Present or Past Tense for First Person
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Present in first is more immediate, and seems to work well. I generally use first/present and third/past.
Personally, as a reader I can't stand present tense. It just seems too artificial and jarring. When I read past tense, I imagine it as if it's happening now in my head, so that's fine. But when I read present tense, I want to argue. If I read, say, "I'm going down the road when I spot the dragon" - I'm thinking, No you're not, you're sitting writing what happened. Otherwise how could I be reading it? - and that makes me come out of the reading trance.
I absolutely will not read books in the present tense.
But that's just a personal opinion, albeit a strongly held one as you may have gathered.
I absolutely will not read books in the present tense.
But that's just a personal opinion, albeit a strongly held one as you may have gathered.
Present tense. If it's past tense, I dunno, I always get the feeling it's a bit preachy. And that the narrator is holding back. I feel like "He knows the end of the story, but he's not telling me!" If it's in present tense, I feel like I am right with the character experiencing everything through his head as it happens. I don't feel at all like Tracy describes... if it's done well, I don't even feel like someone sat down and wrote it. I feel like it's happening.
I'm with Tracy. When someone tells you a story, they usually tell you what happened in the past. So if you read a book in present tense, the tense breaks the illusion that is happening.
Count me among the present tense haters. I can't stand novels written in present tense. Sorry, but for me there's no sense of immediacy--instead I can never forget that I'm reading. I can't get lost in the story. As a consequence, I've never been able to finish a present tense novel, although if I grit my teeth I can manage to slog through a short story. If I'm reading a screenplay, present tense is no problem, but novels ... 
... just can't do it.
... just can't do it.
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Hmm I find it works differently with oral story telling - there I'd agree that first person past is best. ("We went down to the old station and that's when the soldiers attacked etc" told to a audience.)
But a written story is a very different medium to traditional oral story-telling, at least as I see them. First person present only pulls me out if it's badly done.
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Isn't present tense first person fairly rare? Margaret Atwood did it in Cat's Eye which is one of my favourite novels and I did it for an erotic short story but I think it's very rare.
In first person present tense you wouldn't say "I looked up at him" but "I look up at him." It would be hard to sustain that kind of writing through a whole novel without sounding artificial.
In first person present tense you wouldn't say "I looked up at him" but "I look up at him." It would be hard to sustain that kind of writing through a whole novel without sounding artificial.
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That's funny...I always find it's easier to read first person in present. I read a book in third person present and had the issues above and I HATED it (The Rule of Four, I think it was), but first person present, I feel like I'm in the scene (eg. the Shopoholic series). First person past tense reminds me of a fairy tale, something that's trying to teach me a lesson. Not that lessons are bad things, but I have this idea of an alterior motive lurking with every "ed." I lose myself in first person present. I occasionally have a problem with the character doing something that I wouldn't do, but that happens no matter what the PoV.
Xx|I'm with the present-hating folk. But I love first person. My entire novel is first person past tense. No one thus far has had trouble "getting lost in it". It managed to scare one girl, so much so that she stopped reading it (although she did come back later, I think). Thus, I think it works. *shrugs I shrugged* 
In addition, all my favorite books have been, at least for the most part, in first-person-past-tense.|xX
In addition, all my favorite books have been, at least for the most part, in first-person-past-tense.|xX
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This comes up again and again. I think the important issue is for everyone to remember this is all just personal taste. There are no hard rules for this which was the impression I got off a few people when I first came here. For me, I'm not sure why so many have a problem with 1st or Present. I've written in both and enjoy reading both. If it works for the story, then great, but it's not a rule that a book has to be a particular POV or tense.
If it's written well, present isn't so bad. Unfortunately, it's not always written well. I don't have any problems with first person at all.
Again, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You need to go with what feels right for your story.
Again, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You need to go with what feels right for your story.
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I have only ever read one novel that was first person PRESENT tense and that's the one I'm reading, Thraxas by Martin Scott, and I find that I keep getting bumped out of the story by it, which is sad because it's a good read so far. I just find the present tense jarring.
Otherwise, every other book I've ever read that's been in first person was in past tense. I didn't even think people wrote in present tense. Past tense just seems more natural.
Otherwise, every other book I've ever read that's been in first person was in past tense. I didn't even think people wrote in present tense. Past tense just seems more natural.
You can do either, but present tense takes more effort, for sure. A lot of the present tense stuff I've seen and liked bordered on stream-of-consciousness stuff. That may be just personal bias, but as it's so immediate and is also confined to the main character's head, it challenges you to mix action and introspection all at once. Some of the most involving first person present tense I've read has been in graphic novels, but then they have the action all laid out for you so there's a clear division between character and action. Naturally, by my standards, it means that I find that in certain genres first person present tense doesn't come off so well...
