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.
Thank you!
+1! 😊
If the author is not writing as the hero or heroine and is writing in the present tense, I find myself lost since I feel like I walked into the middle of something. It leaves me feeling like “what did I miss?”
Thank you for the insights. 🙂
I’ve seen it claimed by more than one writer/publisher that the present tense imparts more ‘immediency’ to the writing. Personally, I find it irritating and will avoid, especially since the writer invariably struggles in parts to maintain the present tense and often seems to get muddled when trying to revert back from past to present tense again. It spoils the flow and can be very confusing for the reader.
Although it’s not as bad as books being written in the second person …
The second person is inexorably linked to fanfic in my mind, it would have to be an extraordinary circumstance to make me spend money on it! Sorry to all 2nd person authors.
I really can’t think of any instance where I’d part with money for that, I don’t think I’ve managed to finish a free sample.
To me, the second person doesn’t fit well with storytelling, ok during a character’s speech or thoughts, but it just doesn’t work for a novel (or story of any length).
2nd person is linked for me to choose-your-own adventures! I don’t know that I would buy a novel written in second person, but it has a (very niche) place in my heart
this 💯 %
There has been one (and only one) instance of 2nd person writing that I have actually enjoyed, and it came at the end of Redshirts by Scalzi…. but it also tied very solidly into the novel that preceded it. It also was part of a 3 POV package that he was doing to wrap up the end so it also fulfilled a 2ndary (ha – unintended pun) purpose with that.
But i wouldn’t have bought just that portion and without the rest around it, it wouldn’t have floated on its own but it did stick in my mind
I can deal with present tense, but second person? hard pass.
I’ve read fanfic that is far more polished and gripping than some traditionally published media. Fanfiction is a starting place for some of the modern literary greats, especially for women, LGBTQ+ folks, and BIPOC who don’t get as much support from creative writing professors and traditional publishing. Seanan McGuire got her start in fanfic as well as Naomi Novik and many, many others. It is a font of creativity and experimentation. I encourage you to not to dismiss fanfic writers and fanfic. They are on their way to becoming the upcoming Hugo and Nebula award winners, one second-person fic at a time.
N K Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy is written in 2nd person. When you find out why, it hits HARD. I’ve never had a series make me cry so much.
+1
SO WORTH IT
+1000 in the feels
I also loved the book in the trilogy that bounce between tenses because it was different characters in different points in time – (iirc cuz it’s been awhile) current Mom story in 2nd, concurrent daughter in 3rd, and past ancestor in 1st. It was a good narrative device for the book.
I see I should have read the comments before posting similar items.
I will note I have read books where both past, present, or switching worked. And one where second person worked… However, it should be noted that the second person was not for whole book.
I thought maybe present tense was a convention for certain genres. I feel like I see it more in paranomal and urban sci-fi.
I’m more of a past-tense girl myself, so present takes a bit of an adjustment. It felt weird at first, but I’m getting used to it. I did run across a book (a historical of all things) that was present progressive. Present progressive, people. I just couldn’t. Could. NOT.
As always, thanks for indulging our curiousity about all the various and assorted things.
You might think I’m strange, but I liked the Snippet. Sure, she might know at that moment she may not experience the supernatural ever again, but then again…no one really knows the future.
+1
I liked the snippet too! Am I the only one who saw this as her origin story? The blurb could go like this:
After an encounter with a supernatural creature, Janna realizes that some problems require magical solutions and she is determined to meet this one head on. Left emotionally raw in the aftermath of thwarting a nightmare creature, the formerly-care-free Janna seeks out other survivors. Plagued by nightmares of the creature that bespelled her -and driven by the knowledge that life is deep and so are it’s mysteries, Janna seeks to unravel what happened to her and reconcile her craving for freedom with her fear of what lies hidden in the dark before she becomes undone herself.
+1
I did enjoy that short, but I have to say I’m glad you don’t typically write that way. Too shivery for me.
As for the tenses used, can’t say I’ve actually noticed. I’ll have to pay attention! The only thing that typically bothers me is really poor copy editing or badly misused words. If it’s bad enough to break me out of the story, then I often don’t finish.
