show “You” talks like this sometimes for the creepy, watchful tone)

3rd: She slams the door and runs under her bed. He is coming.

FUTURE TENSE

I can envision this being briefly used in a prophetic line forshadowing future events of the story/plot, but an entire story in the future tense can limit commercial success if you’re trying to write for a living because of its rigid nature. Normally, future tense adds variety to the story.

1st: I will slam the door and run under my bed. (Eh…)

2nd: You will slam the door and run under your bed. (Prophecy and suspense!!! It’s giving Trelawney)

By Writerthreads on Instagram

How do you write a character who feels like they could sit across from you at a coffee shop, and tell you everything they’ve never said out loud?

Let them want something they wish they didn’t.

Maybe your character craves something, even when they pretend not to, or hate wanting it. Maybe they long for revenge, or comfort, or the easy way out. Let their wants be messy and raw, and pull them in directions they maybe shouldn’t go.

Let them be a contradiction.

People are rarely just one thing. Your main character might be deeply kind but also quick to anger. They might fight for justice but still hold little petty grudges. Realism lives in these tensions.

The little things matter.

What scent reminds them of home? What song do they skip every time it comes on? What small ritual gets them through bad days? Specific details breathe life into a character—These are the backbone that make someone feel lived-in.

Always ask why.

Every choice they make should come from somewhere. If you know their reasons, even the smallest actions will carry weight.

They don’t have to be good all the time.

Like all of us, your character will make decisions they regret. Sometimes they’ll say the wrong thing, act out of fear or rashness. Let them fail. Let them learn, or not. Humanity is what lies in the grey space between right and wrong.

Writing a character who feels real and reads like a real person is a challenge. Here are some book recs where I think the main character is as real as it gets:

A Little Life

Normal People

The Bell Jar

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

- Relying on autocorrect to correct typos

- Mispelling homophones (by/buy, there/their, we’re/were)

- Thinking that full stops in text messages = you’re mad at the person

- Hence not using full stops anymore when texting

- “Ok” or “K” = you’re also mad

- Can type sentences in abbreviations that my mother wouldn’t understand

- ex. smhhhh ts pmo

- Are capital letters not a thing anymore??

a talking teacup that gives terrible advice

a forest that hums lullabies

a bakery that bakes memories into tea cakes

a prince who turns into a frog on purpose

a moonbeam that you can fold into origami

a pond that reflects your happiest memories

a rainbow that you can climb into the clouds

a scarf that changes colour based on nearby magic

a rocking chair that tells stories from your childhood

a bookshop where book characters sometimes step out for a cuppa

a sleepy coastal town where the sea leaves gifts on your doorstep

Every dark fantasy story needs

a cloak that hides your emotions, not your body

a library where the books whisper secrets and the bookshelves reassemble themselves into a maze the more you want to seek a book

a map that leads you to a different foe every time

a lantern that only lights when someone tells the truth

a door that only opens if you promise never to return

a throne that turns its user into what the kingdom truly deserves

a river that flows with memories instead of water

a sword that hungers, not for blood, but for guilt

a child’s lullaby that summons something watching from the woods

Every academia story needs

all nighters fuelled by caffeine

a rumour about a professor who disappeared halfway through a semester

fighting for the last copy of a textbook

racing each other to find the best supervisor

verbal sparring on question sets

whispered debates in libraries

a mentor who’s either wildly inspiring or borderline unhinged

one student who always sits in the same spot until one day, they don’t

a group project that goes horrifically wrong

philosophising at 3 a.m. in corridors and staircases

the sudden realisation you’ve been working in the library for 12 hours straight and haven’t eaten

a changing quote written daily on the whiteboard that no one claims

Every romance story needs

a lapse of judgement, then an apology

a pet that goes astray--they go find it together

a shared umbrella in the rain

an fight in a kitchen that turns into dancing

a letter never meant to be opened--but it is

a late-night walk where neither wants to say goodbye

a borrowed sweater that still smells like them

a plant they raise together

a reunion at a train station or airport terminal

Every horror story needs

the ghost of your enemy

bloody footprints that lead into a desolate building

a voice that mimics your own, but whispers from another room

a knock at the door when no one should know you’re there

a journal that ends mid-sentence

a smell of rot with no source

a shadow that lingers long after the person is gone

a warning scrawled on the ceiling in your own handwriting

a room that’s colder than the rest of the house, no matter the season

Every historical story needs

a letter that never reached its destination, until now

a secret stitched into the lining of a coat

a forbidden romance

a family heirloom with a history only the family knows about

a moment where history happens in the background while the characters live their quiet lives

an encounter with a real historical figure

an ordinary object that survives through generations

By Writerthreads on Instagram

1) Establish who they are at the beginning

Before anything can change, you need a clear picture of who your character is when the story begins. This includes their flaws, limiting beliefs, fears, and emotional wounds. Are they guarded because of past betrayal? Do they seek validation through success? Create a version of your character that feels believable but incomplete—someone the reader can root for, even if they’re not yet who they need to become.

2) Define what they want vs need

This is the core tension within your character. What they want is usually external and obvious—winning a competition, being accepted, solving a mystery—while what they need is internal, often hidden even from themselves. They might want revenge but truly need healing; they might chase love when they need self-worth. The arc comes from the slow, often painful realization that what they’ve been pursuing doesn’t address their deeper emotional truth.

3) Challenge them

Growth doesn’t happen in comfort zones. Put your character through situations that directly challenge their worldview. Let them make mistakes, lose things that matter, or be forced to face contradictions in their beliefs. Each turning point should push them closer to discomfort—and therefore closer to transformation. The tension between how they see themselves and who they could become is where real development takes place.

4) Show the moment of shift

Eventually, something will happen that forces your character to confront who they are and what they’ve become. This doesn’t have to be one dramatic moment—though it can be—but it should be emotionally honest. Maybe it’s the realization that they’ve been hurting others in the pursuit of a hollow goal, or that vulnerability doesn’t mean weakness. This shift marks the beginning of change, when they start to make different choices not because the plot demands it, but because they’ve truly evolved.

Step 5: Let their ending reflect their growth

By the end of the story, your character should not be the same person they were at the start. They might not be perfect, but they’ve learned something meaningful—and we should see that in how they act, speak, and make decisions. Their arc should feel like the natural consequence of everything they’ve endured, a reflection of internal growth that feels earned, not forced.

The Bear: Richie’s arc (mild spoilers!)

The Bear (before it fell off imo) is a great show that showcases the humanness of its characters and how they interact and grow.

At the start of The Bear, Richie is loud, defensive, and stuck in the past. He clings to tradition and power in a restaurant that’s moving on without him.

He wants respect and purpose but seeks it through authority, not action. What he needs is to let go of ego.

When he’s sent to stage at a fine dining restaurant, Richie’s thrown completely out of his comfort zone, but learns from his peers after being dismissed and humiliated.

In Season 2, Episode 7 Forks, Richie finds joy in polishing cutlery and precision in his service. He lets go of his ego finally.

When he returns to his restaurant, The Bear, he’s more thoughtful, and nurtures his staff without feeling the need to dominate. He hasn’t become someone new—he’s become a better version of himself.

A great character arc doesn’t erase who someone is—it reveals who they were capable of being all along.

Final thoughts

A powerful character arc isn’t just about change—it’s about truth. It’s about peeling back the layers of defense, denial, and doubt until what remains is raw, real, and resonant. The best arcs leave us feeling like we’ve grown alongside the character.