Let’s simplify verb tense. Verb tenses tell WHEN something happens. That is all the tenses do. If the action is in present tense, it exists in the present; if the action is in the past tense, it already happened. Other verb tenses exist, but don’t worry about those right now.
We stare at the computer screen or blank page, and we do not know how to start or what to say. Perhaps we sigh and want to do anything other than stare at a blank notebook page or empty computer screen. This problem is so common it has a name:…
Some words are synonyms, they are similar in meaning, but there is enough of a difference to make the synonym simply not fit a particular context or express the same ideas. If the word does not fit the context, then not only is your meaning unclear, but a reader can…