I wonder about how more and more books are being written in the present tense. I have a hard time getting into something written that way. Past tense is where it’s at for me and I’m so glad you write that way. Maybe I’m just getting old, but what’s up with that?
I’m not sure why this is. I also noticed it, because present tense is harder for me to read, so I’m more likely to bounce off a book featuring it. I heard someone say that it’s because traditional publishers supposedly push you to write in past tense and since a lot more titles are self-published, that’s not longer true. I don’t buy it because I’ve read books in present tense published through traditional publishing houses.
If you have any theories, please share in the comments.
Are there rules to writing a good blurb for romance novels? Should I stay away from the “She is…. He is… Together they are…” formula or stick with the tried and tested?
That depends on what you mean by a blurb. From an author’s point of view, a blurb usually refers to that little bit of praise you see on the cover from other authors.
It’s hard to see but that bit above, where we say that Jessie’s book is “space opera at its finest” is the blurb. If that’s what you you want, the usual format is one sentence about the book itself and one sentence about the author.
I think you probably mean the summary for a query or a synopsis for the back of the book. In that case, if it’s a romance, the romance itself is the central conflict and the plot. So yes, it should have a few sentences about the heroine and her struggle and then a few sentences about the hero and his struggle (assuming hetero romance from the question.) Then it should show the shared conflict.
Alternatively, it can all be from the heroine point of view with the hero mentioned. This part of the query similar to a book synopsis on the back of the cover, so it might help to look at the back covers of some published books you like and see how they structured it. They are typically written for readers, so if you are doing it as a query, you want slightly less excited language.
Here is how I built a query for a hypothetical romantasy. Let me know if it helps or if you would like to ask a more detailed question.
Have you ever written an unhappy ending?
Yes. I usually don’t share that story, because it is unsettling. It’s one of our earlier short stories, very Russian, very folklore driven, kind of an homage to Gogol, and it has that classic Russian literature ending, which makes you go, “Well… I don’t know how to feel about this. I should be relieved but I’m not, and now I will think about this too much all day.”
If you want to read, it’s here, but you are diving into it at your own risk.
I liked it. so real. there are always costs to whatever we want, especially when we are at the crossroads between one life and the other.
+1
I like this story. Thank you.
+1
Showing our age, perhaps? We are more traditional, and prefer 3rd-person. In an effort to get more YA readers away from boys/games/whatever to books, authors have moved to the immediacy and urgency of 1st person, present tense. And angst. LOTS of teen-age angst. ALL the angst, ALL the time! I can put up with it for limited time, but it just loses me (usually before I make it to the end of the book). Where it really lost me, once, is when the supposedly late-20’s heroine acted like an angsty, no-common-sense teenager throughout the story. Nope. Just nope!
Wasn’t Hunger Games written in present tense?
About the blurb question – find a librarian to help!!
A large part of our job is condensing a book into a sound bite and using that sound bite to recommend the book in a Readers advisory interview (ie when I patron comes to the desk and asks for book recs.)
For books I love to recommend, I have a soundbite IVE come up with memorized and I’ll rattle it off at the drop of a hat.
For instance, Dealing With Dragons (a favorite to recommend to teens, tweens and adults what want very funny, light fantasy)
“It’s about a 16 year old princess named Cimerone who is bored of being a princess so she runs away from home, knocks on a dragons cave and volunteers to be the dragons “captive princess.” The dragons isn’t actually in the MARKET for a princess, but agrees to take on Cimerone on a trial basis.”
I admit, I had to look up the difference between first, second, and third person narratives. I mean, I know what they are, but I wanted to refresh my memory since I’ve been out of school a VERY long time.
Second person narrative reminds me of gaming as does 3rd person to some degree. I’ve never sat down and figured out what narrative I really prefer, I just devour books.
Of course, this was written in first person (I think). 🤔
So…I had to read the story. Now, present tense? Past tense? First person, second person, third person omniscient? Not sure I care. I was warned. I’ll pass the warning along…that was/is one creepy story! Good, but definitely creepy.
