Oooh, I've read that! Can't remember what tense it was it, but I enjoyed it. A few niggles that kept it from being a perfect read, but the verb tense certainly wasn't one of them (since I can't even remember what tense it was).
I prefer writing in present tense. I find it flows more easily. As a reader I don't mind. In April I tried writing the opening chapters of a novella in past tense. I've been writing in present tense for a decade and I found trying to write in past tense difficult. I had to rearrange sentences several times until I was happy with the outcome. What felt like natural phrasing in present tense just looked clumsy or was simply ineffective in past tense. I feel the reverse is true too: something that feels natural written in past tense might look silly or irrelevant in present tense.
I wrote my first couple books in present tense, then switched to past tense. When I went back to try to write present tense again, it felt awkward for a while, and then I settled in. I really think it's just a question of what your brain expects, what you're used to. And as readers or writers, we can get used to different things. At least, some of us can!
@Steerpike I've read the first page, and will read at least the next 49 as promised. But I should warn you I can already tell this book isn't going to challenge my reading comprehension at all, and maybe I should have told you before that's primarily what I look for in a novel. Or maybe (obviously?) that's not something YA is designed for?
Do you mind unpacking what you mean here? Do you mean use words you do not know or use them in unfamiliar ways or...?
I don't think a YA novel is likely to challenge comprehension. If you want to read Swann's Way, I have that one as well. The Girl With All The Gifts is purely a "for fun" read.
I assume it means his ideal book is a novel based on VCR instructions translated from Korean to Japanese to English.
I think you asked me something like this (at least semi related) a while ago, and I never responded. If so, I apologize for that. Vocabulary is one thing, sure. Also, word play and patterning, like you said. The complexity doesn't have to be obvious. I consider Hemingway (at least what I have read of him) to be sophisticated prose. Something that is a quick read (for me) means the work is easy to digest and probably not very challenging(for me). And I am a very slow reader. With that being said, I don't think the writing on that first page was terrible at all. It just wasn't challenging. It could still win me over in other ways.
I find it interesting. Russell Brand speaks in a way that may be similar for me to what you are suggesting here. I think there's an element where I wish to interact with a novel (or speaker) in such a way that I come out the other end a better writer (or communicator). That new concepts and some new words have been added to my repertoire but they are not too weird or boring (hard to define I realise) but can be used in every day language. Despite knowing this intuitively, I have not expressed it and reading what you wrote triggered that same feeling. Words like petrichor: something I know well and enjoy, as an example. It would be a lofty goal to aspire to produce something that would provide a similar stimulus to others.
I've read some negatives about writing in present tense - many saying it's clichéd and a sign of a novice writer, but I'm not sure this applies entirely to my ideas and would appreciate some feedback. While the project I've just started is written in present tense, I think it's clear from the style of narration that the author is talking about something that happened in the past. I'm aiming to give the author / narrator a story-telling style which feels fresher and more immediate than the standard past tense narrative style. For example - traditional past tense: I poured my third scotch of the night and was beginning to feel a little tipsy. Present tense: So, I pour my third scotch of the night and by now, as you'd expect, I'm starting to feel a little tipsy. The second example, I hope, is a more captivating and animated story-teller - he draws you in and demands you listen, and while he tells the story in present tense, he's still talking about something that happened in the past. Do the pitfalls and clichés of writing in present tense still apply here, or is it acceptable because it's being used as a style rather than a tool?
So long as there is consistency and clarity in what you are writing, I think the opinions concerning past vs present tense can be dispensed with. Recounting past events in a present tense syntax is a common feature of many cultures and languages. In my native Spanish, this is a very common "recounting" modality.
I think that what you describe is how most present tense novels are written, so the criticism would probably apply, yes. I disagree that there's anything inherently more captivating about present tense. Your example could have been So I poured my second scotch of the night. By then I was, as you'd expect, starting to feel a little tipsy. All that said, present tense is increasingly common. I hate it with a fiery passion, but I can't argue that it's inherently bad.
Thanks for the feedback. I suppose another reason I'm being drawn to the present tense is that it helps when the flow starts to dry up. If that happens, I imagine myself telling someone the story, and I tell it aloud to the empty room - if it sounds right, I write it down and the flow starts again. If I try to do the same in traditional past tense I feel myself getting bogged down - like I'm wading through treacle. Not quite sure why his happens. Not that it's needed, as you've both understood perfectly, but if you fast forward this clip to 4:10, he switches to present tense, and I feel myself getting really drawn in.
It's not. I'd be leery of advice coming from such sources. On the substantive question, I agree with @Wreybies, above.
If it's your style, go for it. In the long run I would suggest striving to get greater comfort with past tense, but present tense is increasingly accepted. So if the flow is flowing, go with it for your current work. And I say that as someone, again, who hates present tense.
It's against all laws of God and man! Just kidding. I don't know. I perceive it as newfangled, because I rarely encountered it until the past decade or so. But even as a small child reading picture books, I hated Babar because it was present tense. It's just a personal prejudice.
