I always thought past tense worked for most stories because if a story is being told orally it makes perfect sense for it to be in the past tense. You don’t tell your friends something that happened to you in the present tense, that would make you look insane.
I wonder if that tendency toward living in the present is not just the hallmark of our civilization. Storytelling is, in its essence, a way to connect to the past of your own people. That's why cavemen painted their legends on wall, why celts had priests bards traveling through their villages to sing their myths and why every fairy tale begin with 'Once upon a time'. In a culture that has spent the last century joyfully destroying its own traditions, values, familial and cultural structures, etc... what is there to connect to? What is there except pleasure seeking, consumption and an eternal present?
I just had a thought, and you can tell me if it’s a bad idea…but…What if one was to use present tense, just like the book you used as the example at the beginning of the article (and that I definitely didn’t just forget the name of), for the waking an initial experiences of a character who has lost their memory, but as the first few chapters progress, the story gradually transitions into past tense? The idea being to illustrate their mental state: at first lost, in the moment, trying to figure out what is the now; later, established and making memories again, old memories starting to crawl back to the surface, the repair of identity.
Or is that just kind of a cheesy way to do it that should be better done through more normal means and past tense?
No, no, I think that's an interesting idea! You'd have to experiment and see, but I think it would be a really compelling and subtle way to use the tense to reinforce the narrative on a subconscious level.
Hot take, I can’t stand first person presenr. I find it the mark of a juvenile, poor quality author who has a tenuous grasp of the English language and can only write self inserts.
Here’s where I’m coming from. Unlike many of you, I actually read a bunch of romantasy (and decided the genre is trash AFTER I threw 9/10 books across the room for a bad combination of ramming identity politics down my throat and being so poorly written that I’d really like to know what editors are getting paid to do). I’ve also read a lot of goodreads reviews of these books to idiot check myself and see why tf such low quality books are driving people wild.
Romantasy and its fans are the reason everything is present tense now. The typical romantasy heroine is a blatant author self insert, sometimes even having the same disability or mental health diagnoses as the author. Fourth Wing (which could’ve been very good if it RY omitted the smut and got a REAL EDITOR) the author has EDS, so does the protagonist. Phantasma (absolute trash whose author/editor failed basic anatomy to a point that makes RY misusing the word parapet look completely benign), the author has crippling OCD, so does the protagonist.
Edited to add this notable sidebar—people don’t know what words mean any more? The parapet debacle is old news but I recently finished Shield of Sparrows and neither the author nor the “editor” (dear god the sentence fragments) knows what a vambrace is called, so we have to hear about the MMC’s “leather forearm cuff” on every other page.
Book of Night/Thief of Night (this one is written more like older urban fantasy, no smut, and not in present tense, I don’t personally consider it romantasy but the publisher does) the protagonist’s physical description exactly matches the author photo, right down to the way her eye makeup is described. Author is significantly overweight, so is she. (Which is fine—I find it refreshing when a female protagonist isn’t conventionally attractive) but WHY does she need to look EXACTLY LIKE THE AUTHOR?
Book of Night is considered subpar in romantasy circles specifically because it comes closer to being a respectable fantasy novel (despite some pacing issues and the blatant author self insert) and A LOT of the negative reviews bitch that it’s written in past tense and doesn’t have smut. Romantasy readers by their own admission “can’t get into” books that are written in past tense, or worse (gasp) third person. Romantasy is riddled with identity politics to a point that you can’t find one single one where the side characters aren’t a f’ing pride parade of degeneracy and none of the characters are promiscuous. If identity politics was a genre it would be romantasy, mmkay. Romantasy readers refuse to read anything that’s not first person present so they can “identify” with the protagonist and pretend the content of the book (usually a BDSM fantasy with a domineering male who does not act like he respects women) ((PUKE)) is happening to them.
There is definitely a discussion to be had about the fact that romantasy is a genre written by and for hard left women that see themselves as strong independent bossbabes who don’t need no man… yet the idealized relationships in the books aren’t just traditional, they are an extreme caricature of traditional that would piss off the majority of small c conservatives. A weak and useless woman who can’t do a single thing right THINKS she’s strong and independent, but needs her man to control her because she can’t be trusted not to get herself killed through sheer stupidity, and his hyper controlling behavior and extreme jealousy are proof that he loves her. In other words I think these books are a backwards and upside down way of left wing women admitting that they hate contemporary feminism. But I digress.
