Catching the Present Tense Virus

[NicoleMD]

I totally have a book crush. I'm reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and I normally am irked by novels written in the present tense, but he does it so well.

The only problem is that now when I'm working on my own WIP, which is in past tense, all my verbs seem...WRONG! It's like my brain is refusing to play nice. I just stare at the words, and think to myself "Is that right? No, it can't be right. Is it?"

Has anyone else ever had this problem? I've never had an issue before of reading in my genre while I write...I like evolving, but do I need to stick to books written in the same tense? That would be sad. :cry:

Nicole

[Prawn]

That is so odd! Check out my post on this thread (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64711)from earlier today! I think an even better book of his is Cryptonomicon.

[Moon Daughter]

I totally have a book crush. I'm reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and I normally am irked by novels written in the present tense, but he does it so well.

The only problem is that now when I'm working on my own WIP, which is in past tense, all my verbs seem...WRONG! It's like my brain is refusing to play nice. I just stare at the words, and think to myself "Is that right? No, it can't be right. Is it?"

Has anyone else ever had this problem? I've never had an issue before of reading in my genre while I write...I like evolving, but do I need to stick to books written in the same tense? That would be sad. :cry:

Nicole

All the time.

But you don't have to stick to writing only one tense. Mix it up a little bit and have yourself a party. Or just write in whichever way makes you most comfortable.

[The Lady]

Present tense can be lovely to write. So profound. The only problem is it can tie you up in all kinds of grammatical knots as you go on into the story. From somebody who's writing a story with present tense chunks at the moment, but who's kinda anticipating having to change it all back to past.

[ccarver30]

I have never read a book in the present tense... at least I don't think I have!!

[NicoleMD]

That is so odd! Check out my post on this thread (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64711)from earlier today! I think an even better book of his is Cryptonomicon.

Heh! What a coincidence.

Yeah, it only took me about 5 pages of reading Cryptonomicon to fall in love with Neal. You know that anxious feeling you get when you're reading a book you really like and you realize you're running out of pages? I had that feeling with about 950 pages to go! :)

It took me months to finish that doorstop.

Nicole

[Nakhlasmoke]

i had to get a first person present tense narrator out of my system, so I wrote it, knowing that it was pure indulgence on my part. Even then, I found I couldn't hold a whole novel in first - the story breaks to two other POVs in the third person present. It was fun though, and I do think I learned from it.

I say go with it, and if it feels right, perhaps that's how that particular book should be written. Or go read some books written in past tense until you are back in that groove.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

If it works for you, use it-- if it doesn't, run screaming away from it. For some things it works very well. For others it doesn't work at all. Neal Stephenson is particularly good with it.

[scarletpeaches]

Present tense can be lovely to write. So profound. The only problem is it can tie you up in all kinds of grammatical knots as you go on into the story. From somebody who's writing a story with present tense chunks at the moment, but who's kinda anticipating having to change it all back to past.

I find present tense so much easier, grammatically speaking. Rather than having to fret about, "And when she had done that, after all that she had had blah blah..." I can simply write about the past in past tense, as you would in everyday conversation.

That said, my WIP is in past tense!

[scribbler1382]

Never been a big fan, but I just read Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen (first person present tense) and quite enjoyed it.

[NicoleMD]

i had to get a first person present tense narrator out of my system, so I wrote it, knowing that it was pure indulgence on my part. Even then, I found I couldn't hold a whole novel in first - the story breaks to two other POVs in the third person present. It was fun though, and I do think I learned from it.

I say go with it, and if it feels right, perhaps that's how that particular book should be written. Or go read some books written in past tense until you are back in that groove.

An indulgence. That's a good way to put it. I did write a short piece yesterday in present tense, but it was non-fiction. I kind of liked it, though. Maybe something to play around with in the future.

Nicole

[JoNightshade]

I love writing in present tense. I developed a taste for it in college and now I wonder why everyone's so down on it. If it's done well, and if it suits the story-- it works. Many stories should be told in past tense, but there are others that can and should be told in present. So I don't think there's a need to avoid it just for the sake of avoidance. Also, it's unusual. I like unusual.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I've discussed my feelings on present tense at length in the past, but I'll give a synopsis here.

I find that present tense is more likely to break my reader's trance and make me focus on the writing rather than the story. Bad writing in present tense is much more noticeable to me than bad writing in present tense. That's why I personally prefer past.

Present can work very well, but when it doesn't it really doesn't. At least as far as I'm concerned.

[justpat]

Me, I just mix present and past tense together until not even I know whats happened (happening?) (will happen?).

But while were on the subject of Neal Stephenson: I'm reading 'Snow Crash' right now, very good. And 'Cryptonomicon' was great. But I just could not get into the sequel 'Quicksilver'. Is that just me?

[scarletpeaches]

If people's complaint is that it's so unusual it yanks you out of the story, then surely the solution would be to use it until it becomes common and people see the story rather than the tense in which it's written?

[maestrowork]

I have never read a book in the present tense... at least I don't think I have!!

Patricia Wood's (ORION) Lottery is in first/present. Mine (The Pacific Between) is also (in most part) in first/present.