If a fiction book uses present tense, I’m doing good to last through the first chapter. I’ll take the word of those of you that have encountered one.
My other pet peeve is the misuse of I. Sentences like “John went to town with Susie and I. ” set my teeth on edge as there is such an easy way to check for correctness. Take out Susie and . Would you say John went to town with I?
It does seem like with more self-publishing, there are fewer editors or copy editors who know grammar. My current beef is the abandonment of “fewer”. No, “less” is not always the right word. And the worst part is that I’ve seen it from authors who used it correctly once upon a time and have stopped.
When I was a teenager, the beef of so many was “impacting.” You did not impact something. You had an impact on. When I was in college, I watched as writers all at once dropped “addictive” and took up “addicting.” Now it’s less and fewer. I wonder at the fashions, because someone like Nora Roberts, who has been writing for 40 years, used to use fewer, and between one book and the next forgot how, and I’d wonder if she got a new editor.
I hate it, but if I avoided every book that had bad grammar in places, I wouldn’t read anything modern. But it’s the kind of thing that throws me out of the story.
Agree completely with both of you. I suspect I’m showing my age 😂
Books are being written in the present tense because of Twilight and its success. If you notice, it’s especially prevalent in YA and NA.
I hate it, too.
I have a theory about the proliferation of 1st Person Present. For the record, it drives me crazy–as a reader it gives me a headache and as a writer, it gives me hives. Literally. I tried it once on a dare from one of my editors, not that he was going to request that manuscript–he was just curious. Never again. There’s not enough calamine lotion in the world! Anyway, back to my theory. Fan fiction. The rise in popularity of fan fiction* and, in some instances, self-insertion by the fan ficition writer into the story is the reason for all this 1st PP stuff. I checked out Watt Pad early on and noticed the majority of stories were 1PP. As those stories gained popularity, the traditional publishers came calling.
Don’t even get me started on 2nd Person POV no matter the tense. It reminds me of the one D&D game I sat in on waaaay back in the way back. NOT that D&D or any RPG is bad, um-kay? Just not my catnip.
I also want to acknowledge @Kat for her insights as an Engligh teacher. I hadn’t thought about the whole “essay tense” versus “creative writing tense.” That makes sense.
*I have nothing against fan fiction. In fact, I’ve written two novellas, strictly as a writing exercise, set in the worlds of two favorite authors and attempting to mimic their voices. And doesn’t that open up a whole ‘nother can of worms–what constitutes an author’s voice. Care to weight in on that one? *bwahaha*</i.
Hello
I understand that the present tense is now, but I don’t understand how it’s written in the past tense.
Maybe my mind is just too fixated on reading and not tencses.
Could you give me an example of past tense writing.
Thank you for your time and trouble
“ We sipped our tea. This was the calm before the storm, and I welcomed it. It was selfish, but there was something about Doolittle’s presence that steadied me.”
Andrews, Ilona. Magic Breaks, Kate Daniels book 7. Kindle edition, page 182
The entire Kate Daniels series is written in the past tense 🙂
I loved the snippet, which seemed more like a short story, it was so intense. Gave me shivers, but I a good way!
I’m weighing in here as a bestselling, traditionally-published author with an MFA in fiction whose last two novels had at least one narrator using present tense. I was trained in college and grad school to write in past and that’s what I did for many years. It was considered the only acceptable format because it was seen as the most seamless and transparent. So why have I started using the present tense?
Four reasons. The first is that maybe because of my training, it feels a bit rebellious, freeing and fun to write in present tense.
The second is that if you have a novel with multiple points of view, putting one narrator in present tense and the other in past makes it easier for the reader to differentiate the voices, and sometimes, it makes sense thematically if the two storylines aren’t happening at the same time.
Third, there’s something about a present tense narration that feels more immediate, like the story is unfolding before your eyes. I know readers are used to past tense but I think there are enough voices using present tense nowadays that it feels fresh and modern.
Finally, my latest novel came to me in the present tense, so I wrote it down that way. To be honest, both of my narrators spoke to me in first person present so that’s how I recorded their stories but in later drafts, I moved one of them to first person past and the other to close third in present tense for thematic reasons.
