Novels in first person, present tense

BellaSignora · Jan 1, 2013

I'm writing in first person, past tense but I'm not sure it is the right tense for the story. So I'd like to read really good novels in first person, present tense. Any suggestion?
I read literary, horror, mistery, women fiction, romance, thriller, SF, fantasy.
Thanks.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 1, 2013

I hate first person, present tense so much I refuse to read it. I've read Moby Dick, and I've read Bright Lights, Big City, but that's it that I liked, and I liked both despite the present tense, rather than because of it. I have read a couple of others because they were popular, and I wanted to see why. Thought both would have been infinitely better in past tense. Don't know whether those two will help, or not.

Reziac · Jan 1, 2013

I'm with Jamesaritchie... it's an automatic back-on-the-shelf for me. I've read a few in the past, and what sticks with me is the irritation, not the story. About the only time first/present doesn't annoy me beyond reason is when it uses a natural, conversational tone, like the MC is right there with you.

<hat type="curmudgeon">If I were teaching writing, I'd insist that every student become proficient at 3rd and past before attempting 1st, let alone present. In my observation, writing in 1st prevents most budding writers from learning the craft, because there's this false assumption that 1st is "more personal", when in fact it tends to be quite the opposite, unless done very well.</hat>

Nick Rolynd · Jan 1, 2013

As a writer of first (and third) person, present tense, I completely disagree with sentiments of the above two posters. And to answer your question, OP, there are several "good books" I've read in the present tense recently, some in first person.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is in the third person present. The Hunger Games trilogy is in first person present. In fact, there's a first person present trend in YA at the moment, so I'd look there for a lot of recent examples. I also believe Hilary Mantel's (award winning) historical novel Wolf Hall is written in third person present.

In fact, OP, if you go to Goodreads, you can actually find whole lists of books written in the present tense. I'd suggest you go there and browse for some that sound interesting.

SomethingOrOther · Jan 1, 2013

Jamesaritchie said:
I hate first person, present tense so much I refuse to read it.

I mean, you could save the keystrokes by changing your undertitle to "I hate first-person present." This is only the first page of search (there were four), but it should paint a good-enough picture:

Jamesaritchie said:
I won't read second person or present tense. Life is simply too short to waste my time like that.

Jamesaritchie said:
[...]

Now, I won't read a book written in present tense unless I'm being paid to do so, but that just me. First person, past tense is, however, my favorite POV by a wide margin.

[...]

Jamesaritchie said:
[...]

I never write, and very seldom read, second person, and I really dislike present tense.

[...]

Jamesaritchie said:
[...]

I have read that first person, present tense is starting to annoy agents and editors, and I know it annoys many readers. I simply won't read a novel length first person, present tense work, but that's me.

[...]

Jamesaritchie said:
I love first person, but I pretty much can't read present tense. The tense itself is what bothers me, and there is no doing it really well.

Jamesaritchie said:
At least 99% of the first person books I've read were in past tense. Present tense is not the most common, or anywhere close to it, and, in fact, I've read several editor and agent posting lately saying they're getting really sick of so much first person, present tense showing up in the slush.

Jamesaritchie said:
Maybe, but in my experience, I'm missing a lot more unreadable stuff. I've tried and tried and tried to read present tense. It always, for me, sucks dead bunnies.

For me, it always reads like a gimmick, bores me to death, and always fails the suspension of disbelief test. And I've yet to read one that I think is anywhere near as it would have been in past tense.

Jamesaritchie said:
[...]

I prefer first person, past tense. I simply won't read a novel length work written in present tense. But I also love third person, past tense, and don't usually mind when a writer mixes first and third.

[...]

Jamesaritchie said:
I love first person, but I loathe present tense however it's done. But you shouldn't be writing for me, or for anyone else. You should be writing for you. If you write a story you would love to read if someone else wrote it, then it's the best you can do, present tense or not.

Jamesaritchie said:
Yes, there are many good stories written in present tense, but I have yet to find one that wouldn't have been much better in past tense. [...]

:|

As for actual recommendations, which is what the OP seems to be asking for—not beaten-horse opinions on whether or not FPP is good—check out the works of David Mitchell, Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, and Chuck Palahniuk, and consider adding YA to the list of genres/categories you read, because it's very FPP-dense.

Reziac · Jan 1, 2013

That may be why I don't read YA

(And it's not that I care if it's writ for YA... John Bellairs is a fave of mine! tho I suppose he'd mostly be called MG now?)

Been wracking my brain trying to think of the name of the fantasy trilogy from the mid-1970s that was 1st/present ... crap, I see it at the usedbook store all the time, they're by a very well known author; why can't I remember her name? anyway that was the first time I'd encountered it; the books were good, but to this day what stays with me is the persistent annoyance of their present tense.

OTOH, a gumshoe written in 3rd comes off... strange. It violates some necessary convention of the genre.

Anyway, if you're going to write in 1st person -- study the gumshoes; they do by far the best job of putting story first, POV type second. In particular read the Travis McGee novels, which do the best job of 1st person I've ever encountered.

P-Jay · Jan 1, 2013

I'm with Mr. Nick Rolynd.

I LOVE first-person/present tense. It gives the "in the moment" feel, like the events are happening as you read it.

The down side about this narrative though, is that it's prone to errors and/or confusion.

In the past tense narrative, everything is past. And that's that.

In present tense, the author has to absolutely nail it. Present must clearly be present. And backstory must clearly be past.

@OP, Take tense opinions with a grain of salt. Different strokes for different folks. Writing is an art, and art should be diverse. If it tickles your fancy, do the sh*t out of it and forget what they say.

