Can I change tense in my story?

Question

I'm writing a story and I want to know if I can change tense from present (in the prologue) to past (for the rest of the book).

The prologue is like...

"It is precisely three minutes to seven. The sky is clear, the sun is bright and the air is fresh. Everything in nature is perfect."

This seems better for setting the scene, but want to change it to past tense when I get to the first chapter so it's easier to describe the action.

Will this confuse people or will it be okay?

Please answer my other writing questions as well.

Answer 1

Sounds good to me, since your a writer you might want to check out a writing community I joined called http://chapteread.com They have some cool features, it's worth checking out!! Your story sounds good!! I'd like to read more. good luck.

Answer 2

No, that would be fine. It wouldn't be confusing at all. The prologue is often in some ways separate from the main story.

The only thing that would confuse you would be if you changed tense in the middle of a section.

Answer 3

It would be better to stay in the same tense. Setting the scene from a character's view instead of reading as though you're an announcer at the beginning of a stage play would be much stronger.

For instance, if your main POV character's name is Brian, it would be more like...

Brian checked his black, overly large Timex: three till seven, according to the hands. Breathing fresh air into his lungs, he shielded his eyes from the sun, noting an unsual lack of clouds. Chickadees flitted from the feeder hanging on his porch...

Try not to start a story or major scene with "It is.." or "It was.." -- that is very weak and will not pull attention. Changing to something more directly related to your character will pull your reader quickly into your story, and that's of major importance. Adding details such as what kind of watch he wears, or if he's looking at the microwave clock because he won't wear a watch lets your readers closer and makes them more interested.

Answer 4

That's just fine.  Since it's the prologue, readers will understand that it's set apart from the rest of your book.

It may mead people to believe that the prologue happens after the events of the book.  It will depend somewhat on how you do it, but just something to keep in mind. ^^  

Answer 5

Yeah. That's perfectly fine. I've read books like that before, more than once.

Good luck!

Answer 6

     No, that's fine, provided it's followed by something like

....."But it wasn't always like this."

     If you suddenly plunge into the past tense without any explanation whatsoever, it could be muddling to readers.

Good luck

Mike B