Tense Question - verbs

[Strat79]

This is a quick question I've been wondering about tense.
Which is preferred?

Steve is walking with Berlin in his arms. Their hair and clothes are slightly damp.

OR

Steve walks with Berlin in his arms. Their hair and clothes are slightly damp.

It's not a huge deal, but I was just wondering.

[Deus Ex Machine]

Typically the second one is used because it is active rather than passive like the first example.

[PurpleCurtain]

Deus is right; "Steve walks" is better. However, for the record, "Steve is walking" is not passive; it's present progressive. "Passive" refers to constructions in which the subject is being acted upon rather than doing the action of the verb, such as, "The script is being written by an award-winning scrbe." The active, present progressive version of that sentence would be "An award-winning scribe is writing the script."

For what it's worth, my rule of thumb is to use the briefest descriptions possible. Therefore, all things being equal," I'd use "Steve walks" rather than "Steve is walking" simply because it has fewer letters. :)

[Cyfress]

You should be asking yourself that question, answering it, and just going that way. Who cares what anyone else does?

One of the first things I learned after reading my first few screenplays was that they are not gramatically correct materials.

[ComicBent]

The "present/present progressive" issue comes up quite frequently, and is often confused with the use of passive voice, which is another stylistic issue. (In general, passive voice is weak; however, it is sometimes useful.)

There is really no logical or stylistic reason to "prohibit" present progressive (the "-ing" stuff). What can happen, though, is that some people may overuse it and write things like:

Sam is reading a book while Mary is cooking supper. Soon they are eating supper. They take the dirty dishes to the sink, where they are washing everything and putting it away. Next they are watching TV and eating dessert.

Seriously, this kind of thing shows up if there is no "warning" against present progressive. For that reason, the warning serves a purpose; but it is not an absolute rule. Also, using simple present (not the "-ing" form) is shorter and saves space.