I have read a few good fantasy novels written in the second person, where the “you” was an unseen character to whom the protagonist was relating their story. Perhaps I am using the description incorrectly. American public school education was already slipping in the 70s. I had to learn proper grammer from my mother.
That’s interesting – I didn’t experience that as unhappy. I experienced it more as a very skilled rendition of the constant conflict we’re all continually navigating between our wants and our needs. Perhaps a very poignant illustration of the first time we have to make that decision in adult form, when there’s no adult around to put limits on our wants for us so we have to decide to do it ourselves – or not. I suppose I would have found an entire novel in that vein a harder read, but at this length it just provided an usual experience of being truly ‘seen’ in all my vulnerable humanity, while at that same time leaving me cheering for Janna having chosen life on that occasion, whilst leaving me with the hope she would find magic again later on in a less destructive form. Or maybe I’m just reading way too much into it. 🙂
totally agree about present tense. I can’t stick with those stories even if I’m interested in the story.
I should be more aware of tense! this might be why some books are meh for me and some are fab. this could be the key to not wasting time or finding a new fave! ❤️
So, I really liked the story. The ending is appropriate for horror.
I also would love to read the made up story for the sample query, if yiy ever decide to write it.
Lastly, first person present tense makes my brain twitch uncomfortably.
I really liked the short story! Hauntingly good … is the utoplennik an actual figure in folklore? When I googled it … I didn’t have any luck …
Thank you. That was incredible, will think about her choice and how she was changed. Before, and after.
Interesting: I honestly did not think about the fact that some books are written in past tense and some in present tense until reading this post! I just always knew when I read something that I liked what I liked and disliked what I disliked.
Apparently I don’t have a preference for tense because based on the comments here, some books that I really love are past tense and some are present. Who knew!
I do know that when I read a book by an author I’ve never read before, I may appreciate their talent but their storytelling may still stop me from reading anything else they wrote, regardless of the tense they used or whether they wrote in first person, etc.
Example: I just finished a novel written for adults by a well-known children’s author. I was very impressed with his very clever use of language and accents, the research he obviously did on the area where the story took place, his character development of some very colorful characters, twists and turns he put into the plot line, etc. He’s obviously a very talented author.
However, the violent ends of some characters (which this author described in great and gory detail) just was not my cup of tea and in my opinion not entirely necessary. I finished the book because I wanted to see how it ended, but I was sorely tempted to just skip to the end (which I never do.) I won’t be reading any of his other books, regardless of tense, 1st/2nd/3rd person, etc.
Now, I will say that I did read the snippet, and while it is not my favorite HA writing, I did appreciate it! A little dark, but definitely thought provoking. Thank you for sharing!
I have read a couple of present tense novels that I enjoyed, but they are definitely a minority of the present tense novels that I’ve *tried* to read. With most I never got past the first few paragraphs.
Of the couple that I did enjoy, one was by a favorite author whose previous books, numbering in the dozens, were standard third person past tense. So that author already knew how to write really well, and present tense wasn’t much of a stretch.
Another was a massive brick of historical fiction by a first time author, about a culture with which I was unfamiliar. The world and story were so fascinating that they immediately drew me in. That the writing was excellent helped, of course.
One book, part of a series I’d mostly enjoyed up to then, introduced present tense to distinguish a character POV. The MC was still first/past, and still fun; partner was first/present, which wore me down. End of that series for me.
I think if, as Jean mentions above, a book comes to an author in present tense, then it makes complete sense to write it that way. A good writer can make it work. But if it’s just because present tense is fashionable right now: hard pass for moi.
I’ve read very few novels in present tense, mostly I find it annoying. But I’ve read a couple of horror/thriller books where it worked very, very well.
Usually I’ll give a book a full chapter before I drop it if it’s in present tense. I’m less picky about first/third person.
Thank you for the short story. I really enjoyed ot 😀
Thank you again for this posting. I always love reading all of the viewpoints and theories posted by the BDH. I feel like I’m part of a very expressive and thoughtful book club, and it often carries over into interesting discussions with my daughter.
