[Grammar] Mixing "say" and "said" in past tense dialogue

[mattthehoople]

Hi,

I'm wondering how acceptable it is to mix "said" and "say" in reported speech. This would be in a novel, and change on a chapter by chapter basis.

In some chapters, where the narrator is describing a past event in upbeat terms, "I say" would be used. As an example...

"It's none of your business," he says.
So I say, "Fine by me," and I just turned and walked away.

In other chapters "said" would be used. Everything is in the past tense, but I've been lead to believe there's such a thing as "historical present" that makes this okay. In addition, the narrator is a teenager from the north of england, where using "I say" or even "I says" when describing past events is quite normal.

Is this okay? Every time I read it back I think it looks a little wrong, but I like the feeling of drama and pace that it brings.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forum, mattthehoople.

Your last 11 words—'I like the feeling of drama and pace that it brings'

is all the justification the author needs for switching tenses.

That's exactly the effect he was aiming for.

Rover​

 

[a_vee]

Yes! It is acceptable to use the Present Simple to talk about the past when you want to create drama. It's cool that you're thinking about that.