I respect the effort that it takes to write a book, but there are a few things I don’t like in the mechanics of how a book is written – present tense, second person POV and constantly shifting POV between characters within a chapter*. None of those will stop me from starting a book but, probably unfairly, it means I hold the book to a higher standard in the plot and characters.
* Although I like the “extras” that HA does in writing a chapter or scene from another character’s POV. And, sigh, there are some scenes in the Innkeeper series I’d like to read from Sean’s POV.
I dislike the present tense in fiction as well- unless there is a clear purpose to it. If it’s done really well, sometimes I don’t notice. However, if there is any inconsistency to it, an author going back and forth between tenses drives me absolutely crazy.
I’m an English teacher, so I guess it’s a job hazard to run into this a lot.
I *can* give this insight: standard practice in English writing instruction is to have students write formal essays in present tense. I think it bleeds into any other writing they do, because I’ve seen it in the creative writing classes I teach (along with the maddening tense switching). I think the natural result of that is just more novels being written in the present tense.
Plus, students are getting less formal grammar instruction. The current trend is to avoid doing grammar instruction in its own unit, and do it “naturally” along with whatever other projects are happening in class. I have mixed feelings about that. I hate teaching grammar, but I feel like direct grammar instruction helps students understand grammatical consistency and how it aids reader understanding. I get how SAE instruction can also reinforce prejudices and stereotypes, which I don’t like. AAVE is a legitimate way of using the language, too, with its own rules for consistency, and as long as we understand each other, who really cares?
I just want my students to use apostrophes and capitalize things correctly, darn it! (and pick one verb tense for their writing that they can stick with).
In social media and internet communication in general, writing happens in all lower case, because it’s about flow. Then we switch to formal writing and the other set of rules and have to remember all the capitals. I’m not even really a young’un and it still hurts!
This has been an issue for awhile… I’m 27 and didn’t have any formal grammar lessons past maybe elementary school. I learned in terms of “don’t do x” and the actual theory behind it didn’t stick.
When people start talking about clauses, tenses, and similar I feel like a barbarian.
When the narration takes attention away from the story, that’s too much. Different approaches work for different plots from different people. I prefer the standard past tense, but I’ve read stories in other modes that worked for the particular story.
When Ilona says ‘at your own risk’, I think I will give it a pass until I’m in a much better mood.
Present tense is getting more and more common and i have strong oppositional feelings to it. I can’t stay in it. There’s only one series (duology really) that I become all engrossed in, but i have read most of everything else that author has put out extensively and started with the audio.
Other authors that I have followed for decades put out a present tense book/series and I can’t get past the preview chapter without putting it down. I’ve managed to struggle through the first 10 chapters, taking about 2 weeks to get there before i just skipped to the end to find out what happened and never touched the series again. Still don’t know how the series ended.
Past tense is how you tell a story to a friend. Present tense is supposed to be about how you’re experiencing it first hand, but this has led me to believe that I don’t think in present tense. I do the things but I don’t micro-analyze every part of the action or event as it is happening, just when I reflect on it later.
That’s an interesting point! Maybe it’s done to address our ever-shortening attention spans and make it more cinematic. Written for the audience who watches.
This explanation ‘sounds right’… but is frustrating for the audience who reads! Thank you for putting the question out there; it’s really interesting to read everyone’s take on it.
Perfect description! What a great question!
Excellent point you make. One criticism I’ve encountered is that in a mystery you always know the main character lives. Once he didn’t–it made for an abrupt ending.
Only the Andy Carpenter audiobooks enable me to stay unaware of present tense.
Ooh that was good!
Loved the short story. For so many reasons. Not a fan of scary stuff, but this is just the right amount of scary. Thank you for sharing it!
I looked up writing in the present tense since dinking coffee, reading books, and googling odd things are my super powers. The examples presented were like reading the classic kindergarten primers Janet & Mark, or Dick & Jane. I remember them unfondly because those books were the worst kind of dull.