Romantasy readers (loudly and proudly, on the internet, anyone can find this information on goodreads) can only engage with books that are written in first person present with a first draft-y “writing style” that reads like it was written by someone functionally illiterate and not edited at all. And they LOUDLY BITCH about books written any other way, so more authors are writing simplistic, juvenile trash in first person present because that’s what the “girlies” demand. Keep in mind these are the same people that only read dialogue and complain if they’re not spoon fed a detailed internal monologue that fully explains all the characters emotions and motivations. Brandon Sanderson actually started this over explaining garbage with Mistborn. (Get it from the library and read a couple chapters to see how horrifying the writing is).
So yeah. You can pin this one on “romantasy ruined literature” (or more rightfully, woke white women who apparently don’t know how to wank without making their toxic sexual fantasy my problem ruined literature).
Worth noting, Tana French writes in third person present. It’s a bit weird and takes a couple chapters to get used to, but I feel comfortable judging this as a literary choice.
I have a theory that the Millennial Generation and those following us are the most "bored" generations in history. We exist at a time when the world has been conquered and where the great social battles of the past have, at least in the West, been effectively won. There is nothing great for the common man to strive for which has not already been done by others. And little for the exceptional man to strive for but marginal improvements over what has come before.
So, much like Dadaism in the Arts, we are tearing down the foundational structures of society searching for something worthwhile to do among the wreckage. This also, sadly, applies to literature.
My current fantasy serial is 1st person present. I chose it initially as an experiment, but now that I'm 11 chapters in, I think it sets the proper tone. The MC undergoes events and circumstances he's never experienced before, so he has no past experiences to rely upon - he responds with reflex and instinct. Toss in several mysteries, and a few curveballs, it's the proverbial "chased up a tree and dodging rocks" scenario. Though in the MC's case, it's being chased into a crypt and dodging ghouls.
I think the issue is less the increase in present tense but more so the increase in first person present tense. I've usually found first person present to read like a live sports play-by-play of the narrative combined with an unnatural sounding flow of consciousness. Present tense more broadly, however, can give a vividness born of its immediacy, which in many works I've found more successfully brings the past, contemplations, etc into focus than using the past tense would, such as in Flaubert's The Temptation of Saint Anthony for an example.
Using present tense does not increase vividness, certainly not as a rule. It can be vivid, but this same sense of immediacy and vividness is completely possible with past tense narratives. The immediacy of present tense is limited and space-less. I would argue that present tense does not allow for a contemplation of the past but superimposes the past onto the present, forcing it to take the same shape and meaning as the present, making it, in a sense, beholden and subservient to the present, rather than allowing the present to pause and consider the lessons of the past. The past, instead, is forced to serve the whims and interests of the present. As I have said, the use of present tense can be appropriate, but it is the exception, not the rule.
This was such an amazing article. I would kill to pick your brain about more nuance on when you think present tense is appropriate, specifically third person present. I've read some amazing books written in that tense, and it's my preference for writing - but not all things. And I haven't considered until now, why that might be. I'm writing my new novel that way, and I'd loveee feedback from someone with opinions lol
Present tense is rarely the only right choice. So rare that I'd say I've read maybe two books in my life that benefited from the use of present tense. It can be an acceptable choice a little more often, but the narrative almost always loses something in the use of it. In these cases it is usually better to use past tense.
I've read books in which some parts of it are present tense. For instance In This Way I Was Saved opens with a passage from the perspective of the main character's imaginary friend. This passage is written in present tense which perfectly conveys the sense that the character has zero sense of self outside the present moment as he had, in that very moment, been "created" by his boy. A book by Jean Ray delivers passages in present tense which are meant to be recitations of historical sequences of events. The narrative itself is written in past tense. The present tense sections have the feel of a textbook, or even of someone telling you these dry facts very much like a series of bullet points.
The VAST majority of modern popular fiction is written in present tense. There has even been a strong push in some literary circles to make it the more "proper" way to write stories. This gained steam when Hilary Mantel was quoted as saying that past tense was arrogant. Having won the Booker Prize, this ludicrous opinion of hers gained a sense of credibility. Around that time more literary fiction began to appear in the present tense. A lot of writers today use present tense simply because that's the way all books (seemingly) are written and it's only natural to imitate what one grew up reading. The fact remains that it's almost always a poorer way to write any story.
You have to ask yourself if the narrative requires the use of present tense. It's rare that it does, very rare. Beyond that, you have to ask yourself why you would prefer present tense. Is it because you like it to read? If so, why? What would you think of the same present tense books you like had they been written in past tense? Would your appreciation and love for them change at all? If not then it's possible that the main reason you prefer present tense is familiarity. It's what you're used to.
