The Present Tense in Fictions

[vellavu]

Many years ago, I opened a book someone recommended to me and found that every sentence was written in the present tense after reading the first page. I found it was uncomfortable and assumed it was for kids/illiterates (don't laugh at me😳).

Now I know that the present tense fictions are becoming popular and occupies a steady percent of all fictions. I read from the internet that the present tense, although providing an immersive feeling, has the limitation that you can't freely jump in time.

Could someone elaborate to me? My first language has no tense, so a lot of tense-related things are not intuitive to me. Are there examples online showing what kind of "time jump" is OK using the past tense but not so with the present tense? Thanks.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

With present tense everything is happening 'live' and in the moment. So it can be said "we all sit around the campfire, thinking about the past" but to actually show those thoughts, etc, would take it out of the current moment.

Whereas using first or third person narrative you can say "we all sat around the campfire, thinking about the past" and then go into detail as to what the narrator, or everyone, is thinking because you are not trapped in the moment and you have the freedom to move about both in time as well as persons perspective.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Just out of curiosity, what is your first language (that has no tense)?

With present tense fiction, you are discovering things at the same time as the protagonist so you can compare your reactions to events with his as they happen. It can add excitement to the story but it has limitations in that you are stuck in the present time.

 

[Blaze]

Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure I ever even read a present tense book. I guess it's like everything else, you have to get used to it. I used to hate first person narrative and now I love it. I'd be curious to read a book like that.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I'd be curious to read a book like that.

Didnt you read the hunger games?

 

[Blaze]

Didnt you read the hunger games?

I did. But in my head I was thinking third person present. Not first, to me it makes sense to have present tense if you're gonna speak in first person, it just sounds natural. I'm not much of a writer but I usually just go for whatever sounds good, and well first person present sounds good. I'm trying to think of an example of third person present but I can't think of one, it's entirely possible I've read one before and didn't notice.

It's also different in French, we have different tenses, more of them really, and sometimes stories will use many different tenses.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

to me it makes sense to have present tense if you're gonna speak in first person,

It doesn't have to be. It's just about the language and syntax.

Rabbit Run is a 3rdPP. William Gibson wrote a few as well with his Cyberpunk series'. But Hunger Games is a present tense.

 

[white avenger]

The first book that I ever read told in present tense was "To Hell And Back," the autobiography of Medal of Honor recipient and actor, Audie Murphy. It took some getting used to, but it did definitely impart a sense of immediacy to the narrative. It's a style that I still don't like, and I avoid whenever possible, but it does seem to be becoming more prevalent, so I guess that I'll just have to either quit reading or accept the inevitable

 

[Wildfly]

Didnt you read the hunger games?

Not all of it is present tense, the writer is switching between present and past to show her character's history. All the bread stuff and the mine and her idyllic childhood is done in past tense, how else?

When i was a kid, i never understood WHY books are written in past tense. It seemed so old-fashioned and depressing.
And now we told in the 21th century past tense is passé. After i got used to it :/

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Not all of it is present tense, the writer is switching between present and past to show her character's history. All the bread stuff and the mine and her idyllic childhood is done in past tense, how else?

I've not read it.. just generally those YA novels are present tense. That is where the popularity of the writing became more mainstream. But you can still have present tense flashbacks, I just don't know the specific instances you are referring to.

 

[Wildfly]

But you can still have present tense flashbacks, I just don't know the specific instances you are referring to.

as far as i remember S. Collins alternates between present tense (the dystopian world, the games) and Katnises past (past tense) and that's how it's usually done if its not a continuous storytelling in the present only.

Haven't read books with present tense flashbacks. Interesting.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Haven't read books with present tense flashbacks. Interesting.

Quite a few of Koontz and Gibson stuff are present tense flashbacks. It's easier on the reader (or so they say) staying with active verbs throughout the narrative rather than switching from active to passive.
 
Start with Neuromancer if interested.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Want to read a book that has past, present and future tense. Probably 1st person, 3rd person 2nd person and maybe 55th person. Yep, the bible has it all just ask River Tam.

 

[bespangeled]

Tense and POV are not the same. You can use present tense with both 1st person and 2nd person. I think you can also use present tense with 3rd person Omniscient. Tense is how the time frame is shown - is it happening now, or did it happen at an earlier time - or is there someone telling the story who can go through time. Omniscient 3rd was popular in the Victorian times, and it's used by some good children's authors (Roald Dahl, the Unfortunate Events series) but it's seldom used for adul books since the story teller motif can be jarring.

 

[Blaze]

Tense and POV are not the same. You can use present tense with both 1st person and 2nd person. I think you can also use present tense with 3rd person Omniscient. Tense is how the time frame is shown - is it happening now, or did it happen at an earlier time - or is there someone telling the story who can go through time. Omniscient 3rd was popular in the Victorian times, and it's used by some good children's authors (Roald Dahl, the Unfortunate Events series) but it's seldom used for adul books since the story teller motif can be jarring.

Indeed. In my opinion certain tense work better with certain POV and vice versa. The example of the Hunger Games, well a first person book generally works well with the present tense, whereas it doesn't work so well with a third person ( but as mention I haven't read any good book written third person present). Funny tense is not usually something I even notice when I read, or write for that matter, but I imagine that is because most stuff is pass tense in fiction.

 

[bespangeled]

Indeed. In my opinion certain tense work better with certain POV and vice versa. The example of the Hunger Games, well a first person book generally works well with the present tense, whereas it doesn't work so well with a third person ( but as mention I haven't read any good book written third person present). Funny tense is not usually something I even notice when I read, or write for that matter, but I imagine that is because most stuff is pass tense in fiction.

Agreed - in fact I was trying to figure out how to do 3rd person present. I have, however, read some kick ass 2nd person present tense - which is not a POV I ever thought I would enjoy.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

in fact I was trying to figure out how to do 3rd person present.

Here, at least as far as I recall it was done. And done well.

 

[bespangeled]

Here, at least as far as I recall it was done. And done well.

Cool - when I have book money or a tablet of some sort.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

tablet of some sort.

a tablet?

 

[ILLYRIAN]

If you go to the doctors and say you need a tablet to read a book, he'll be likely to oblige and give you a paracetamol.