Present tense?

[Evelyn_Alexie]

First person has become so badly written, seeing it is usually a deal-breaker for me when deciding whether to purchase a book, even if it's past tense. It seems a lot of authors decide to write in first without giving consideration to the POV their story demands simply because first is the most comfortable for them to write. Their comfort with it does NOT mean they know how to write the POV and most don't. I can count the number of authors indie and traditionally published, including best-sellers, on one hand who can.

Mary Stewart wrote one book in third person. It's the only one of her books that i have no interest in re-reading. When the writer is most comfortable with the form, they can concentrate on the story rather than the mechanics of story.

I went to a job interview wearing an older outfit, that I felt more at ease in, rather than a shiny new Interview Outfit, because I reasoned that if I felt comfortable I'd come across as confident rather than ill at ease. It worked, too.

Third person present tense makes me want to find the author and kick them in the groin.

HARD.

*snort*

 

[onesecondglance]

Talk about a zombie thread - I started this one back in 2012...

 

[Imriaylde]

*reads through thread*

*looks at both WIPs, both in first person present tense*

...well, hopefully I can do them justice anyway .

 

[Jamesaritchie]

I see it a lot more in YA than I used to, but I despise present tense, so I rarely read it.

 

[thornhill]

I have logic problems with past tense. "The Moon orbited the Earth." What happened to it? "The Pacific ocean was the largest ocean on the planet." It's no longer the largest? Maybe it will be different in a billion years. I tend to evaluate every expression like a computer, though.

But people usually disagree with me.

 

[JRTroughton]

My WIP is first person present tense.

It's hard work, but I'm enjoying it. I laugh at those who might think it's an attempt to be literary or whatever. HAH.

 

[blacbird]

I have logic problems with past tense. "The Moon orbited the Earth." What happened to it? "The Pacific ocean was the largest ocean on the planet." It's no longer the largest? Maybe it will be different in a billion years. I tend to evaluate every expression like a computer, though.

You are confusing the expression of a continuing condition, which is commonly done in present tense, with the overall narrative tense, in which discrete events are rendered in past tense. You'll have no trouble at all finding examples of present-tense rendering of a continuing condition within an overall past-tense narrative.

caw

 

[aspiringauthor123]

I have noticed this same thing recently, ESPECIALLY in YA which is a lot of what I read. Of course I have always written in present tense because for me it is a lot easier to jump back into the past and not get confused but it has always been my favorite tense.

 

[harmonyisarine]

I haven't really noticed a jump in it in my usual genre (Fantasy of the not YA variety) but I've seen it a lot more in YA. Most times, I don't even notice it's there and it really does draw me into the book. I couldn't find out why the writing of one friend was so mesmerizing, and then I realized it's because she's naturally drawn to 3rd person present tense and does it really well.

Now, I've seen some really bad present tense writing and it throws me out of the story worse than a bad past tense, though that might just be because I'm a bit inured to the bad past tenses.

 

[Jamesaritchie]

First person has become so badly written, seeing it is usually a deal-breaker for me when deciding whether to purchase a book, even if it's past tense. It seems a lot of authors decide to write in first without giving consideration to the POV their story demands simply because first is the most comfortable for them to write. Their comfort with it does NOT mean they know how to write the POV and most don't. I can count the number of authors indie and traditionally published, including best-sellers, on one hand who can.

First person present tense is a definite deal-breaker.

Third person present tense makes me want to find the author and kick them in the groin.

HARD.

That may be your taste in first person, but it simply is not true to say first person has become badly written.

A story has no demands. The writer should be in charge, not the story, and any story can be written just as well in first person as in third.

My experience is that 99.9% of all indie books are bad, regardless of tense, but traditionally published first person books are usually extremely well-written. They may be books you don't like, but darned few of them are poorly written.

There are hundreds of extremely well-written first person novel out there. Probably thousands. I don't like a lot of them, but there isn't a thing wrong with the writing.

In fact, but every bad first person novel that gets published, there are dozens of bad third person books, though I don't think very many bad novels get published traditionally, in first or third. Not liking novels does not mean they're poorly written, and commercially published first person is almost never poorly written. If it were, it simply wouldn't sell, and wouldn't be as incredibly popular as it is.

 

[robjvargas]

First person doesn't feel natural to me. I think it's because it doesn't feel like storytelling. I won't put a book down because of it, but that's a bigger hill for me to climb.

Present tense feels like I'm in the moment with the character, yet still being told the story. I like that feeling.

 

[magicalwhatever]

First person doesn't bother me, but of course neither does third person. I do have to agree with a number of the posts here that present tense seems to have crawled out from God knows where over the past few years. I personally prefer past tense, but I always make exceptions if I like the story enough.

When present tense is done right, I barely know that it's there. Which I guess goes for all tenses in writing. If it's done correctly, the reader doesn't notice.

 

[blacbird]

any story can be written just as well in first person as in third.

We've had this discussion before, and there's no need to rekindle it, other than to say I disagree, and there are plenty of famous examples that I'd opine argue otherwise (Huck Finn, A Clockwork Orange, Flowers for Algernon being three famous 1st person narratives it's hard to imagine being anywhere near as effective in third-person).

