I used present tense for my story Not Pink. I think it worked because the mc, a robot, is slightly emotionless and is observing things more than experiencing things. Present tense can have a real funny quality to it - it can sound script-y almost as if the characters are being talked about. I actually don't find the immediacy thing to be so much a pro as it can also be a con. I mean when I say He runs to the fridge - there's no sense of him actually arriving. When I say he ran to the fridge - there's a feeling that he arrived. To me that's some of the subtle little things that can happen with present tense and it can really mess with your scene and your imagery if you're not aware of it or ready for it. It's a horrible tense for beginner writers. And a hard tense even for experienced writers. And some stories would just sound awful in present tense.
That's a great point. I think it's all in the context it's being used, as you said. I haven't thought about using present tense to create humor, but it's a good idea. I am definitely a beginner, so that is probably a lot of where my problem is. I have experience writing, but not enough that I would call myself an experienced writer by any means.
Would it really change it that much? I remember one story I was working on that was written in past tense, and I wanted to rewrite it in present tense to see which version I preferred, and I pretty much just did a word-for-word rewrite, except I changed the tense where necessary. It seemed to me they both worked equally well and it was just a matter of which version I liked better. Put another way, do you see a lot of difference between these two openings? 1) By the third night the death count was rising so high and so quickly that many of the divisional homicide teams were pulled off the front lines of riot control and put into emergency rotations in South Central. Detective Harry Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar, were pulled from Hollywood Division and assigned to a roving B Watch team that also included two shotgunners from patrol for protection. They were dispatched to any place they were needed--wherever a body turned up. The four-man team moved in a black-and-white patrol car, jumping from crime scene to crime scene and never staying still for long. It wasn't the proper way to carry out homicide work, not even close, but it was the best that could be done under the surreal circumstances of a city that had come apart at the seams. 2) By the third night the death count is rising so high and so quickly that many of the divisional homicide teams are pulled off the front lines of riot control and put into emergency rotations in South Central. Detective Harry Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar, are pulled from Hollywood Division and assigned to a roving B Watch team that also includes two shotgunners from patrol for protection. They are dispatched to any place they are needed--wherever a body turns up. The four-man team moves in a black-and-white patrol car, jumping from crime scene to crime scene and never staying still for long. It isn't the proper way to carry out homicide work, not even close, but it is the best that can be done under the surreal circumstances of a city that has come apart at the seams.
The latter is slightly unsettling and awkward, basically for the reasons Peachalulu mentioned above. However, were this done in first person , you'd most likely really see (and even moreso feel) a difference.
I guess it's a reader-specific thing. Neither of the two would make me think twice (except the excerpt is from a Michael Connelly book, so I guess I'd say "huh, never seen him write in present tense).
I think it's totally a matter of what you're used to. There's a lot of YA written in present tense, and nobody notices or finds it awkward or whatever, because they're used to it. I really don't think it's a big deal. If you don't like it, don't write it and don't read it, but be aware that you're missing some pretty good books.
Yeah, and I ready a fair amount of YA, which is where I come across a lot of it. Isn't Infinite Jest in present tense? Or at least part of it written so? Now I can't remember. That's certainly not YA.
I didn't mean to suggest that only YA uses it. But I think that's where it's common enough that readers are most likely to get used to it.
Like BayView said, it isn't limited to that. YA is actually much more likely to push boundaries, like literary fiction does, than is commercial adult fiction. In my experience, anyway.
Chuck Wendig had a post about important things to know about YA/Teen fiction, and also addressed why so many adults read it: "Adults read a lot of young adult fiction, particularly “cross-over” fiction that leans toward the higher end of that teen age range. One might speculate adults like it because it recaptures some part of their youth. Or that adults are frequently not as grown up as they’d prefer these days. Or that they get some vicarious thrill. Mostly, if I’m being honest, I think it’s because of what I said in #13 and #14 — some of the bravest, most “adult” storytelling is happening in the young adult space. They’re gravitating to the quality. Or so I like to hope. At the very least, those who claim young adult books are there to play off of adult nostalgia for the age have never read a young adult book. (“Teen suicide. Remember those good times? Like a Norman Rockwell painting!”)" Short answer: a lot of YA fiction is really good. And YA authors are more willing to take risks. Another quote from Wendig, if anyone cares what he says about it: "Personal opinion time: some of the bravest, strangest, coolest stories right now are being told in the young adult space. It’s stuff that doesn’t fly by tropes or adhere to rules — appropriate, perhaps, since young adults tend to flick cigarettes in the eyes of the rules and don’t play by social norms as much as adults do. (Though teens certainly have their own social codes, too.) I wish adult fiction so frequently took risks on the material at hand, but it doesn’t. And as a person (relatively) new to the young adult spectrum, I used to assume it was all Twilight: generic pap. But then you read John Green, or Libba Bray, or Maureen Johnson — or holy shit, have you read Code Name: Verity?! — and your eyes start to go all boggly. Amazing storytelling in this realm. Amazing! I’ll wait here while you go read it all. *stares*"
I just bought this, based on your rec. I think I've heard of it before, but now - new book for me! Yay!
The general criticism of YA seems to come from people who don't read it (i.e. from a place of ignorance of the subject matter).
Present tense is more challenging. I won't call it "bad," but I've yet to read a well written novel that resonates with me in present tense (unless I'm forgetting one). I am, as always, open to suggestions.
Ah, the ever elucidating unquantifiables. "I like good music." Chuck Palahniuk's Choke is a paragon of both fiction and the use of present tense. The Road should also be mentioned, though it switches between tenses. And obviously One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest if you're looking for a literary classic. I eagerly await @123456789's explanation as to why these successful, critically acclaimed books did something mysterious that somehow makes them better than other present tense books. Maybe the other present tense works aren't "intelligent".
Ah, The Road. That was a toughy. Definitely resonated with me. I never read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but I did see the movie (I know, that doesn't really count), and it was great. I'll add it to my list. Thanks for the recommendations!
There are plenty of those. How about this: I just picked one up called The Girl With All the Gifts. Let's read it at the same time. Maybe others will join in. Also, I believe it is in present tense