I find myself wondering if the authors of present tense books lack the ability tell a story from a main character’s personal point of view. Maybe they just can’t see events through another persons perspective. Since it is a lot of work to create believable characters with strengths and flaws, creating meaningful interactions with other characters would be a stretch if a writer is that limited. All that to say, present tense writing falls flat for me.
I have read many excellent books written in present tense where the characters are very fleshed out and the story is rich with character interactions. Holly Black wrote an fabulous series about the Fae in present tense, a recent series I’ve started reading about a dragon war college is in present tense, and even the Hunger Games was written in present tense. It is very popular in YA fiction.
I read Holly Black’s ‘The Cruel Prince’, ‘The Wicked King’, and the rest of the series. It was nice, but I didn’t feel as immersed in the the story or as invested in the characters as I do when I read books written from the main characters pov like in the Innkeeper Series, the Kate Daniels novels, or the Mercy Thompson series. It’s just a matter of writing style and of personal preference. It doesn’t matter if first person falls a little flat for me, what matters is that there is wonderous variety and we’re all bound to find something that suits if we keep trying new things.
You were right. Kind of creepy. A male Rusalka
I really loved the short story. But I also read a lot of speculative fiction anthologies so the darkness and strangeness of the story held me. And you are correct, a lot of those do stay with me long after I’ve read them.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of ash to get rid of ghosts before, is it a Russian thing?
It’s not entirely a “ghost” in the traditional western supernatural lore understanding 😊.
In Eastern European belief, there are oneiric-erotic visitations by people who have recently died, who can latch onto someone living and drain them. The person gets gradually sick, anemic and listless, gets bruises and reports with what we would call night terrors and sleep paralysis in the modern world. The more their life power decreases, the more powerful and corporeal their tormenter.
The apparitions can be as seductive as they are terrifying, so it’s not always the victim who speaks out against them, or even want to get rid of them. The visitations often happen with teenagers: a behaviour of secrecy, moodiness and sexual awakening doesn’t always stand out, and they can be easily swayed to fall in love with their tormenter. The family or community intervenes and various rituals involving ash are performed. I’m the most familiar with Romanian tradition, where these creatures are called Zburator (the Flyer), and if the dead person who is doing it was identified, they were exhumed, their heart incinerated and the ash given to the victim to drink.
Think of it more as something between an Incubus and a vampire, but not a demon like the Incubus and not feeding on blood like the vampire- more an energetic vampire. Mary above called it a “male Rusalka”- the undead evil Rusalka versions, not the water nymph sort.
It reminds me of the Lasher character from the Mayfair Witches. I’m loved the darkness of the short story.
I absolutely refuse to read anything written in the present tense. It’s too jarring and I read for pleasure, not frustration.
The Hunger Games Trilogy was written in first person, present tense and was hugely popular, which maybe opened the doors for other authors in using it more in their writing. Tense and POV do not really bother me if the story is well crafted, but I know a lot of people who have strong preferences. Working in a library, I am often asked for book suggestions and some readers tell me immediately if I suggest a book that doesn’t meet their liking for tense or POV.
I have a “theory” that present tense is more popular now because audience today is used to computer games, and social media etc and present tense gives a “gamy” feeling. Movies novedays have also different feel and narration than few decads ago. Personally I do not like it as it feels somehow more chaotic for my brain.
You are very right! Movies made in the 90s seem sooooo slooooow. We definitely get to the inciting incident monkey a lot quicker there days.
yes! and they are more action oriented bombarding audience with fast flashing sequences. I dont find them so emotionally rewarding like older movies – there is more adrenaline flowing but less emphaty and emotional attachement – for me anyway but mabey its only my age 🙃 I stopped going to cinema some years ago ….
Interesting thought. That definitely makes sense.
I love when present tense perspective is used on purpose! I’ve read quite a few books, where it was used to discriminate between different POV – both different characters or different mental states of one character.
That being said, I don’t remember ever reading a book written only in first person perspective. That doesn’t sound encouraging…
Absolutely loved the short! Slavic themes are the best!
