How would you react to this tense shift

[Steerpike]

I do. Even if a story is set in the past but written in present tense, I would think that the story is happening now. I imagine it as being transported back in time, watching the story unfold, then return to my present time.

Thanks, Ankari. If that's the case, and you view both past and present tense the same in that regard, then the shift shouldn't matter, at least on that point (there might be other reasons you don't like it).

 

[Ankari]

After rereading my post, I realized that it was confusing. What I mean by "past" is a story set in a time before the current. Such as a story set in 1829.

 

[Agran Velion]

At the very worst it would throw me off for a few chapters, but it is highly possible I wouldn't notice it. As Benjamin said, as long as the prose style is good, it wouldn't bother me.

I was halfway through The Hunger Games before I noticed that it was in the present tense.

...wait, The Hunger Games is in present tense? I'm not joking, I had no idea.

 

[Steerpike]

...wait, The Hunger Games is in present tense? I'm not joking, I had no idea.

Yes. There is a bit of a trend toward present tense in teen/YA novels, from what I've seen the past few years.

 

[Agran Velion]

Considering I've read all three books, you'd think I'd have realized it.

 

[Claire]

Just adding another opinion... I do think I would notice, but if the book is written well and it works with the flow of the story, I think it would be fine. I'm picky about how an author handles POV shifts (I guess we all have our "thing" that rubs us wrong), but as long as it is clear the POV is shifting, along with the tense shift, it could work - no mid-scene jumping between characters and tenses.

 

[shangrila]

It might be weird to start with, but then I found the first person perspective of the Black Company books at first. You can pretty much get used to anything with enough time.

And, as people have said, just try it. If it isn't working...eh. Just re-write it. No problemo.

 

[Lawfire]

I agree that if the reader thinks the present tense means 'happening now,' there could be a problem when moving back and forth. Do most readers feel that way about present tense?

I do, and I find present tense to be rather unsettling.