The final unavoidable thing to consider is market. If you're writing for the young adult or new adult audiences those are almost exclusively present tense. A book written in past tense would stick out like a sore thumb in that market. I think that's a shame because those genres are extremely formative for young writers and they should have more exposure to other tenses and persons. However, if you want to break out in those genres that might also inform your decision regarding tense and person.
This was actually so helpful! For a second there I was considering switching it to past but what you said about audience makes so much sense. It's in the new adult genre so I figure it would be better to stick with present. I also find it difficult to maintain suspension of tension when it comes to mystery style stories in limited third person pov without present tense. The story feels more immediate - which I know can be achieved with third person past - but past also requires different syntax and prose to accomplish similar aspects. Like I couldn't say certain colloquialisms in past tense that only make sense in present tense. I think a lot of it just depends on a writers voice as well. I have two stories going right now, one is a long collaboration series all in past tense, and then my own which is in present and my dominate hand. I find myself sometimes wanting to be stronger in voice in the past tense version which I find more difficult than when in present tense. Im trying to think of examples but like: speak of the devil, or you win some and you lose some (not that I would use those specifically) but they lose their charm, and lose their familiarity when in past tense. As an editor and I writer I find this topic really fascinating because it is really interesting to watch how things are shifting. However, I have a broader opinion I think on the place present tense has in literature
I have read books in which colloquialisms and other turns of phrase are used comfortably within past tense. That used to be common. As long as the prose is polished, one doesn't even notice. There are many older books that do this and it often pops into novels as widely varied as Sherlock Holmes and Dostoevsky because writing in the past tense was simply what was done. So a present-tense colloquialism was simply added unaltered and no one thought anything of it.
I understand your concerns, but I think writers should be careful making choices for their books that could potentially weaken them in an effort to meet the expectations of an audience. That's a difficult needle to thread, but a book written in past tense can still work in the NA genre. I think we, as writers, should weigh the expectations of audience against the quality of the work and hopefully find a happy medium. If we focus on pleasing the market we run the risk of sacrificing the craft.
I only mentioned market because it's a motivation for a lot of writers. They believe that their audience expects present tense and so they write their books to meet those expectations, with insufficient thought given to the massive narrative and cognitive shift that occurs with that change. Are they right? Will their books be less popular in the past tense? I don't know. But if that's the case, maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing for the entire market to put more effort into quality rather than conformity. At that point you have to ask yourself: what's most important to you? To sell a million copies? Or to write a really wonderful book?
To that though I would argue that I've read some really amazing and wonderful literature in the present tense. I really think there's something to be said for its future place in the literary world. I personally don't think the transition from past to present is as detrimental as you might think it to be, but that's okay. It's really really interesting. That being said, I'm sure your education in the subject far surpasses mine (not a sarcastic statement, I mean this genuinely). I'm new-ish to the field. That being said, would you ever consider reading a strangers work on tbe internet and giving your honest opinion on the tense choice?
I have also read books written in present tense that were excellent. It is possible, but the choice is an important one, and that importance has been almost entirely neglected.
As much as I would love to be able to offer my thoughts on your (or anyone's!) writing, I'm afraid I simply don't have time. My advice would be to experiment and read widely. You will eventually start to get a feel for what the different tenses allow and what they limit. That will help you make the right choice in your own writing.
Hello stranger. I am currently writing a work based on the encouragement of a published friend and their editor. To keep myself sharp while doing so, I read works both good & bad and (privately) edit the prose or write notes about what works in it. If you want feedback on your work from people, I'd be happy to help out a fellow aspiring writer. If not, but you'd still like advice or examples for the use of present tense, I recommend checking out Gustave Flaubert's 'The Temptation of Saint Anthony' or his shorter work 'The Dance of Death'. Flaubert was a perfectionist writer, even taking a week to write a single sentence, and you can see it in his prose.
I think in the case of first person present tense narrative, it’s potentially worse than you are suggesting. That mode of writing doesn’t just have a tendency to rob the story of a connection to the past, it naturally leads the mind toward a self-centered perspective.
“I walk into the room.” No book, I do not. I am sitting on my butt reading about this character. Of course, I am aware this character I am reading about is separate from me. But not because first person present tense invites me to think so, only because I continuously correct that natural tendency.
“I-Thou” is the basis of real empathy and love. Only when I am I and You are You can we have a relationship. Empathy only exists in the space where “I” ends and “Thou” begins. But we naturally tend toward “I-It” thinking, to treating external creatures as objects or extensions of the self.
