Comments on: Present Tenses and Unhappy Endings

By: cy

cy — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 05:26:54 +0000

It’s interesting! On the contrary, most Chinese novels were written in present tense, including the ones translated from past tense English novels .

By: jewelwing

jewelwing — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 01:33:26 +0000

In reply to PamG. 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.

By: Cec

Cec — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 19:19:59 +0000

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.

By: Grace Draven

Grace Draven — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 20:53:11 +0000

In reply to Brooke. 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.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:39:31 +0000

In reply to Siobhan. Agree completely with both of you. I suspect I'm showing my age

By: PamG

PamG — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:46:11 +0000

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.

By: Vonnie

Vonnie — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 14:17:53 +0000

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

By: Aidee

Aidee — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 05:36:56 +0000

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!