I took Russian and Russian Lit in college. One day my roommate came home and found me laid out on the couch. She asked what was wrong. My response: “I don’t know. I just feel down.” Her retort: “I bet if you stopped reading all those Russian novels you’d feel better.” 🤣
I was a Russian Studies major in college and took an intensive Russian Lit course over the summer one year. I spent several days in a melancholy funk after reading Ivan Turgenev’s A NEST OF THE GENTRY. He’s my favorite Russian author but ooh boy his stories can be depressing.
Thank you!
Present tense for me feels very much like gossip sometimes. “She walks into the room and she says, “Oh my god, you would not believe what just happened to me…And she’s standing there, staring at me…” which can maybe feel easier for some writers because it’s how they’d tell a story to their friend?
But I am a strong past tense fan myself. Deep first or third. I tend to bounce off of about half of the present tense books I read if not more.
I can’t and won’t read anything written in first person present tense. I usually don’t make it past the first paragraph. I don’t know why anyone would write like that. It seems like it would be much harder.
I used to dislike reading present tense, and I shuddered at first person, present tense, but in hindsight, it was, for me, likely more a matter of habit. At least I got more used to it until I no longer mind either way. Each have their own strength and weaknesses.
I have no clue why we’re seeing more and more present tense, though. Maybe it’s just part of the ever-evolving writing style? That’s of course not to say writers and readers can’t have their own preferences and stick to them. 🙂
that was a very very cool story… the fear, the temptation, the legends….
yeah snippet! the bdh is satiated for today
I’m an editor and grammar nerd who also writes books, and I love present tense for narratives written in first-person perspective. These books tend to include more conversational language in their narration, such as idiomatic phrases and declarations of universal truths, that can sound very “off” when written in past tense. I’ve seen so many authors switch to present tense in their prose for just one such phrase or sentence because in these cases, it’s better to be inconsistent than to sound “off” to the average reader.
This doesn’t really bother me when I’m reading (I’m a very forgiving reader), but it absolutely kills me when I’m writing or editing to have to choose between two bad options or do avoidance gymnastics in cases like this. So, I’m happy to see more books written in present tense. It’s just so much more functional in some (not all) cases!
Wow- what a remarkable story. Very Russian indeed. I love the challenge of the central choice.
I really didn’t like present tense and it used to put me off certain books. I mostly noticed it with YA books. But then I powered through so I could read a couple that I REALLY wanted to read and now I think I don’t even notice anymore.
Present tense is suppose to be more active or “immediate”. The theory is that it will “engage” the reader to make them feel like they are seeing or living the events in real time. The past tense is suppose to be a hold over for campfire story telling and is the standard way many are used to reading stories. There are published that won’t even consider a story in present tense, but I have also seen it from traditional publishing houses.
I’m a traditionalist. I want my third-person, past-tense prose. Often, I can do well with a first-person, past-tense because it sounds like someone telling me about something that happened to them. (“No shit, there I was when…”)
Something that is first-person/present-tense had better be darn good at resonating with me (as me) or such a strong voice that it sounds like the person is talking directly to me about their experiences as they happen. Which doesn’t work well/very often.
I admit, there was a Hugo-nominated horror story that was *second-person* present-tense that stuck sideways in my head for a long, long time. oooof. Congrats to the author on making that one memorable and no way do I ever want to do that again.
I read through the comments. I was particularly interested in the commenter who said that they tell stories to their friends in past tense.
I know that my senses/perceptions criss cross more than most (gasoline smells dark dark gray for instance), but when I really get into a story I am telling I start talking in present tense. I guess I become a little unmoored from time. I am in some ways a time traveler reliving an instant.
I don’t mind tenses as long as they are consistent, but a story told in present tense maybe feels a bit more adrift from the real world? I use books to cut myself off from the world, so it only helps me. 🤷♀️
First person, present tense is my least favourite form of narration. Feelings of irritation not immediacy.
I must not have a preference for the tense since I’ve not really paid attention to it while reading.
Thank you for sharing the story. Whether it was an unhappy ending is a matter of perspective, which does make you think at least for a little while.
I liked the short fic although it’s not a topic I would actively choose. However, I’m willing to follow you into almost any rabbit hole!
