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Present Tense is bad?

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Reziac

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I loathe present tense novels. Why? Because I'm always aware that I'm reading. I've never been able to totally lose myself in a present tense story. The words are always there, calling attention to themselves in a way that past tense doesn't, and that disrupts my reading experience. I don't enjoy present tense, so I don't read it.

Same here. I can only think of one example where it actively added to reading enjoyment, and that was largely because the work was so colloquial that it was like talking face to face. And there was absolutely no "I do this, I do that" which is the bane of first person and made worse by present tense.
 

Scribhneoir

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did the meaning of words change?
present tense is saying that things are happening now

Oh, give me a break. A present tense novel is no more happening now than a past tense one.

the fact that things are happening now makes you aware you are reading a book???

Books are not breaking news stories with on the spot live coverage. The story is not happening now. It's simply being told in present tense, which I find awkward and annoying. So, yes, I am constantly aware that I'm reading.

I will guess you like past tense then. you are reading about something which already happened but this does not make you realize you are reading???

Yes, I like past tense. I'm reading a story that, if you want to get right down to it, has never happened at all. It's fiction. But with past tense, I lose my awareness of reading and the story unfolds in my mind. Present tense calls attention to itself and I don't lose that awareness. I prefer being immersed in the book, therefore I prefer past tense.

Are you living in the past? Do you have a DeLorean? are you wearing an orange vest?

Don't be rude. I don't like present tense; you clearly do. So what? There's plenty of both to go around.
 

Roxxsmom

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I'm glad it is common in YA because that is what I'd like to write. My plan was to write in third person present tense for the pov of the main character and third person past tense for action scenes but I like the idea of what Roxxsmom mentioned.

I may just use the present tense for the main character and past tense for the rest of the story.

Thanks all~

Is there a reason you can't just write the story in the same tense. Unless your're clearly switching between two different timelines (one in the story's "now," and one in the past), I think it would be disjointing to be switching tenses between characters or for different "kinds" of scenes.

Anyway, an "action" scene won't necessarily be all action from stop to finish. What if your scene starts with the characters having a nice, leisurely dinner, then assassins jump out from behind the tapestries, and everyone starts to fight?

Elizabeth Moon did the tense and viewpoint switch in her book, but the main character was autistic (his pov was in present tense, first person), so I think she was deliberately trying to create a contrast between his pov and that of the support characters (who were more of a distant third-person, past tense). But the main character was the pov for the vast majority of the book.

If you want to write YA, definitely read some that's been written in the past few years so you can see how those authors handle it. I'd definitely suggest Wendig's Empyrean trilogy, since that's in third person, present tense.
 

blacbird

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In literary fiction, though, if you're deviating from the standard which is limited third person past tense, most people think you need a reason...

Over the recent two years I subscribed to it, Glimmer Train, one of the most prominent literary mags in the U.S., published about 50% present-tense stories. Present tense might not be the majority in literary narrative styles, but to say that "limited third person past tense" is the "standard" for litfic is simply unsupportable. You'll also not have difficulty finding work narrated in omni.

caw
 

indwig

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I loathe present tense novels. Why? Because I'm always aware that I'm reading. I've never been able to totally lose myself in a present tense story. The words are always there, calling attention to themselves in a way that past tense doesn't, and that disrupts my reading experience. I don't enjoy present tense, so I don't read it.

Yes. I always think "well, how exactly are you telling me about all these events as they're happening?".
 

Buffysquirrel

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Sometimes present tense jars on me; sometimes I don't even notice it. I'm rereading Bleak House and half of that is written in omni present tense, and it doesn't bother me. But I sympathise with anyone who gets thrown out of the story by anything, be it present tense or leaving the apostrophe out of dont because it used to be done that way.
 

Gringa

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I write in present. Past sounds clunky to me now. Oh well.
 

Roxxsmom

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Over the recent two years I subscribed to it, Glimmer Train, one of the most prominent literary mags in the U.S., published about 50% present-tense stories. Present tense might not be the majority in literary narrative styles, but to say that "limited third person past tense" is the "standard" for litfic is simply unsupportable. You'll also not have difficulty finding work narrated in omni.

caw

I always wonder where people get their data when they make sweeping statements about "the majority of works published in the past few years in such and such a genre are X" anyway. It's probably easier to test such a hypothesis with short publications (like you did with Glimmer Train), but if one is talking about novels, it's pretty darned hard. There are thousands of books published each year. Does anyone actually sample them and calculate the percentage in each genre, subgenre, or marketing demographic (when such are even clear cut) are in limited third, omniscient, deep, not so deep, first person, second person, past and present tense, or some mix of any and all of the above?

It seems like it would be a herculean task. And sometimes, we can't all even agree what a book "is" anyway. For instance, I've seen the Harry Potter books held up as examples of both limited third and omniscient on various author blogs.

I assume people base their assessments on their own reading, but this is always going to be somewhat self fulfilling, since we tend to gravitate more towards the sorts of things we like, and therefore might think such is more prevalent than it really is. I actually have a hard time remembering the pov and/or tense that some of the novels I read years ago were written in. I remember the story and characters, not the nuts and bolts of how they were told.
 
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Dave.C.Robinson

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It's not bad. I don't like it, but it's not bad; present tense is simply a matter of preference.

People who like it often talk about its immediacy; those of us who don't like it often describe it as jarring or awkward. Speaking for myself, I find it intrusive. For me, present tense draws attention to itself in such a way that the emotional immediacy is overwhelmed. I end up paying more attention to the writing than what's written.

Sometimes it works, I've enjoyed a number of books written in present tense, but for the most part I find that it doesn't work for me and I generally dislike to read it.

But that doesn't mean it's bad.
 

Kashmirgirl1976

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When it's good, I'm all for it; although, I haven't written in this tense.

When it stinks, the stench stretches for miles.
 

Thomas Vail

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Present tense being 'frowned upon' is floated around as one of those things that, 'they' say, but no one can really go back and point out who 'they' are.

I'd say really it boils down to a matter of personal preference. There are definite differences on both the writing and reading side, but nothing so extensive that I'd say one is better than the other.
 

Dave.C.Robinson

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Present tense being 'frowned upon' is floated around as one of those things that, 'they' say, but no one can really go back and point out who 'they' are.

I'd say really it boils down to a matter of personal preference. There are definite differences on both the writing and reading side, but nothing so extensive that I'd say one is better than the other.

I'm not sure about the "frowned upon" thing myself, though it is definitely more common in some genres than others, which may reflect a preference on the part of acquisitions editors.
 

Thomas Vail

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It just feels like something I've heard several times before, someone saying, 'I know that present tense is frowned upon, but-" although now I'm falling back on my own version of 'they say-.' :D
 

sayamini

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I think present tense makes a story seem more immediate. If you're really trying to wrap your reader up in something, it can be very effective. But it takes a bit of practice to adjust to writing present tense, since things that sound great in past tense sound stupid in present. It's just a matter of shifting the way you write slightly, and letting yourself get more lost in the story. I don't think any tense is good or bad, exactly--different stories are just better suited to different tenses.

Personally, I started writing in present tense this year, and I don't think I'll ever write another tense again.
 
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