Tense

miriam123373 · Post by **miriam123373** » 26 Feb 2014, 22:01

Past or present tense in a novel? Opinions!

Scorsee · Post by **Scorsee** » 27 Feb 2014, 05:42

I think it's usually best to have a variety...I don't really have much of a preference.

KLyons1 · Post by **KLyons1** » 27 Feb 2014, 13:51

Either one, as long as the use is consistent.

miriam123373 · Post by **miriam123373** » 27 Feb 2014, 21:17

For some reason, I remember past tense books so much better. It's like present tense writing is trying too hard. What good present tense novels have you read recently?

KLyons1 · Post by **KLyons1** » 27 Feb 2014, 21:44

It seems to be a minor trend for thrillers to be written in present tense, to make the action seem more immediate and the danger more imminent. I agree that it often seems to be trying too hard; Choke Point by Ridley Pearson is written in the present, and was effective.

switchblades · Post by **switchblades** » 28 Feb 2014, 01:22

Hmm. Future tense or present tense. I can't decide which one is more fun.

Jen319164 · Post by **Jen319164** » 22 Mar 2014, 11:09

I always use a more action packed book in first and a mystery or slow moving book in past

gali · Post by **gali** » 22 Mar 2014, 12:27

I prefer past tense in the novels I read.

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 22 Mar 2014, 14:25

Even when we speak, we use present tense to make a story (which occurred in the past) seem more dramatic. Nothing wrong with using present tense in a novel to achieve that effect. In Bleak House, Dickens alternated between two different stories that eventually merge together. In one of the stories he consistently used past tense. In the other story he consistently used present tense, along with other stylistic changes. It's a wonderful dramatic shift from one story to the other, and the "present tense" story is more powerful than it would be otherwise because it is juxtaposed against the "past tense" story. In Bleak House it works because of the length and scope of the story. For a smaller, shorter, more intimate story this could just come across as gimmicky.

A_D_Winch · Post by **A_D_Winch** » 25 Mar 2014, 02:48

I prefer writing in past tense. I feel present tense make the events in the book too immediate.

JessiFox · Post by **JessiFox** » 25 Mar 2014, 03:42

I like to go back and forth as long as it's done coherently. If I had to pick just one for an overall preference I suppose present tense if it's done well....it can be much more engaging and if you're trying to really get in the mind of a character, it feels more reliable to be experiencing things with them vs. going over the inevitably faulty memory of an average person.

ALRyder · Post by **ALRyder** » 29 Mar 2014, 19:10

Things like this I normally say, "it's all in the writer's preference, and how they hear the narrative voice in their head", but...I have a tendency to like past tense better as a reader. I don't know why, but present just reads oddly to me. Please, w/e you do though, STAY IN THE SAME TENSE! The switching kills me.

ConorEngelb · Post by **ConorEngelb** » 30 Mar 2014, 14:52

I strongly prefer the past tense, as I find most stories written in the present tense to be a bit pretentious and trying-too-hard. Still, that's not a hard-and-fast rule, and I'm not above using present tense myself, when it feels right. Consistency is important, really. Or alternating to show a shift in the narrative; that's fine too.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 09 Apr 2014, 21:12

The past, present, and future walk into a bar. Tense!

(sorry, couldn't help myself)

For me it doesn't matter, but the past perfect is only suitable for 19th century novels. Reading too many "have had" or similar drags down the narrative.

DiDi · Post by **DiDi** » 09 Apr 2014, 23:04

Present tense. I find books that I read that are in present tense, I tend to gravitate and find myself getting lost in the book more, as if I am living in the moment with the characters.

Best,

DiDi