Do you dislike reading first person, present tense?

Like all things in books, it really depends on how well it's done. I read a YA book recently done 1st person present - Snow Like Ashes. I loved it.

I think that for books that are action heavy, it can give a great sense of immediacy.

Hi Crafty (and hi everyone, given that this is my first post!).

Just my opinion, but I'm really not a big fan of reading it.

Might have a lot to do with the fact that I hate writing it, too! I find it just doesn't flow in the same way as first person, past tense.

If I try writing it present tense, I always lapse back into past.

Done well I love it.

It's far more popular and accepted than it was 5 or 6 years ago thanks to the Hunger Games.

I don't personally have a problem with it.

Done well, it's unobtrusive.

There are folks who dislike it and they can be vocal about that dislike. When I was first posting stuff over in the SYW part of the forum, I had a number of folks make a point of telling me how awful first person present tense was.

Of course, I've sold short stories in a 2:1 presentast so I've learned to ignore those that tell me I'll fail because of the POV and tense and just write how the story needs to be told.

Aggy, writes novels in first and third, past and present too

I know this is the erotica thread, but I can't say I like first person present in erotica, per se--unless it's a NA story. I didn't used to like it in romance either, but my views have changed. In NA I think it makes the story much more immediate and gives that young and college-aged 'flavour'. It's growing in popularity as a NA 'voice' and these days I don't really notice it when I read NA. Multiple 1st in present tense is great, but as others have said, it really does depend on how it's executed. I've read many a third person POV which is awful. Same for 1st person past. If the story feels right in that voice, then I think you should go for it! Just my 2 pence.

As a rule I don't love it, but it can work for the right story. Readers who are not writers tend to just go with what they like intuitively, and that can be very flexible especially for short fiction.

I have to confess that I don't like it. Just personally, it's annoying. Now, in the genre I write, first person is very, very common. "It happened to me..." That's the approach for much of the literature I have read in the type I write. But, not present tense as a rule.

The problem with first person is that, for a more complex plot, it's really hard to do "omniscient author". I found a few angles to it, but that's not the way first person works.

Present tense? I don't think so. It makes it sound like a movie script.

First person, no problem. Present tense, really not something I enjoy reading.

I'm fine with it.

I like both. I'm writing my current project in the present tense, from two different points of view, because I feel like it lends itself to the lighter more humorous tone I'm going for. I don't really notice tense unless it's inconsistent or badly done.

gotta say I really don't like it. I have picked books up that sound interesting only to put them back when I discover they are first person present tense. My loss? probably. there are some excellent books out there written this way. I just don't enjoy them.

The person of narration is not a problem, but present tense is horrible. Wven when done very well, as in Foucault's Pendulum, present tense hurts the recounting of a story. The story is printed on paper, so it is clearly not happening right now, so why lie and put it in the present tense?

I've seen it done well in short pieces, but I think it's harder to hang with in novel-length, kind of but not exactly for the reason below...

King Neptune said:

it is clearly not happening right now, so why lie and put it in the present tense?

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I don't consider it a "lie" since every piece of fiction is a lie, but I do find that, done well, I'm fully immersed. I'm living the present in the story. But one very small thing can pop me out of the immediacy, and then it's lost. I find it harder to dig back into the present than pick up the threads of the past.

I love reading in present tense. It grips me. As a kid, I intuitively used it a lot in my writing. Then I quite for a few years, when I learned some people hated it. Now I'm back at it.

Generally, it gets on my nerves. It's probably just that it stands out due to not being what I'm used to hearing. However, in my mind that translates to "affectation/pretentious" hence, the getting on my nerves.

Also, it often sounds to me like baby talk, adding to my annoyance. "I go to the store," for ex. Really? That sounds like "I go bye-bye." It's not how people talk, unless they're two years old.

At least it's less annoying than second person, present tense. "You go to the store." No dear, maybe you do but I don't. "You like the way the food tastes." Thanks, but I'll speak for myself. See? Annoying!

Now, when they can pull it off without annoying me and making me think "affectation!" and "pretentious!" then I might like it.

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they didn't like present tense I wouldn't need to be a writer 'cause I'd already be rich.

I just noticed this is in the erotica category. I don't mind first person. Present tense is okay too. The one problem for erotica is, if the narrator is not the same gender as me, first person makes it harder to get off. It's less of a problem in third, I think.

morngnstar said:

I just noticed this is in the erotica category. I don't mind first person. Present tense is okay too. The one problem for erotica is, if the narrator is not the same gender as me, first person makes it harder to get off. It's less of a problem in third, I think.

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Ha! You make a good point!

I don't mind/enjoy it when stories switch back and forth... And I tend to switch back and forth when I write. But then, I'm a switch. And bi... So... Just furthering your point really... Carry on...

I can't stand first person present tense. When I find a book written that way (based upon a sample for example) I don't buy it.

I'm not a big fan of present tense. If done right, I can get into the story and forget about it. But usually it has the opposite affect, and pulls me out of the story. I od enjoy first person. I think that is harder to pull off in erotica or romance, but it can be really good.