writing style - Future-In-The-Past Form of 'Should [subject]…, or should [subject]…?'-Type Sentences?

     Consider a present-tense sentence in which a story's narrator expresses a situation in which the character in focus is considering which of two alternative choices he or she should make in the near future. Such a sentence can be constructed as follows:

[a] Should he or she…, or should he or she…?

[b] Should he or she…, or would it be better if he or she…?

…, et cetera.

Here's an example of this kind of sentence:

[a] Should he eat the sandwich, or should he save it for later?

[b] Should he eat the sandwich, or would it be better if he saved it for later?

…, etc.

Now suppose the person who wrote that sentence and its surrounding text decided to change his or her work relative to the past tense. How would he or she then alter a sentence like the one presented above as an example to make it fit in right alongside his or her newly revised content without needless linguistic contortions on his or her part? Would the author use the 'future in the past' tense in some way, shape, or form? If so, then how? I haven't, for the life of me, been able to figure that out by myself.

Answer

Your question is still confusing from my perspective, but I feel the answer is similar in that we use a variation of to do +/- past perfect.

Did Joe want to play soccer in the morning, or did he want to wait until later in the day?

Had Joe waited until the morning to play soccer, then he wouldn't have sprained his ankle in the dark.

In either case, you are using a past-tense auxiliary verb along with your action verb. In the first example, by adding an infinitive it brings your past tense "into the present," giving an illusion, if you will, of a future action.

It seems to me a problem you're having is leaving a semblance of mystery in a past-tense story frame. A primary reason most novels are written past tense is so the author can describe the action and describe the scene in a way the reader can take it all in.

You can't really write Did he eat the sandwich or didn't he? with any kind of interest unless that's the primary question of your mystery.

In third person, you have to be a little creative: Joe considered eating the sandwich. It sure looked tasty. But then he remembered the warnings, the rumors. Food was not be trusted from this kitchen. Should I eat the sandwich or shouldn't I, Joe thought to himself. He ate the sandwich; and it was a good thing, too. For that would be the last solid food Joe would eat for three days.

You can keep your basic premise by attributing to a thought or conversation, which is usually in present tense, of a past-tense story.