Why would an author choose to write in the present tense?

[Legendary Sidekick]

Here's why I use and like first-person present.

The obvious is that I keep the reader focued on one POV character and the events happen in chronological order.

The fun part (for me) is that the MC doesn't always voice what he's thinking, so the internal monologue and the dialogue blend together, which can depict emotion effectively.

1st-present plays to my strengths, which is to let the scene flow and let the number of descriptive words set the pace of the action. 1st-present also spares me from my weak areas. I don't like to spend much time on setting, so the only time the MC really narrates setting is when he's in a strange or new environment. I find it a fun and natural way to write. In action scenes, I especially love writing in things like time-slow effects from adrenaline rushes or discovering a friend has fallen during the confusion of battle.

The tricky part for me is NOT slipping into past. I've developed the preference for present at this stage. What IS tricky though is word order. You can't simply change the verbs. Cause and effect have to be written with care. If someone bursts into a room unexpectedly, first the door opens (or wall breaks down if it's Superman, the Hulk, Abobo, etc.) THEN you see who came in.

If you picture the action in your head as you write, this error can be avoided... but I still slip up here. (See my Showcase entry for evidence.)

 

[Steerpike]

An author can choose to write anything he or she likes--I'll always defend that--but no reader has an obligation to like anything, for any reason.

I didn't say anyone is obligated to like anything. Likewise, I'm not obligated to pretend their reasoning is desirable, particularly in a fellow artist, or that it isn't based on silly distinctions when I find it to be so

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

It's interesting that you mention that you are trying to emulate a "comic book feel", Christopher. The Walking Dead is a comic book series. Rise of the Governor is the first non-graphic novel in the series. I theorized that it might be in present tense due to the fact that stories in comic books are often told in a present tense.

Nathan, I'm going for a comic book feel myself, and actually a reviewer once worte that my first novel had a comic book feel, so maybe I'm pulling it off in one woman's opinion. I actually didn't even consider that comic books are written in present tense. But now that you mentioned that, I would dare say that comic books are typically written in present tense for a good reason: the focus is action, and events are shown/told in a play-by-play manner.

So my answer to why a writer would use present tense is that that particular writer found it to be the most effective way to tell that particular story.

To elaborate, ALL possible combinations of 1st/2nd/3rd + past/present have legitimate purposes. (Future tense, too, but I won't get into that.)

1st-person present - I use that to show everything through the MC's eyes. Surprises are met with emotion from the MC.

1st-person past - I'd use that to tell a survival story. It's told in retrospect. The narrator already survived. He can jump around in time.

2nd-person present - I'd use this for a choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) type story, but have come up with other ways that I think are interesting. It can be done well, but the reader may not like being spoken to unless it's a game (like CYOA).

2nd-person past - I'd use this for a "survival-horror" story. Unlike the first-person past narrator, the second person is dead. You, the reader, have discovered his journal. Maybe it implies that you're next.

3rd-person present - I'd use that to show the reader events as they unfold. The narrator, even if omniscient, does not predict what's about to happen. He's like a sports commentator minus the emotion.

3rd-person past - I'd use that to report a story as if it has already happened. Surprising the reader or bracing him for bad news are both optional. Arguably, the author has more options with this POV/tense than any other.

 

[Penpilot]

You know, it dawned on me when I thought about another subject all together which might explain the concept and confusion a bit more. Is it possible that people confuse ACTIVE words with PRESENT tense? Instead of dumping words that make the work passive, they confuse fixing it with the PRESENT tense instead?

This happened to me in a long time a go in a galaxy far far away when I was but a young writer. Pretty much screwed up my writing for a good number of years. Some of the echoes of this still haunt me from time to time. I slip into present tense when my intention is past.

This is one of the reasons, when giving a critique, I'm very careful on how I say things to new writers. One unexplained piece of advice can send them off in the wrong direction, causing them lots of pain.

I find that present tense seems to be popping up more often in the more literary books I peek into like Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union.

 

[Jess A]

The analogy to genre is a poor one, as we're dealing with a more fundamental level of writing here. Stories in any genre can be written using any tense of POV. It's more like, rather than someone saying they don't like impressionism, saying they don't like anything done in oils. I would find that a rather limiting opinion given the wide range of artistic styles that can be achieved with oils. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, and I'm equally entitled to mine. In my view, refusing to read something because of the tense is a sadly narrow-minded viewpoint, particularly for people who are not only readers but also writers and should be able to achieve a wider appreciation of the art form. I'm afraid blinking won't deter me

Ah I see. Your previous paragraph did not convey that to me. And I've no intention of deterring anybody There can be healthy debate.

...watch me turn on them with all the viciousness of a deranged wolverine hopped up on crystal meth....

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"I hate to see a grown man cry."

Wolverine hates taking baths even more than my infant daughter.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I've read a number of books in present tense, and it takes me about two paragraphs to adjust to it and then I'm fine. Doesn't bother me at all; for the most part I forget about it. Same goes for second-person perspective.