Present Tense vs Past Tense

present tense is horrible unless it's handled perfectly.

the only time, to me, it really works, is second-person, like all those Choose Your Own Adventure books.

I . . . what?

I disagree. I'm using present-tense for my novel, and it doesn't seem to be causing me any great problems, although admittedly some of the sentence construction is different.

The way I get by is not to think about the requirements of that, but simply to write as if it's happening to me right now. So rather than a character explaining it to someone afterwards or writing in their diary after the fact, I imagine that they're thinking about what they'll write in their diary tonight as the events are happening. That, or something similar enough that I can't describe it better than that, is what's helping me right now. Of course, my novel is in the first-person, which I think is a little easier for this tense.

Jonathan

I totally agree with you Dena - present tense is easier to read - it's like the action is unfolding right in front of you, here and now. There's a real immediacy of scene. You're seeing the drama as it unfolds.

This is a hot topic with me at the mo. I kicked off Nano in third person, past tense and was dragging for three days. Yesterday I bit the bullet and switched tenses (moving fwd not rewriting back) - and I can't believe the difference it's made. Being a fan of memoir this definitely feels more natural to me and I can more easily cut through to what I want to say.

Are you writing third person or first? Either way have a squiz at some of your fave pieces of writing/books that work in the tense you prefer and see if you can pin down what's working, and why. Let us know how you go : )

I'm writing mine in past tense. I've messed around a little with present tense and don't like it much. Like many others I find it's easier to do badly than past tense - and for me that holds true whether reading or writing. It does add a sense of immediacy, but it's often a sense of artificial immediacy and I often find the artifice overwhelms the immediacy.

If you can get your 50k words done in present, though, more power to you.

I only use present tense in roleplaying and interactive fiction. (Sometimes I inadvertently start off an RP scene in past tense because I'm so used to it...)

I'm writing this year's novel in first person, present tense, and it is going really well for me. I used to hate writing in present tense because I didn't understand how it worked. It's so easy for me, now, that I don't even like writing in past tense if it's in third person perspective. I think that you can just as easily ruin past tense as you can present -- it just all depends on if you're a good writer. Whether or not you actually enjoy writing in present tense is a completely different thing, of course. Present tense is just what comes naturally for me; I usually revert back to it when I try to write in past tense.

I second the previous suggestion of reading books that are in present tense. I don't really think there's a way you can go wrong with it; it's about the setting and the characters and the way you present things, not the tense that you're using.

I'm writing in present tense also, and the major stumbling block I'm hitting is keeping the action flowing without getting all tied up in the character's head.

In real life, we spend our whole life in the present tense, except when we think about what happened before. In a story, you have to keep moving forward, or else there is no story to tell.

I don't want to get too bogged down in the protagonist's wayward thoughts and lose the story. Afterall, I am the author. The main character is my vehicle. I have to be the driver, even if it is 'his' story.

Another problem I find, is that when writing in first person, I become too involved in the world of the main character...like, that character becomes me, and I end up becoming excited about his life, and wonder what he's going to discover. His voice takes over. ..it's not entirely a bad thing, but, as i said, there is story to be told. It's like fighting for dominance, sometimes.

First person lends itself to this kind of discovery. It's all in the now, all happening in front of you....and in front of the reader.
Once you find the character's voice...the way the character sees the world, and how he/she expresses himself/herself in it, it becomes real easy, cuz, in first person, the main character is revealing his/her world to the reader.

I agree writing in present tense is difficult. I'm writing my novel in present tense. I've gone back and forth. I started in past tense. Then I switched to present. I almost switched to past again, because it is tough to get into the groove of things.

But the other day, I was typing out a dream I had, and I was writing it as if it was happening to me (just as described above). And it came so naturally. I do agree that sentence structure is harder to come by. But if you picture it as if it's happening to you now, it's not so hard. Basically, pretend your the character in the story and you just talk about everything you do. :) lol

A lot of people say present tense is harder to write - mostly because we're just used to writing and reading in the past tense. After all, school books and newspapers and all that are all written in the past tense.

I think it just takes work and a lot of re-reading to get it right, which is the great thing about NaNo; just get it done, and you can worry about all that later. The only author that I remember right now who writes in present tense (first-person) is Sophie Kinsella, and an excerpt from Can You Keep A Secret? is like this:

I reach the entrance to the plane, and there at the door, taking boarding passes, is the air hostess with the French plait who was sitting at the bar earlier.
"Hi again," I say smiling, "This is a coincidence!"
The air hostess stares at me.
"Hi. Erm..."
"What?"
Why does she look embarrassed?
"Sorry...it's just...did you know that..." She gestures awkwardly to my front.
"What is it?" I say pleasantly. I look down and freeze, aghast.
Somehow my lacy shirt has been unbuttoning itself while I've been walking along. Three buttons have come undone and it's gaping at the front.