# Present Tense



## Tanzenlicht (Aug 7, 2010)

I've been doing some...fanfic writing lately.  I fell into the present tense for about a paragraph and decided I liked it and just went with it.  It adds a note of immediacy and just a good overall quality to the 'voice' of the piece.

And it got me to wondering, why doesn't it get used much?  Is it just habit?  Storytelling tradition tends towards the relating of actual events that happened in the past so it makes sense to keep with that even when you're making stuff up whole cloth.

But is there more to it?  Pitfalls I'm unaware of or have forgotten since I last took an English class.  Maybe it's incredibly annoying and I just haven't noticed yet.


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## Poetigress (Aug 7, 2010)

Actually, present tense is being used quite a bit these days, and it's especially common in YA fiction. There are some readers who are turned off by it, but overall I think it can work well if it suits the story. I am more fond of first person present tense than third person present tense -- first person present tense really puts you into that character's head and gives you that intimacy and immediacy, while third person present tense gives immediacy but a certain amount of distance and removal from what's going on. Third person present tense seems to work better for a literary style of story, although I have seen it work okay in something mainstream.


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## HidesHisFace (Aug 7, 2010)

Present tense in first person perspective is great if you want reader to really 'feel' the character, enter his or her mind - reader can see, feel, think exactly the same things as character which can be great tool. Third person makes the story more like report of some sort. If done well, both versions can be absolutely great, but there are some limitations.
With past tense you can jump in time of the story, you can also add some justification of certain actions, because you know the consequences etc. In present tense you have to stick to one time line and keep it straight - you can't jump on it without brief changes of used tense - consistency is everything in present tense. Also - first person perspective additionally limits you to one and only one character - you can only describe protagonists impressions, hopes, thoughts etc. about others but you can't change the main character easily. It is quite hard to get used to it and this may be the reason why this style of writing is not that popular.
Basically - present tense is harder to use in stories but it can give great effects if used properly - it feels strange at first, but if you figure out the rules, it becomes nearly as flexible and fun to use as basic past.


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## buni (Aug 9, 2010)

Present or past, either can work. The one thing I'm going to note here is tha tyou say you fell into it for about a paragraph. _Please_ check to make sure you're consistent throughout!


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## Tanzenlicht (Aug 9, 2010)

Well, I went back and fixed the ones from before I fell into it, of course.  First drafts are like that for me.  But instead of correcting it to past tense I corrected to present tense.

But thank you for your condescension.  Always appreciated.


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## buni (Aug 9, 2010)

No condescending intended; my apologies for the tone if that's how I sounded. I've seen too many people not go back and fix those kinds of things in stories before.


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