My four year old thinks being splashed in the face with water is hilarious, so she thinks everyone else does too. Much to the annoyance of everyone else. It’s not her fault the only mind she’s been given to think with is her own but she requires constant correction, reminding of “Thou”. As do we all, as often as we can get it. Ideally our fiction should not just be beautiful but draw us out of ourselves, not push us deeper into it.
Third person narration naturally lends itself to thinking of fictional characters as separate from ourselves. It is as close to an unselfish, outward oriented perspective as we can get. Even a first person past tense narrative is enough like a conversation, or a story being told to you, that it’s easy to resist identifying with the constant barrage of “I, I, I.”
But what about the stream of “I do, I say, I, me, me, mine” that comes from first person present tense? The only kind of experience we have analogous to that is… Well, our own. That language lends itself to fantasy, to becoming the character. Not encountering them as genuinely “other.”
I can unconsciously correct a first person present tense narrative but I have been “learned up” pretty well by third person or past tense writing. I worry for people brought up without sufficient correctives. The life-long battle to not to be a selfish asshole is hard enough without your unconscious mind being colonized by the enemy.
It is a curious development. Present tebse has its place but really i think past tebsr is the most accessible, so its right to look for a deeper explabation that just ibdustry shift towards transparancy and dumbing down
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana. Or should it read: “Those who cannot remember the past will be forced to reconstruct it from available sources with no certainty it could ever be repeated”.
Back in 2024 I tried reading some of the few fantasy novels that were available at my small, local library. All of them were more modern fare, but I figured at the time that it was worth trying to find new books to appreciate. The first one seemed okay, but something about it just didn't sit right with me, even if at the time I wasn't fully aware of what its issues were. The second book I gave up on after a few chapters when it became apparent that the worldbuilding was nothing more than a slapdash collage of "cool" setpieces, but there was still more about it that was bothering me. It was only when I was reading the first chapter of the third book from that I realized all these books were in first person present tense, which was the nail in that final book's coffin before it had a chance to make any other impression on me. I don't remember much else about any of those books, which could be seen as either good or bad depending on how one feels about the lasting impact of art that is, to speak diplomatically, "not to one's own taste."
I've been generally avoiding more recent releases ever since then, because that style is just too prevalent.
When I started to write, I often found myself writing in the past tense and then shifting to the present. Things like "He turned on the car and suddenly someone knocks on his window." It was only when a friend pointed that out that I started to pay attention to the tense of my writing.
The choice of using present tense perhaps also comes from a lack of mastery over the language?
Present tense hurts my brain. While reading, my brain automatically tries to translate it into past tense, which feels far more natural to me, and this involves such a massive amount of extra mental effort that I end up with an actual headache. I can get through a short story in present tense if it is done well, such as the few exceptions when it works for the reasons listed above. But if I pick up a novel and see present tense on the first page, that is an instant DNF.
I think one thing you are missing is that nowadays, almost everyone tells stories orally in the present tense. I don't know whether you have kids, but if you do, listen to how they describe some incident at school. For example. "So, we're in chemistry class, and Miss Jones, she comes in wearing this crazy dress with all sorts of flowers on it, and John -- you remember John, he says, ‘My eyes! My eyes!’ And Miss Jones screams at him to go to the principal’s office.” Etc. You get the drill. I do it myself sometimes when I’m telling stories. I do it sometimes when I’m writing, and I have to catch myself. I don't know when this change occurred, when telling stories orally in the present tense in slang for kids. I don't think it was in my youth in the 70s, but maybe, given that I do it.
In any event, I began to read a novel the other day — actually read the novel, not listen to the audiobook, which never happens, as I physically read almost exclusively non-fiction — and it read really oddly in the present tense. I was immediately put off by present tense. So I spoke to an author friend of mine, and she told me that The Martian was written in the present tense. She went on to list a bunch of other genre novels I’ve listened to that were in the present tense. I hadn’t noticed when listening to the audiobooks. Like, hadn’t noticed AT ALL. But on the printed page, the present tense stuck out like a sore thumb. Anyway, I guess my point is that there is this dichotomy between listening and reading when it comes to the present tense. Listening sounds natural because that's how we actually talk in real life. But reading sounds very unnatural.
I always thought past tense worked for most stories because if a story is being told orally it makes perfect sense for it to be in the past tense. You don’t tell your friends something that happened to you in the present tense, that would make you look insane.