Present tense requires a certain finesse to pull off, and when not done well enough somehow gives the same sense as that of an unreliable narrator. It’s jarring.
I’ve read traditionally published works in present tense since the Early 90’s. I would argue it was more common in YA than other genres since most of the urban fantasy of the late 80’s early 90’s was not present tense.
I hate present tense. I think it makes stories harder to read. It will stop me buying a book. If I read the first page and it’s present tense I won’t buy the book. I also think it’s harder to write well.
With the caveat that if the protagonist is in a situation where they analyse their lives second by second it makes sense. So I think it can work well in dystopian novels.
oh I hate present tense books so much.
loved the short story!
I absolutely love the story!
I like things that make me use my imagination, after all, life is full of choices and paths not taken.
Fixed 🙂
It is indeed confusing to go with present tense. I feel discombobulated when reading fiction stated in that tense.
As for present tense, which I don’t like either: I read somewhere that it was supposedly more appealing to young adults who ‘didn’t have a connection to the past’. Which seemed like one really weird theory to me. But it is true that particularly YA novels are very often in the present tense these days, and I wonder if that’s the thinking behind some of them. It usually keeps me from buying them, even if the story as such appeals to me, and that’s a pity.
I find present tense really annoying and admit to barely making it past page one if I find a book is in present tense when reading a sample. Certainly won’t buy it! Much prefer past tense. I also hate the multiple POVs and frequent switches between. I lose track!!
I tried writing a vague or unhappy ending a couple of times for magazines that wanted something that wasn’t HEA. What I discovered is that I didn’t like writing them any more than reading them! I mean, while learning to write I tried a few styles and efforts. But I think that is how writers figure out their voice and what they really want to write. It’s changed some over the years or perhaps just shifted into a “More of” technique.
I don’t like present tense and I have no idea why writers use it. It is much harder to read and inevitably, it seems to switch to past tense in places and then back to present making it even more difficult to read. I tried writing it once and it kind of works for a short story if you pretend you’re right there doing x. But more than anything writing is a habit of disciplines so perhaps it’s what a particular writer started with, learned and therefor stuck with it? I don’t know. But selling books and stories is hard. I truly believe writing in present tense is a more difficult sell.
Also Polaris Rising was a very fun book! I enjoyed it a lot!
I won’t read unhappy endings. I was scared for life when I read a book by Charlotte something, heroine was linked with hero’s mind for emotions. He was standard romance but became darker ( committing sort of bad Robin Hood crimes) and then at the end he died while linked with heroine. I checked the ending of every new author to be sure never happened again. Over 60 years ago and I still remember my rage at the author.
I think the use of present tense may reflect the way in which time or reality itself is a thematic element in a book. For example, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is written in present tense, I suspect, because the character is immortal, no one remembers her for more than twenty-four hours, so every day is a perpetual deja vu for her. In a novel about time travel, the use of present tense might reflect the instability of the relationship between past and present. Otherwise, it can add a sense of immediacy or suspense. A character narrating an event in past tense has clearly survived whatever they’re describing, unless it’s a story told by a ghost.
All your work is beautifully written, but the story you shared is exquisite.
+1
I think present tense and past tense work differently for my expectations from the read. if it’s in past tense, it’s a story (a history) of something that has happened and is being described to me now. I may be unsettling at some points, but in general it’s over one way or another. When it’s in the present tense, it’s not completed yet, and even though I logically know that the book is written and the story is done, it creates a more unsettled feeling for me. and since I read for comfort, I don’t like that and I am also more likely to drop such book.
I admit that present tense is a bit harder for me to read, too, but I absolutely loved the Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, which was written in present tense. Same with Iron Flame, which I’m reading now.
After the initial “shock” of present tense, though, I tend to settle into it and after a few pages forget about it. Of course, it depends on the book. 😊
Present tense makes a book more dramatic, I think, and often pushes a book over into melodrama which is why I don’t care for it. Also, and this may just be me being cynical, it seems like first person present tense would be easier to write, especially if you’re not picky about writing distinctive character voices.
After reading other comments, yes, present tense is like video games, especially first person present tense.