Writing in the present tense.
By patgalca
@patgalca (18180)
Orangeville, Ontario
March 28, 2007 7:25pm CST
Have you ever written a story in the present tense? Have you ever read one in the present tense? I think it would be awfully hard to write like that.
I have submitted a short story to an award winning author for critique. I will be meeting one-on-one with her. This is a service that is provided by a library. They have a new author every spring. They also speak at seminars for free. Anyway, I am going to meet this author I have never heard of (this is the second time I've done this) so I thought I'd better read at least one of her books (I did that the last time too). It took me awhile to realize that she has written this book in the present tense. I took two of her books out of the library so I grabbed the other one and started reading the first paragraph - again, present tense.
It's obviously working as far as reading is concerned because I didn't even notice it right away, and she has won awards for these books. But imagine WRITING in the present tense. Do you think you can do it? I know if you are going to write your dreams down you are supposed to write them in the present tense and I have trouble doing THAT. I don't think I could write in the present tense.
4 people like this
10 responses
@ehlana88 (330)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I am currently writing a novel in present tense. It isn't as hard as you think. A lot of times I'll slip and have to make a minor word change here or there but really it's not so bad. My problem is coming in that I am also writing it from the my point of view. It's a bit weird. No narrator.
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18180)
• Orangeville, Ontario
29 Mar 07
I have written in the first person point of view, but it limits you because you can only write what "you" see and feel and nothing outside that. I started a story with a writing prompt in first person and plan to go back to it. But I don't think I will ever write in present tense. Thanks for responding.
@katzbee (91)
• Canada
12 May 07
First, I must congratulate you on your persistence in pursuing a career in writing. I started out writing for Radio and TV, so writing in the present tense is a form with which I am more comfortable. I now use it as I write stories and novels, especially in the initial stages. Sometimes I do change both the tense and the POV as the story line develops.
@patgalca (18180)
• Orangeville, Ontario
12 May 07
I met with the author today. She said she had no problem writing in the present tense. I told her I couldn't even write my dreams in present tense, which you are supposed to do when you write down your dreams. We also spoke about her other novel I read where she went back and forth from present to past, from first person to third. That was actually her first novel and took her 4 years and 16 or so drafts to write.
@Perry2007 (2229)
• Philippines
1 Apr 07
Writing in the present tense, wohw, this is a great idea, guess I'll try that in my blog. Hahaha, will I ever sustain it, but I will, I'll do it in my 360 yahoo, Its great to meet writers you must be in a business of writting, This amuses me. Thanks for sharing, That's why I love to be here in myLot reading discussions I do learn a lot. This is one example its classic
@Perry2007 (2229)
• Philippines
11 May 07
Thank you for marking this as the best response... lol... got an assignment to do... I've been gone for quite some time because I needed to transfer to another location and my computer got a while to set up. Got to write that present tense at yahoo360... were you waiting for it... in a little while, you'll see it there... lol...
@uramit2003 (898)
• India
29 Mar 07
really i havent read a story in present tense and i am finding it difficult even to imagine a story in present tense.How it wud like to read such a story?If u finished up with ur story then do publish it and kindly tel the name of ur story ..I wud like to read a story in present tense
@lacurandera (335)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I don't write a lot of prose, so the process may be different for me...Past and present tense both appear in my poetry at close to a 50/50 rate. I never really notice my tense until I look back on a piece. I tend to use past tense for poems that are based on more recent events from my own experience. I use present tense largely in poems that involve fabricated tales, situations that supposedly took place a long time ago, or memories of other people. I think it might just be an automatic technique (that I use without noticing) that I use to make unreal pieces seem real. Also, If i'm writing it like i was doing it at that minute, it helps me get into the piece and make it genuine. Maybe this author writes in present tense for the same reason.
@CinnamorollTK (263)
• United States
6 Apr 07
Publishers prefer if you write in the present tense. I've read that past tense can make readers fall alseep. I've tried writing in the present tense, but its difficult. I can't understand why!
I wonder if there's an instructional book on how to write in the present tense? It would help both of us out.
@patootie (3592)
•
31 Mar 07
I dare say I don't even notice what tense something is written in .. I just get into the story and that's that .. for me reading a book is a magic carpet into another world .. when I pick a book up everything just stops .. there is only the book the words and I am 'in' the book .. I am that story ..
@LiminaL (164)
• Italy
29 Mar 07
I actually feel to distant to what I'm writing if I don't use the present tense. I like to shift from a time construction to the other, but for the most of the time I use the present form. It is more like living than narrating, which I find important in my approach to both the writing and the reading process.
Preferences are supposedly related to something deeper, probably to keep your focus and output high is better for you not to force the thing. It would be a kind of experiment for you I suppose, in this sense maby it's worth trying anyway
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
29 Mar 07
Why would it be hard to write? I would just step into the shoes of me myself today. I would imagine living in the story I am writing and write it as I move around. Just bear the tenses in mind and it shouldn't be too hard.
Or, maybe what you need is just a wee bit more practice. ;-)
@KATRINKA (1624)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I've written short stories and my novel is mostly in present tense. When I start on a story, I don't agonize over what tense it ought to be in. I write the story, and in the editing process, I revise inconsistencies in tense. It's that way with deciding in which point of view(s) the story ought to be told. I write the story as it comes to me. Sometimes I'll play around with points of view to see which is the better version, but usually, my first instinct is correct. I've learned to trust that instinct. It has taken years, though.
I suggest not trying to manipulate your stories. Don't write in present tense unless you feel the story merits it. Experiment with it as a writing exercise. Take something you've already written and rewrite it in present tense. See if it sounds better. Maybe so far you haven't discovered a story that needs to be written in present tense.
I agree with you, if you didn't notice when reading that author's book she was writing in present tense, it worked well. One of the pitfalls of writing in present is that it's too jarring for the reader.
Good luck with your meeting with the author. I hope it goes well.