Check them out! :)

I find present tense so much easier, grammatically speaking. Rather than having to fret about, "And when she had done that, after all that she had had blah blah..." I can simply write about the past in past tense, as you would in everyday conversation.

That said, my WIP is in past tense!

Same here. Present tense is easy -- none of that would have had had had had stuff and also the mind-boggling verb forms (is it run/ran/run or is it run/runned/runned? Huh?).

My WIP is also in past tense, but because it's BETTER, but because it's suitable for the story I'm telling. Same with present tense.


I find that present tense is more likely to break my reader's trance and make me focus on the writing rather than the story. Bad writing in present tense is much more noticeable to me than bad writing in present tense. That's why I personally prefer past.

Present can work very well, but when it doesn't it really doesn't. At least as far as I'm concerned.

Well, if it's written badly, it really doesn't matter. If it's done well, it adds a new dimension, at least to me, to the feel/voice of the story. I don't find present tense (if done well) distracting at all. Bad writing, whatever the tense, is what breaks my trance and yanks me out of the story.

I do say present tense is harder to do well. The level of difficulty could be a deterrent, especially for new writers, much like the "omniscient" narrator/pov. There's nothing inherently wrong with either, just difficult to do well.

[JoNightshade]

I find that present tense is more likely to break my reader's trance and make me focus on the writing rather than the story. Bad writing in present tense is much more noticeable to me than bad writing in present tense. That's why I personally prefer past.

Agreed. However, I won't read bad writing no matter what tense it's in, so it hardly matters! :) (::Sigh:: I've become such a snob... I think because my reading time is limited, I don't want to waste it.)

[Will Lavender]

Never been a big fan, but I just read Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen (first person present tense) and quite enjoyed it.

Glad you said that. I've been thinking of buying this book, and now I probably will based on your recommendation.

[scribbler1382]

Glad you said that. I've been thinking of buying this book, and now I probably will based on your recommendation.

Let me know what you think. He has a really nice narrative style and his hero, Smoky Barrett, is well-rounded, nuanced and unique.

The funny thing was there was an excerpt of his next book at the end of Shadow Man. Same style, genre, main character, etc. and I didn't like it nearly as much. Go figger.

[blacbird]

I can write badly with equal facility in either past or present tense.

caw

[Jamesaritchie]

I can read short stories written in present tense, but novels are another matter. I've found two I liked, but both would have been better novels written in past tense.

Present tense does strike me as an indulgence, a gimmick, and usually a very bad form of writing. Not as bad or as indulgent as second person, but bad enough.

And, for me, it's an unbelievable tense. I simply can't suspend my disbelief enough to read a long work in present tense. Present tense gets old very fast.

[scarletpeaches]

The same could be said of past tense. Especially in first person, you can't take any danger the MC might be in seriously as you know they survive long enough to be able to relate the tale told in the novel.

I can see an objection to present in that it's obvious the narrator isn't telling the tale as the action happens, but...I've never had a problem suspending my disbelief in that way. I just tell myself the narrator is a non-interfering observer.

[eliflauta]

As long as you don't mix tenses, it's ok. Present tense can sometimes add a little something to the story; it makes it seem more alive, because the reader subconsiously envisions the plot as a current event, not just a story. Then again, it can also make a great muddle of everything if you're trying to write "Jody turned to Mark and says..." because it might be correct, but it probably will look wrong too.

[Lotheus]

Me, I just mix present and past tense together until not even I know whats happened (happening?) (will happen?).

But while were on the subject of Neal Stephenson: I'm reading 'Snow Crash' right now, very good. And 'Cryptonomicon' was great. But I just could not get into the sequel 'Quicksilver'. Is that just me?

Yeah, that book I could never quite get through. The other two are fantastic, though.

[formlit]

I have tried writing in the present tense. I suck at it. But when it is done well, it is wonderful. I haven't read those books, but I am going to now.

[JimmyB27]

Present tense gets old very fast.

That may be true, but past tense is already old. ;)

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I was watching a documentary on A&E the other day and realized where part of my antipathy for present tense comes from. It's from all those shows depicting historical events where they have a present tense narration. The nineteenth century is in the past. The proper way to discuss the past is in the past tense; discussing a sequence of past actions in the present tense sounds ridiculous. It's extremely jarring and is part of the reason I've become so sensitive to it.

It doesn't help that it's harder to write well in present tense than past tense.

[benbradley]

You might check out my Flash Fiction Challenge "Space" as an example of present tense (but not necessarily good writing). After a few sentences I noticed I was writing in present tense, and rather than change it to "make it right," I decided to keep going. (The forum password is: flashed)
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55679
As far as whether my writing is bad, I'm hoping the FF format is so short that by the time you decide the story sucks, you've already read the whole thing!

Seriously, I can see where writing a much longer work in present tense could be a PITA for both writer and reader.

[Soccer Mom]

I love present tense. It can be done well as seen by the examples in earlier posts. Omniscient is tough, but can be done well (Terry Pratchett). Anything can be great if it's right for the story and is well handled.

[lfraser]

I've read many wonderful books written in present or a mixture of present and past tenses. It's really effective if you single out one character's viewpoint for the present tense, and have everone else's perspective from third person -- it strongly highlights the main character even if he or she gets no more "air time" than anyone else.