What time is it?

Time becomes more or less important depending on your place in life — except when you’re writing. Usually, especially with fiction, time can be established by verb tense (past, present, future). Choose one and set your scenes accordingly. But be careful. You’re writing in past tense, explaining what you did last summer, and you want to describe Paris. “Paris was a beautiful city,” you write. Unless the Eiffel Tower fell over or the Arc de Triomphe collapsed, Paris still “is” a beautiful city. Ain’t grammar fun!