Some stories can be worked equally well in either narrative POV. Some cannot.

caw

 

[BookmarkUnicorn]

I love first person to bits, but any POV written in present tense just isn't for me. I guess, to me as a reader, past tense gives me more of a feeling of a character doing an action right then than present tense, weirdly enough. 'I climbed the tree.' vs 'I climb the tree' In this case 'climbed' gives me a clearer image of the character and the movement, 'climb' to me just floats out, sort of disconnected as just a word. This could be a side effect of my dyslexia somehow though and relating to a tense of writing my mind just isn't as use to...
(And don't get me started on 2nd person pov outside of CYOA books)

 

[Wilde_at_heart]

First person doesn't feel natural to me. I think it's because it doesn't feel like storytelling. I won't put a book down because of it, but that's a bigger hill for me to climb.

I'm that way with both 1st person and with present tense narration. I find it's like holding a magnifying glass up to the writing - any flaws become that much more obvious. However it does suit certain styles - particularly ones with a dreamlike quality.

I had no problem with FPP for Zamyatin's We or TPP for The Night Circus...

 

[Devil Ledbetter]

When any tense or POV is done well, the reader will not be thinking about tense and POV. The reader will be thinking about the story.

Write in whatever tense and POV suites your story, and write it well.

 

[magicalwhatever]

Actually, since we're speaking about preferences of 1st and 3rd person,

Have any of you ever read any successful 2nd person novels? Or do you think that's just too far of a stretch?

 

[Once!]

Not sure about a whole novel written in 2nd person, but I am experimenting with a part of 1st person novel that has elements of 2nd person in it.

The main character describes the action in the first person, but the person he is speaking to is also a distinct character who does things in the book. He or she does not do much, admittedly, as they are handcuffed throughout, but the MC does refer to them as "you" and carries on a one-sided conversation with them.

I hope that makes sense! ;-)

 

[Kayley]

I prefer first person present tense because I like immediacy in the stories I read. I want to feel like I'm in the character's head, not just reading about them; I don't want to feel like someone is narrating to me. That having been said, both present tense and past tense can be fine as long as they're used properly. Saying either tense is a deal breaker is a bit ridiculous; it's certainly fair to prefer one tense over the other, but saying all books in a certain tense are unreadable is fallacious.

Answering the OP's question (though it's years old): Between now and the time of your post, the use of present tense seems to have remained stable. At the time you posted, however, it was definitely growing. I think the popularity of present tense stories at the time drove the trend.

 

[Kayley]

When any tense or POV is done well, the reader will not be thinking about tense and POV. The reader will be thinking about the story.

This is also very true. The most recent novel I read was Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo, a book I greatly enjoyed. While writing my last post, I tried to remember whether the book was in present or past tense so I could reference it, but I couldn't remember. I was too invested in the story to pay the tense any mind.

 

[Imriaylde]

Actually, since we're speaking about preferences of 1st and 3rd person,

Have any of you ever read any successful 2nd person novels? Or do you think that's just too far of a stretch?

The "Choose Your Own Adventure" books were always held up as the example of 2nd person in my education, and I enjoyed them . I don't know if they really count as traditional novels, though.

 

[BookmarkUnicorn]

I think in terms of tense mattering a lot it might come down to how easily you read. In my case the act of reading is very much something I have to actively stress to do, as much as I enjoy it. So a tense I am not as use to, aka present, is harder for me to get into by default. It doesn't mean that I think every story written in it is bad in terms of ideas and characters though... Just, in my head, my mind is trying to actively switch the tense to past sometimes.

2nd person pov is really popular in online, unpublished writing right now in the other circles I am a part of, mainly because lots of teens seem to love a webcomic written in it. I'm not sure if that will ever become a bigger part of the written scene elsewhere, but I really loved it in Choose Your Own Adventure.

 

[Devil Ledbetter]

Not sure about a whole novel written in 2nd person, but I am experimenting with a part of 1st person novel that has elements of 2nd person in it.

The main character describes the action in the first person, but the person he is speaking to is also a distinct character who does things in the book. He or she does not do much, admittedly, as they are handcuffed throughout, but the MC does refer to them as "you" and carries on a one-sided conversation with them.

I hope that makes sense! ;-)

Chuck Palahnuik's Damned is written in 2nd person, with the (dead) MC addressing her first person story to "you" from the great beyond, or hell, as it were.

No, it's not fair, but even if you feel sorry for me, you're probably also feeling pretty darn smug that you're alive and no doubt chewing on a mouthful of some poor animal that had the misfortune to live below you on the food chain. I'm not telling you all of this to gain your sympathy. I'm thirteen years old, and a girl, and I'm dead. My name is Madison and the last thing I need is your stupid condescending pity.

(excerpt from Damned)

 

[BookmarkUnicorn]

Chuck Palahnuik's Damned is written in 2nd person, with the (dead) MC addressing her first person story to "you" from the great beyond, or hell, as it were.

I need to read that story. 2nd person where you know the speaker seems rare...

 

[Latina Bunny]

As long as the story is good, I tend to enjoy any tense and POV. I actually prefer first-person, though. Usually, past tense, but I don't mind present tense.

I tend to read faster (and read more of a sample of writing) when it's in first-person.

Might be because I like to "act out" the roles of people whenever I'm telling a story or a joke. I took drama classes, and enjoyed the acting aspects, too. Not that I'm a good actor or anything. I just love to play-pretend and try to imagine being the character.

I've read some contemporary MG stories by Wendy Mass as well as the "Confectionately Yours" series that were First-Person Present. I didn't realize they were present tense until I went back to re-read some sections, lol.