Past tense works fine. It worked for Marlowe and Holden Caulfield. What more do you want?
Past tense works fine. It worked for Marlowe and Holden Caulfield. What more do you want?
I have no preference. Usually, there's a reason for tense choice.
For example, Atwood's Cat's Eye worked with memories a lot, so it was easier to use the full variety of tenses. Remember that both present perfect and past tense turn into past perfect if the basic tense is past tense. By keeping to basic present tense, Atwood could manipulate temporal relations a lot better.
Present tense generally speaks straight to the imagination, so in stories that rely on images and setting descriptions a lot, present tense may also be preferred (example: William Gibson, Pattern Recognition. It's third person, though.)
Past tense is better for plot-centred stories, as you're not distracted by setting, images, etc. (I don't know many mysteries written in present tense, for example, though no doubt they exist.)
Choose the tense that's right for your story.
Except when they lapse into the historical present. Some present tense stories could be seen as generalisations of that phenomenon (much the same way that literary past tense isn't the same as general past tense).
For example, Atwood's Cat's Eye worked with memories a lot, so it was easier to use the full variety of tenses. Remember that both present perfect and past tense turn into past perfect if the basic tense is past tense. By keeping to basic present tense, Atwood could manipulate temporal relations a lot better.
Present tense generally speaks straight to the imagination, so in stories that rely on images and setting descriptions a lot, present tense may also be preferred (example: William Gibson, Pattern Recognition. It's third person, though.)
Past tense is better for plot-centred stories, as you're not distracted by setting, images, etc. (I don't know many mysteries written in present tense, for example, though no doubt they exist.)
Choose the tense that's right for your story.
Stijn Hommes said:
Except when they lapse into the historical present. Some present tense stories could be seen as generalisations of that phenomenon (much the same way that literary past tense isn't the same as general past tense).
My WIP is first person past tense, but when it comes to his memories I switch to present. The reason for this is that I want to give you the effect that the things in his past are, in their own way, still happening, as they certainly still control many events in the present and he still doesn't understand them.
I don't do it a lot, though, nor do I do it for extended passages. You can't push it that often.
I don't do it a lot, though, nor do I do it for extended passages. You can't push it that often.
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Bad writing annoys me. Tenses, by themselves, don't.
I do say first/present is harder to do well. I have read books that I wish they weren't written in 1st person; and I have read 1st-person books that are simply marvelous.
If you're not sure, and if you worry about if someone may not like your book because of the choice of tenses, choose past tense -- it's safe.
I do say first/present is harder to do well. I have read books that I wish they weren't written in 1st person; and I have read 1st-person books that are simply marvelous.
If you're not sure, and if you worry about if someone may not like your book because of the choice of tenses, choose past tense -- it's safe.
I prefer to read the first person past tense over present tense, and I see more novels written that way.
However, there are times when using first person present makes sense. If you're writing a scene where the MC's life is in danger, the reader already knows that the MC survives, if the book is written in past tense. A book written in FP present leaves that in doubt (especially if the scene is near the end of the book.)
(Of course, if it's a series, the reader already knows that Kinsey Millhone or Stephanie Plum survives until the next novel.)
However, there are times when using first person present makes sense. If you're writing a scene where the MC's life is in danger, the reader already knows that the MC survives, if the book is written in past tense. A book written in FP present leaves that in doubt (especially if the scene is near the end of the book.)
(Of course, if it's a series, the reader already knows that Kinsey Millhone or Stephanie Plum survives until the next novel.)
John le Carre does some great alteration between present and past as well, though that's third person and is therefore probably easier to handle. I could easily see first person present coming off as terrible if mishandled - if it goes on too long or is paced poorly it can be exhausting to read. I find stuff like Pynchon exhausting already (well, who wouldn't?) and he uses third person present.
I detest 99% of the present tense I've read, and while there are always exceptions, it generally doesn't do very on the market at novel length. If the market is any indication, the great majority of readers prefer past tense fiction.
I've writen in past and in present tense. Present tense works better for (me) if I'm trying to write a individuals story and tell what happened to her or him. It has a memoir vibe. Past tense, I use for adventure writing cause I feel it works better when telling about a whole host of things going on at once.
I like writing in both past and present tense!! I can be drawn into any interesting story--I'm easy.
Personally, I like past tense, & have trouble reading present (at least the last time I tried, I did). But write in whatever you like & works best for the story 
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