Tense shift in conversation?

[Ireth]

While revising an early scene in WQ this morning, I noticed myself slipping from past tense to present and back again as one character explained something to another. Since it came naturally, I'm not sure if I should change it or not. Dialogue is supposed to reflect actual speech (at least somewhat), and I'm sure we all have slipped up with our tenses while rambling on about things at one point or another. Even so, I'm wondering what you all think. Here's the first half of the conversation in question, detailing the events of the MC's kidnapping as her friend tells it to the MC's father:


"When he first showed up, we'd been arguing," said Paul. "I was telling Ariel how I didn't believe in Fae, and said if she could prove they existed, I'd never bother her about it again. As soon as I said that, the guy grabs my shoulder out of the shadows, and says, 'Well, child. You see me, you have felt my hand. Do you believe in me now?' He had a weird accent... a little Irish-sounding, and I want to say Welsh?" He frowned and shrugged. "He was really tall, six foot four at least, and wore all black, with feathers and a beak on his mask. I never got a good look at his face."

Vincent nodded slowly. "And did you answer his question?"

"Yeah, I... I said I didn't believe, of course, and said this whole thing was mad. I thought Ariel had set it up for a joke, but she was scared, really scared."

"And she was wise to be so," said Vincent. "The Fae do not take kindly to being insulted, and denying the existence of one to his face is a serious one. You're very lucky he didn't harm you."

"I figured that out on my own, thanks," Paul retorted. His rising anger did little to mask the guilt in his voice.

"What happened then?" Vincent asked, not wanting to dwell on this too long.

"When Ariel said she didn't know the guy, he looked at her and said, 'You will soon enough.' Then Chris and I jumped in, moved in front of her to protect her. I told the guy he could stop playing games, and he said it wasn't, and called me a fool. He told us to stand aside so he could 'claim his own'. Chris asks him, 'What do you want?', and he looks at Ariel and says, 'Her.' Then she asks him why, and he says it's because she believes in him, she's beautiful, and he needs a bride."

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I think shifting tenses within dialogue is fine. Paul is no longer quoting the Fae at that point, and to the characters this is a current situation, so it's not even a slip. It is happening in present tense. So, no worries.

 

[Butterfly]

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with what you have. My vote... stick with what came naturally.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I vote the same. It sounds entirely like naturalistic dialogue to me.

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

Changing tenses like you have there is not just OK - it's essential.

Characters talk to each other in present tense, when talking about "the now". They talk in past tense when telling a story of something that happened in the past. They slip back and forth between the two naturally, the same as you or I would if we were having the same conversation.

When a writing guide says "don't mix tenses", what they mean is, avoid stuff like this:

"So, Tom, we ready to go?" she said. She thinks about how much fun they're about to have.
He loaded the last box into the car. "Yes, I have everything packed," he says.

Note how I flip from past tense to present in the first line, and then again in the next? This is a no-no, because I am tense switching inside the NARRATIVE, rather than inside the dialogue.