Feelings on Tense and POV?

CL_Hilbert

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I'm wondering what the mood is regarding present tense in YA fiction right now.

I've finally got the outline finished for this nonsense factory of a novel, sat down to write... and totally stalled out on tense. I really want to write it in third person present tense, but I also don't want to have to go back and change 75k worth of tenses when I'm finished because third person present has no market. I know I genuinely love it, but I get the feeling that it might be uh... kind of reviled by the larger community. LOL.

Anyway. Opinions, anyone?
 

starrystorm

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I recently finished talking with my my writing mentor who said it was good that I used first person (past tense) because it's rare to find one in third these days. But it also feels that way with past tense.

I think a lot of advice you are going to get on this post is going to be to write what you want, not what's popular. I agree. Write what you want to write. That's how you'll get your best writing out there. I wrote in third person (past) for a long time just because the epic fantasy market was popular with it. It wasn't until I wrote what I wanted (first person) that I felt myself get better, and more free. Now I no longer write fantasy, but I still write in first person.


As for you, personally, I think it would be refreshing for a change of pov these days.
 

Sage

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I have opinions about 3rd present, but once upon a time I had opinions about 1st present. Let me just say that, to me, it is rare that third person present doesn't sound very young, and one of the places where it's worked when I read it was where the POV was of a kid and an adult POV was a different tense. It can work for me where there's a fairytale feel to the storytelling. And only one other book (which was split tense as well) has made it work. For me.

If third person present works for your book, more power to you. But really consider whether it's serving this story, because (in my opinion) it really does work better in some types of stories than in others.

Every tense has its challenges and types of stories that work better with them. It's all about knowing which is true for your story.
 

Ari Meermans

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What Sage said.

Don't make your story choices because they're different, or edgy, or seem to be popular at the moment. Every choice you make—POV, tense, setting, time period, whatever—must serve the story and be the absolute best way to tell the story. The story is the most important thing. It always has been. It always will be. So if third person, present tense is the best way to tell the story, go for it.
 
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CL_Hilbert

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If third person present works for your book, more power to you. But really consider whether it's serving this story, because (in my opinion) it really does work better in some types of stories than in others.

Every tense has its challenges and types of stories that work better with them. It's all about knowing which is true for your story.

This presents me with an interesting conundrum. I am not entirely sure which tense is better for the story itself. I habitually write in third present because it's how I tell myself the story in the outline phase (and it's a habit I got into from writing fanfiction where third present is more prevalent). But now I can't tell if I want to write this story in third present because the story NEEDS to be in that tense or if I'm using it as a crutch to avoid weaknesses in my third past abilities.
 

CoffeeBeans

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I'm with everyone on the everything -- write what works for you and the story.

BUT since you mention the third-present possibly being a crutch.... try writing it in not-that, and if it's limiting your ability to tell your story after a few chapters, switch it up! We're all biased to what we use the most, but if you think that decision might be based on things other than the story itself, test it out.

Good luck!
 

RaggyCat

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At risk of echoing everyone else: write what suits the story. I've seen a few anti-present tense rumblings around, but not so much than I'd worry.

Myself, I've traditionally written in first person past, but I switched to first person present because it suited the particular story I was writing. Turns out I absolutely loved it, and it really suited my writing style. I didn't know that until I tried! Now I'd have to have a good reason to switch back to past tense.

Personally I am very wary of third person present. For me, it always feels like it creates distance from the characters, acts as a barrier to emotion and makes me as a reader really feel the authorial hand. Just one opinion, of course! We're all different.
 

Girlsgottawrite

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When you're using present tense, it's because the story needs it. Usually because of a sense of immediacy you don't get from past. It works well for books like Hunger Games because it makes the action sequences more visceral, but would probably be unnecessary for--say--a romance. The again, I know nothing about romance so that may be crappy example.

To give an example from my own work, here is a section from my opening scene:

There is a man standing at the end of my bed.
He’s long and skeletal—scarecrow-like—raggedy suit dangling. Streams of pale moonlight smear his dark features like fingers across a wet canvas. I can’t breathe, can’t move. There’s a weight on my chest. It holds me down.


I had never used present tense before this, but this opening scene wouldn't have had half the impact in past. In present tense, you don't necessarily know if the POV is going to actually make it.

Imagine it this way instead:

There was a man standing at the end of my bed.
He was long and skeletal—scarecrow-like—raggedy suit dangling. Streams of pale moonlight smeared his dark features like fingers across a wet canvas. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move. There was a weight on my chest. It held me down.


It's just better in present.

If you are writing in present because it works better, then do it. If not, then I recommend you stick with past since it's the standard. You'll get the hang of it.

Hope that helps!
Courtney
 
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Debbie V

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When uncertain, I try each tense I'm considering for a scene or two. Then I read them out loud. Usually that's enough to tell me what works best.
 

KTC

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I've never really thought about tense as a separate thing. I guess, since I don't outline or plan, I just start writing a story and whatever it begins with is what I keep to until it's finished. My first couple of books were 1st person past tense. My last few have been 1st person present tense. I agree with everyone who says write what works best for the story. Myself, I just write the story and keep myself to whatever the first sentence turns out to be in.
 

Roxxsmom

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This presents me with an interesting conundrum. I am not entirely sure which tense is better for the story itself. I habitually write in third present because it's how I tell myself the story in the outline phase (and it's a habit I got into from writing fanfiction where third present is more prevalent). But now I can't tell if I want to write this story in third present because the story NEEDS to be in that tense or if I'm using it as a crutch to avoid weaknesses in my third past abilities.

Agents and publishers expect queries and plot synopses to be in third-person present, regardless of the tense and narrative viewpoint of the novel itself. Many writers will also outline in third person, present tense, but that doesn't mean this is the best viewpoint for the story.

Third-person present certainly can work. There are novels published in this tense and viewpoint combination.

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/third-person-present-tense

Maybe reading some of them and comparing them to similar novels written in third person past tense, first person present etc. could help you determine if this is the best way to go for your novel.

Another approach might be to write a couple of chapters in each tense and solicit feedback from critiquing partners you trust.
 
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Fuchsia Groan

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The Pure series by Juliana Baggott (not sold as YA, but often lumped in with it because it’s a dystopian with teens) is in third present, IIRC. It yields a very lyrical feel, which works well with that author’s style.

Another data point, though. My new book is in first-person present. At one point, my editor suggested I try it in third, and when I asked if that would mean switching the tense to past, she said yes. Take that as you will. (It ended up staying in first present, after I did a lot of revision to make the narrator easier for readers to get close to (I hope!).)