I wonder if that tendency toward living in the present is not just the hallmark of our civilization. Storytelling is, in its essence, a way to connect to the past of your own people. That's why cavemen painted their legends on wall, why celts had priests bards traveling through their villages to sing their myths and why every fairy tale begin with 'Once upon a time'. In a culture that has spent the last century joyfully destroying its own traditions, values, familial and cultural structures, etc... what is there to connect to? What is there except pleasure seeking, consumption and an eternal present?
I just had a thought, and you can tell me if it’s a bad idea…but…What if one was to use present tense, just like the book you used as the example at the beginning of the article (and that I definitely didn’t just forget the name of), for the waking an initial experiences of a character who has lost their memory, but as the first few chapters progress, the story gradually transitions into past tense? The idea being to illustrate their mental state: at first lost, in the moment, trying to figure out what is the now; later, established and making memories again, old memories starting to crawl back to the surface, the repair of identity.
Or is that just kind of a cheesy way to do it that should be better done through more normal means and past tense?
No, no, I think that's an interesting idea! You'd have to experiment and see, but I think it would be a really compelling and subtle way to use the tense to reinforce the narrative on a subconscious level.
Hot take, I can’t stand first person presenr. I find it the mark of a juvenile, poor quality author who has a tenuous grasp of the English language and can only write self inserts.
Here’s where I’m coming from. Unlike many of you, I actually read a bunch of romantasy (and decided the genre is trash AFTER I threw 9/10 books across the room for a bad combination of ramming identity politics down my throat and being so poorly written that I’d really like to know what editors are getting paid to do). I’ve also read a lot of goodreads reviews of these books to idiot check myself and see why tf such low quality books are driving people wild.
Romantasy and its fans are the reason everything is present tense now. The typical romantasy heroine is a blatant author self insert, sometimes even having the same disability or mental health diagnoses as the author. Fourth Wing (which could’ve been very good if it RY omitted the smut and got a REAL EDITOR) the author has EDS, so does the protagonist. Phantasma (absolute trash whose author/editor failed basic anatomy to a point that makes RY misusing the word parapet look completely benign), the author has crippling OCD, so does the protagonist.
Edited to add this notable sidebar—people don’t know what words mean any more? The parapet debacle is old news but I recently finished Shield of Sparrows and neither the author nor the “editor” (dear god the sentence fragments) knows what a vambrace is called, so we have to hear about the MMC’s “leather forearm cuff” on every other page.
Book of Night/Thief of Night (this one is written more like older urban fantasy, no smut, and not in present tense, I don’t personally consider it romantasy but the publisher does) the protagonist’s physical description exactly matches the author photo, right down to the way her eye makeup is described. Author is significantly overweight, so is she. (Which is fine—I find it refreshing when a female protagonist isn’t conventionally attractive) but WHY does she need to look EXACTLY LIKE THE AUTHOR?
Book of Night is considered subpar in romantasy circles specifically because it comes closer to being a respectable fantasy novel (despite some pacing issues and the blatant author self insert) and A LOT of the negative reviews bitch that it’s written in past tense and doesn’t have smut. Romantasy readers by their own admission “can’t get into” books that are written in past tense, or worse (gasp) third person. Romantasy is riddled with identity politics to a point that you can’t find one single one where the side characters aren’t a f’ing pride parade of degeneracy and none of the characters are promiscuous. If identity politics was a genre it would be romantasy, mmkay. Romantasy readers refuse to read anything that’s not first person present so they can “identify” with the protagonist and pretend the content of the book (usually a BDSM fantasy with a domineering male who does not act like he respects women) ((PUKE)) is happening to them.
There is definitely a discussion to be had about the fact that romantasy is a genre written by and for hard left women that see themselves as strong independent bossbabes who don’t need no man… yet the idealized relationships in the books aren’t just traditional, they are an extreme caricature of traditional that would piss off the majority of small c conservatives. A weak and useless woman who can’t do a single thing right THINKS she’s strong and independent, but needs her man to control her because she can’t be trusted not to get herself killed through sheer stupidity, and his hyper controlling behavior and extreme jealousy are proof that he loves her. In other words I think these books are a backwards and upside down way of left wing women admitting that they hate contemporary feminism. But I digress.
