[Grammar] waited vs was waiting

[Fagin]

For waiting that spans a long period, say weeks or years, what tense is more natural?

Suppose we have two sentences

1. For weeks, she'd felt as though she were living in a box. One day was much like the next as she waited for something to happen, for a direction to emerge.

2. For weeks, she'd felt as though she were living in a box. One day was much like the next as she was waiting for something to happen, for a direction to emerge.


Is there much difference between them?​

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[teechar]

Is there much difference between them?
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Not to me, but some may argue that the continuous accentuates the meaning.

 

[jutfrank]

They are both good and there is little difference of effect.

However, for some reason, my mind wants to read the past simple waited by the time I get to that part of the sentence. I'm not sure why. It's possibly because I'm imagining unseen context. Or maybe it's because the continuous doesn't seem to add anything that the simple doesn't already do.

In any case, the continuous is not generally more effective than the simple for suggesting longer durations. The difference between two narrative tenses like this is usually dependent on context (i.e. the tense/aspect of the other phrases in the paragraph.)

 

[GoesStation]

I also felt the simple past worked best.