I finally got around to finishing the first person/present tense Hunger Games trilogy, and I had a blast reading it.

kkbe · Jan 1, 2013

SomethingOrOther, holy cow.

That's . . . wow. That's quite the research project.

I'm thinking most of us vaccilate every now and again; one day we love garbonzo beans, the next, it's chick peas we love--screw those garbonzos. Nasty things. And what about lima beans? Don't get me started.

Are all opinions suspect if not cut in stone? More importantly, is this soliloquy irritating because I'm writing it first person, present tense?

SomethingOrOther · Jan 1, 2013

kkbe said:
SomethingOrOther, holy cow.

That's . . . wow. That's quite the research project.

It took about five minutes, especially because I'd already read quite a few of those threads.

kkbe · Jan 1, 2013

SomethingOrOther, I snatch back my previous comments and replace them with, "Holy Crap, five minutes?! I'm literally blown away!"

(Seriously, I am now *here* whereas, one minute ago, I was over *there*."

)

Jo Zebedee · Jan 1, 2013

Another one to look at, maybe, is the Time Traveller's Wife, which does first/present across two povs, skipping around in continuity incredibly smoothly. For some, it makes it hard to follow, I was given it by one who just could not follow it, but I found it incredibly immediate.

blacbird · Jan 1, 2013

The Moviegoer, Walker Percy.

I'm not terribly fond of present tense narration in novels, either first- or third-person. For me, it's more agreeable in short stories. But I've read some present-tense novels I've enjoyed. But first-present in particular is where I've seen the most cloyingly introspective prose, and I think that's an easy trap to fall into for a lot of aspiring writers.

caw

flapperphilosopher · Jan 1, 2013

When it's used well I don't even notice anymore, so hmm. Definitely Margaret Atwood uses it a lot. All Quiet on the Western Front is first present as well. You see it quite a bit in literary fiction, I think.

BethS · Jan 1, 2013

Jamesaritchie said:
I hate first person, present tense so much I refuse to read it. I've read Moby Dick, and I've read Bright Lights, Big City,

Just wanted to note that Bright Lights, Big City is Actually written in second-person, present tense.

Anyway, like you, I can't stand reading anything (beyond short passages) in present tense. I find I'm constantly rewriting it in my head. So I'm the last person to ask for recommendations!

Merrit · Jan 1, 2013

I write a lot in first person, especially if I feel the story should be told in first person. I will say that I change tenses often depending on if the main character is talking about their past or not. I will read most everything. I have however found one type of writing that really bothers me. I recently was given a book to review that was written in a choral style. I was so confused, I never knew who was talking or where each person fit into the story it was awful. I do not want to read another story written in that style.

Susan Coffin · Jan 1, 2013

I also have a difficult time with first person present, but I did like Stonefield, True Arrow by Kyoko Mori. It's literary and, I think, a great read.

Susan Coffin · Jan 1, 2013

SomethingOrOther said:
It took about five minutes, especially because I'd already read quite a few of those threads.

Why? What's your point?

adm · Jan 1, 2013

I'm pretty sure Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem is in 1st person, present tense

LJD · Jan 1, 2013

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
This Is Where I Leave You - Jonathan Tropper

profen4 · Jan 1, 2013

The Time Traveler's Wife.

kuwisdelu · Jan 1, 2013

BellaSignora said:
I'm writing in first person, past tense but I'm not sure it is the right tense for the story. So I'd like to read really good novels in first person, present tense. Any suggestion?
I read literary, horror, mistery, women fiction, romance, thriller, SF, fantasy.

David Mitchell often writes in 1st person present. Number9dream is a good place to start.

I write pretty much exclusively in 1st person present for the "present" time in my stories. I write chronologically nonlinearly, though, so I bounce back and forth in time a lot, and I write "present time" sections in present tense, and "past time" sections in past tense.

Don't worry about the haters. If it's well-written, no one will notice what tense it is.

The reason a lot of people hate it is because they're less used to it, so awkward prose stands out more. It's like playing on an acoustic guitar, where all your mistakes are perfectly obvious, versus playing on an electric guitar, where the distortion can mask it.

So write well, and it won't matter.

And then there are just haters, like JAR.

elindsen · Jan 1, 2013

Warm Bodies

Sunflowerrei · Jan 1, 2013

The Hunger Games are written are in first person, present tense. Philippa Gregory wrote The Other Boleyn Girl in first person, present tense as well.

AnnaHex · Jan 1, 2013

I love first person present tense.

If you read YA and have already seen The Hunger Games, how about The Knife of Never Letting Go, and Holly Black's Curseworker trilogy (starts with The White Cat)?

Zoo City is also present tense.

meowzbark · Jan 1, 2013

First person present tense is quite popular in YA and MG. All of my paperback books are currently packed away (so I can't check), but here are a few I found on Amazon.

Percy Jackson series - MG Fantasy
Pushing the Limits - YA Contemporary
Matched Trilogy - YA Dsytopian
Divergent series - YA Dsytopian
Lorien Legacies - YA Sci-fi
Hunger Games Trilogy - YA Dsytopian
Every Day - YA Fantasy

Novels in first person, present tense

BellaSignora

Jamesaritchie

Reziac

Resident Alien

Nick Rolynd

50% Dark, 50% Snark

SomethingOrOther

-

Reziac

Resident Alien

P-Jay

My name is PJ.

kkbe

Huh.

SomethingOrOther

-

kkbe

Huh.

Jo Zebedee

space opera-popcorn lover!

blacbird

flapperphilosopher

BethS

Merrit

Susan Coffin

Tell it like it Is

Susan Coffin

Tell it like it Is

adm

LJD

profen4

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World

elindsen

Zombie lovin'

Sunflowerrei

AnnaHex

meowzbark