Romantasy readers (loudly and proudly, on the internet, anyone can find this information on goodreads) can only engage with books that are written in first person present with a first draft-y “writing style” that reads like it was written by someone functionally illiterate and not edited at all. And they LOUDLY BITCH about books written any other way, so more authors are writing simplistic, juvenile trash in first person present because that’s what the “girlies” demand. Keep in mind these are the same people that only read dialogue and complain if they’re not spoon fed a detailed internal monologue that fully explains all the characters emotions and motivations. Brandon Sanderson actually started this over explaining garbage with Mistborn. (Get it from the library and read a couple chapters to see how horrifying the writing is).
So yeah. You can pin this one on “romantasy ruined literature” (or more rightfully, woke white women who apparently don’t know how to wank without making their toxic sexual fantasy my problem ruined literature).
Worth noting, Tana French writes in third person present. It’s a bit weird and takes a couple chapters to get used to, but I feel comfortable judging this as a literary choice.
TLD(but I did)R: Present tense is hard, you aren't good enough to do it and is an indicator of cultural decline.
She's right you know.
Yes. And I'm here to learn. No way could I write a decent specimen of the present tense narrative.
Therefore, I'm an artifact of cultural decline.
I have a theory that the Millennial Generation and those following us are the most "bored" generations in history. We exist at a time when the world has been conquered and where the great social battles of the past have, at least in the West, been effectively won. There is nothing great for the common man to strive for which has not already been done by others. And little for the exceptional man to strive for but marginal improvements over what has come before.
So, much like Dadaism in the Arts, we are tearing down the foundational structures of society searching for something worthwhile to do among the wreckage. This also, sadly, applies to literature.
My current fantasy serial is 1st person present. I chose it initially as an experiment, but now that I'm 11 chapters in, I think it sets the proper tone. The MC undergoes events and circumstances he's never experienced before, so he has no past experiences to rely upon - he responds with reflex and instinct. Toss in several mysteries, and a few curveballs, it's the proverbial "chased up a tree and dodging rocks" scenario. Though in the MC's case, it's being chased into a crypt and dodging ghouls.
I think the issue is less the increase in present tense but more so the increase in first person present tense. I've usually found first person present to read like a live sports play-by-play of the narrative combined with an unnatural sounding flow of consciousness. Present tense more broadly, however, can give a vividness born of its immediacy, which in many works I've found more successfully brings the past, contemplations, etc into focus than using the past tense would, such as in Flaubert's The Temptation of Saint Anthony for an example.
Using present tense does not increase vividness, certainly not as a rule. It can be vivid, but this same sense of immediacy and vividness is completely possible with past tense narratives. The immediacy of present tense is limited and space-less. I would argue that present tense does not allow for a contemplation of the past but superimposes the past onto the present, forcing it to take the same shape and meaning as the present, making it, in a sense, beholden and subservient to the present, rather than allowing the present to pause and consider the lessons of the past. The past, instead, is forced to serve the whims and interests of the present. As I have said, the use of present tense can be appropriate, but it is the exception, not the rule.
My friend says he's going to write a novel consisting of tweets. He's going to call it "Kilroy is Here." No joke!
That sounds like an insane but interesting project!
This was such an amazing article. I would kill to pick your brain about more nuance on when you think present tense is appropriate, specifically third person present. I've read some amazing books written in that tense, and it's my preference for writing - but not all things. And I haven't considered until now, why that might be. I'm writing my new novel that way, and I'd loveee feedback from someone with opinions lol
Present tense is rarely the only right choice. So rare that I'd say I've read maybe two books in my life that benefited from the use of present tense. It can be an acceptable choice a little more often, but the narrative almost always loses something in the use of it. In these cases it is usually better to use past tense.
I've read books in which some parts of it are present tense. For instance In This Way I Was Saved opens with a passage from the perspective of the main character's imaginary friend. This passage is written in present tense which perfectly conveys the sense that the character has zero sense of self outside the present moment as he had, in that very moment, been "created" by his boy. A book by Jean Ray delivers passages in present tense which are meant to be recitations of historical sequences of events. The narrative itself is written in past tense. The present tense sections have the feel of a textbook, or even of someone telling you these dry facts very much like a series of bullet points.
The VAST majority of modern popular fiction is written in present tense. There has even been a strong push in some literary circles to make it the more "proper" way to write stories. This gained steam when Hilary Mantel was quoted as saying that past tense was arrogant. Having won the Booker Prize, this ludicrous opinion of hers gained a sense of credibility. Around that time more literary fiction began to appear in the present tense. A lot of writers today use present tense simply because that's the way all books (seemingly) are written and it's only natural to imitate what one grew up reading. The fact remains that it's almost always a poorer way to write any story.