Interesting side note for anyone who thinks the past-tense preference is age related: my daughter is in her 20’s and I’m in my 60’s. I love many books that are written in present tense but she said she just can’t read them! 😁
And then all of BDH go click on the “it’s here” link :)))))))))))))))))))))
That was different, thanks.
I think – and it’s just indeed that – it’s because we’re living in a more “present” times, where everything is more immediate and “of that moment”, and that authors think that will bring the reader closer to the action.
I also dislike always reading in the present, especially in books.
On the other hand, I used to dislike books in the first person. And not that I’m a convert now, but I am getting used to some authors that write that way (HA for example) – so it might be I’ll get used to it in the future?
I doubt it, but you never know…
I love the short story.
Dziękuję ♥️
Very much enjoyed the short story. It captured that Podmoskovy summer feel perfectly.
I feel like present tense is like what the hand held cam is to cinema. It makes you feel there in the moment, like it’s happening live. And I think it could probably work if the writer really has a feel for present tense and what they’re doing with it. I feel like it’s a lot easier to jump around in time without breaking any threads in story if you use past tense.
I always seem to see present tense in combination with second person and I don’t appreciate it because most of the time I’m there to experience a story, I don’t want the extra work of having to imagine I’m the main character.
It’s been lovely to read through the comments and find others who dislike first person present tense and/or second person POV. When I was learning how to write stories, I tried writing in the present tense for a bit, but found it too hard to be consistent with the verb tenses and honestly ended up confusing myself at times. I also agree with others who have pointed out that there are books that do present tense writing really well. I personally don’t like it; I come across both these forms of writing in KU and/or self-published writing a lot more than traditionally published books, and I’ve also had the experience of not being able to get through the sample of some books written in either form. But I also vaguely remember, growing up, the change from omnipresent third person writing in the past tense to close third person in the past tense. Anyway, I got carried away in my excitement over all this attention to detail. I truly love these kinds of conversations and rarely get to have them IRL!
I like present tense fine. I do think it adds a closer connecting to the MC.
If you think about where stories actually originate, from sapiens telling others stories orally, there’s room for them all.
If the craft is done well, I don’t care about the tense. I think more of the BDH needs to read some well written present tense in a good story 😉
Regarding Present tense–I pretty much loathed it when it started popping up more frequently. I think I started noticing it when New Adult was the hot spit genre. Present tense, usually in the first person, came across as quasi-literary, often shallow, affected, and wicked pretentious. Too many writers used it like they were translating from past tense in their heads or–worse–randomly switching back and forth. It just felt awkward to me I know, subjective af, but bear with me.
Over time, I began to acclimate as I realized some authors I really liked (Carl Hiaasen, Susan Collins) used it very effectively. For me, present tense functions best when it seems like the natural expression of the narrator’s voice, whether that voice is a named character or an omniscient anonymous storyteller It works very well for me when it reflects the way actual people tell stories, and the tale becomes so absorbing that I’m no longer processing it as a stylistic device. One of the most interesting and moving books I’ve read in recent years was Less by Andrew Sean Greer. Greer’s short novel is both funny and tender and it was an absolute master class in using present tense–in the second person, no less. Anyway, I learned my lesson about being narrow-minded or at least I hope I did.
I read and enjoyed Carl Hiaasen’s present tense book, and a couple of present tense books by other authors, but those haven’t helped me with most present tense books. I think small things that might bother me in past tense narration become magnified when I’m trying to navigate a present tense narration. It’s a cumulative effect. There’s nothing in Carl Hiaasen’s writing that bothers me enough to pull me out of the story, so I can navigate the unfamiliar tense without bumping into snags. That’s not necessarily true of all writing.
I like the short story.
I don’t feel like it’s so sad, more like a teenager making a big choice, and she shall find magic in her life again as an adult, but in another way.
But you’re right, I might think about it for a while, and it would be way more difficult for me to read if it where a long story.
Thanks for sharing.
It’s interesting! On the contrary, most Chinese novels were written in present tense, including the ones translated from past tense English novels .