You have to ask yourself if the narrative requires the use of present tense. It's rare that it does, very rare. Beyond that, you have to ask yourself why you would prefer present tense. Is it because you like it to read? If so, why? What would you think of the same present tense books you like had they been written in past tense? Would your appreciation and love for them change at all? If not then it's possible that the main reason you prefer present tense is familiarity. It's what you're used to.
The final unavoidable thing to consider is market. If you're writing for the young adult or new adult audiences those are almost exclusively present tense. A book written in past tense would stick out like a sore thumb in that market. I think that's a shame because those genres are extremely formative for young writers and they should have more exposure to other tenses and persons. However, if you want to break out in those genres that might also inform your decision regarding tense and person.
This was actually so helpful! For a second there I was considering switching it to past but what you said about audience makes so much sense. It's in the new adult genre so I figure it would be better to stick with present. I also find it difficult to maintain suspension of tension when it comes to mystery style stories in limited third person pov without present tense. The story feels more immediate - which I know can be achieved with third person past - but past also requires different syntax and prose to accomplish similar aspects. Like I couldn't say certain colloquialisms in past tense that only make sense in present tense. I think a lot of it just depends on a writers voice as well. I have two stories going right now, one is a long collaboration series all in past tense, and then my own which is in present and my dominate hand. I find myself sometimes wanting to be stronger in voice in the past tense version which I find more difficult than when in present tense. Im trying to think of examples but like: speak of the devil, or you win some and you lose some (not that I would use those specifically) but they lose their charm, and lose their familiarity when in past tense. As an editor and I writer I find this topic really fascinating because it is really interesting to watch how things are shifting. However, I have a broader opinion I think on the place present tense has in literature
I have read books in which colloquialisms and other turns of phrase are used comfortably within past tense. That used to be common. As long as the prose is polished, one doesn't even notice. There are many older books that do this and it often pops into novels as widely varied as Sherlock Holmes and Dostoevsky because writing in the past tense was simply what was done. So a present-tense colloquialism was simply added unaltered and no one thought anything of it.
I understand your concerns, but I think writers should be careful making choices for their books that could potentially weaken them in an effort to meet the expectations of an audience. That's a difficult needle to thread, but a book written in past tense can still work in the NA genre. I think we, as writers, should weigh the expectations of audience against the quality of the work and hopefully find a happy medium. If we focus on pleasing the market we run the risk of sacrificing the craft.
I only mentioned market because it's a motivation for a lot of writers. They believe that their audience expects present tense and so they write their books to meet those expectations, with insufficient thought given to the massive narrative and cognitive shift that occurs with that change. Are they right? Will their books be less popular in the past tense? I don't know. But if that's the case, maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing for the entire market to put more effort into quality rather than conformity. At that point you have to ask yourself: what's most important to you? To sell a million copies? Or to write a really wonderful book?
To that though I would argue that I've read some really amazing and wonderful literature in the present tense. I really think there's something to be said for its future place in the literary world. I personally don't think the transition from past to present is as detrimental as you might think it to be, but that's okay. It's really really interesting. That being said, I'm sure your education in the subject far surpasses mine (not a sarcastic statement, I mean this genuinely). I'm new-ish to the field. That being said, would you ever consider reading a strangers work on tbe internet and giving your honest opinion on the tense choice?
I have also read books written in present tense that were excellent. It is possible, but the choice is an important one, and that importance has been almost entirely neglected.
As much as I would love to be able to offer my thoughts on your (or anyone's!) writing, I'm afraid I simply don't have time. My advice would be to experiment and read widely. You will eventually start to get a feel for what the different tenses allow and what they limit. That will help you make the right choice in your own writing.
Hello stranger. I am currently writing a work based on the encouragement of a published friend and their editor. To keep myself sharp while doing so, I read works both good & bad and (privately) edit the prose or write notes about what works in it. If you want feedback on your work from people, I'd be happy to help out a fellow aspiring writer. If not, but you'd still like advice or examples for the use of present tense, I recommend checking out Gustave Flaubert's 'The Temptation of Saint Anthony' or his shorter work 'The Dance of Death'. Flaubert was a perfectionist writer, even taking a week to write a single sentence, and you can see it in his prose.
I think in the case of first person present tense narrative, it’s potentially worse than you are suggesting. That mode of writing doesn’t just have a tendency to rob the story of a connection to the past, it naturally leads the mind toward a self-centered perspective.
“I walk into the room.” No book, I do not. I am sitting on my butt reading about this character. Of course, I am aware this character I am reading about is separate from me. But not because first person present tense invites me to think so, only because I continuously correct that natural tendency.
“I-Thou” is the basis of real empathy and love. Only when I am I and You are You can we have a relationship. Empathy only exists in the space where “I” ends and “Thou” begins. But we naturally tend toward “I-It” thinking, to treating external creatures as objects or extensions of the self.
My four year old thinks being splashed in the face with water is hilarious, so she thinks everyone else does too. Much to the annoyance of everyone else. It’s not her fault the only mind she’s been given to think with is her own but she requires constant correction, reminding of “Thou”. As do we all, as often as we can get it. Ideally our fiction should not just be beautiful but draw us out of ourselves, not push us deeper into it.
Third person narration naturally lends itself to thinking of fictional characters as separate from ourselves. It is as close to an unselfish, outward oriented perspective as we can get. Even a first person past tense narrative is enough like a conversation, or a story being told to you, that it’s easy to resist identifying with the constant barrage of “I, I, I.”
But what about the stream of “I do, I say, I, me, me, mine” that comes from first person present tense? The only kind of experience we have analogous to that is… Well, our own. That language lends itself to fantasy, to becoming the character. Not encountering them as genuinely “other.”
I can unconsciously correct a first person present tense narrative but I have been “learned up” pretty well by third person or past tense writing. I worry for people brought up without sufficient correctives. The life-long battle to not to be a selfish asshole is hard enough without your unconscious mind being colonized by the enemy.
It is a curious development. Present tebse has its place but really i think past tebsr is the most accessible, so its right to look for a deeper explabation that just ibdustry shift towards transparancy and dumbing down
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana. Or should it read: “Those who cannot remember the past will be forced to reconstruct it from available sources with no certainty it could ever be repeated”.
Back in 2024 I tried reading some of the few fantasy novels that were available at my small, local library. All of them were more modern fare, but I figured at the time that it was worth trying to find new books to appreciate. The first one seemed okay, but something about it just didn't sit right with me, even if at the time I wasn't fully aware of what its issues were. The second book I gave up on after a few chapters when it became apparent that the worldbuilding was nothing more than a slapdash collage of "cool" setpieces, but there was still more about it that was bothering me. It was only when I was reading the first chapter of the third book from that I realized all these books were in first person present tense, which was the nail in that final book's coffin before it had a chance to make any other impression on me. I don't remember much else about any of those books, which could be seen as either good or bad depending on how one feels about the lasting impact of art that is, to speak diplomatically, "not to one's own taste."
I've been generally avoiding more recent releases ever since then, because that style is just too prevalent.
When I started to write, I often found myself writing in the past tense and then shifting to the present. Things like "He turned on the car and suddenly someone knocks on his window." It was only when a friend pointed that out that I started to pay attention to the tense of my writing.
The choice of using present tense perhaps also comes from a lack of mastery over the language?
Present tense hurts my brain. While reading, my brain automatically tries to translate it into past tense, which feels far more natural to me, and this involves such a massive amount of extra mental effort that I end up with an actual headache. I can get through a short story in present tense if it is done well, such as the few exceptions when it works for the reasons listed above. But if I pick up a novel and see present tense on the first page, that is an instant DNF.
I think one thing you are missing is that nowadays, almost everyone tells stories orally in the present tense. I don't know whether you have kids, but if you do, listen to how they describe some incident at school. For example. "So, we're in chemistry class, and Miss Jones, she comes in wearing this crazy dress with all sorts of flowers on it, and John -- you remember John, he says, ‘My eyes! My eyes!’ And Miss Jones screams at him to go to the principal’s office.” Etc. You get the drill. I do it myself sometimes when I’m telling stories. I do it sometimes when I’m writing, and I have to catch myself. I don't know when this change occurred, when telling stories orally in the present tense in slang for kids. I don't think it was in my youth in the 70s, but maybe, given that I do it.
In any event, I began to read a novel the other day — actually read the novel, not listen to the audiobook, which never happens, as I physically read almost exclusively non-fiction — and it read really oddly in the present tense. I was immediately put off by present tense. So I spoke to an author friend of mine, and she told me that The Martian was written in the present tense. She went on to list a bunch of other genre novels I’ve listened to that were in the present tense. I hadn’t noticed when listening to the audiobooks. Like, hadn’t noticed AT ALL. But on the printed page, the present tense stuck out like a sore thumb. Anyway, I guess my point is that there is this dichotomy between listening and reading when it comes to the present tense. Listening sounds natural because that's how we actually talk in real life. But reading sounds very unnatural.