Mini writing workshop: Should you write in present tense or past tense?

Welcome to the mini writing workshop! This is a weekly post that provides bite-sized tips and examples for fiction writers.

This workshop session is about whether to write in present tense or past tense. Both choices have their merits. But which one is right for your story or novel?

Topic of the day: Should you write in present tense or past tense?

The answer is: It really doesn't matter. Just kidding. It does matter, and we will explore that, but writing in present tense or past tense is essentially a matter of personal preference. I use both, depending upon the type of story I'm writing and the mood I want to convey.

I like the solid feeling of past tense. It feels more grounded and full of truth. But I also like present tense and its feeling of the now, as if everything is unfolding before your eyes. A quick survey of all of my most recent stories reveals that I gravitate toward past tense, but the choice is somewhat arbitrary.

For example, here's the opening paragraph of my most recent micro-fiction story, "Day's End":

The wastrels were dragging something along the beach. Mindy and I hid in the tall grass. It seemed we were always hiding.

If I had chosen to write it in present tense, it would go like this:

The wastrels are dragging something along the beach. Mindy and I hide in the tall grass. It seems we are always hiding.

Is one better than the other? In general, I don't think so. In this case, however, the fact that I'm trying to build tension right away from the opening line suggests that present tense would have been just as valid a choice. Let's look at some considerations.

The merits of past tense

Writing in past tense is the tried-and-true method. Far more writers use past tense than present tense.

Why it works:

• Most readers feel immediately comfortable reading a story written in past tense (whereas present tense feels awkward to some readers).
• Past tense lends the story an air of authority. And this is something we should always aim to achieve: authority in narrative that helps the reader to suspend disbelief. We want to remove any barriers between the reader and the story.
• It is far easier to navigate through time when writing in past tense. If you want to explore something that happened yesterday or last year in a flashback, it is much easier to do so if your entire story is told in past tense.
• Past tense is easier to master, and in general is a better choice for new writers.

The merits of present tense

Present tense can have a sense of immediacy that makes the reader feel involved in the story.

Why it works:

• Present tense tends to feel like it's all happening right this minute, and like we are living it now, not being told about something that has already happened.
• It is well-suited to a story that occurs over minutes, hours, or days. (Longer periods of time and the deep past become more challenging.)
• It is an excellent choice when you want to create a particular ambiance to your story, such as a feeling of speed, immediacy, or tension.
• Present tense works well in short stories, and is a little more challenging to do well in a novel. That said, there are many novels written in present tense. In fact the novel I'm reading now, We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart, is in present tense, and is told over a series of summers.

Famous novels in present tense, with excerpts

It's very easy to find novels written in past tense. Since present tense is a little less common, let's look at some examples.

Rabbit Run, by John Updike

Boys are playing basketball around a telephone pole with a backboard bolted to it. Legs, shouts. The scrape and snap of Keds on loose alley pebbles seems to catapult their voices high into the moist March air blue above the wires.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.

The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them.

The Sun Is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon

I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

If you are planning to write a novel in present tense, you might want to think through the timeline of the story, and try writing pieces of various chapters to see how it will flow in present tense. If it seems extra challenging to maintain present tense, try writing some of those same passages in past tense. In other words, if it's going to slow your progress, or the storytelling is going to be awkward in present tense, find that out early on when it's easy to change course.

That's it for this week's mini writing workshop. Thanks for reading!

Want to work with writers and editors to improve your writing? @tanglebranch runs "writers workout" workshops each week in The Writers' Block on Discord.

The writing workshop collection

You can browse my entire collection of writing workshop posts in the links below.

Mini workshop series

Short posts on specific writing topics:

• Mini writing workshop: Must your character do that? (About writing tics and character pet peeves)
• Mini writing workshop: What's it all about? (About story lines)
• Mini writing workshop: Must we fight? (About conflict in fiction writing)
• Mini writing workshop: What's the point? (About making things happen)
• Mini writing workshop: What prompted that? (About writing from prompts)
• Mini writing workshop: Who said that? (Tips for writing dialog)

Mini workshops in 50-word prompt posts

Brief workshops, typically 3-5 paragraphs, at the top of 50-word short story challenge posts:

• Mini writing workshop on "tense"
• Mini writing workshop on the editing process (with a walkthrough example)
• Mini writing workshop on taking time to write
• Mini writing workshop on the power of editing
• Mini writing workshop on critique
• Mini writing workshop on fixing punctuation errors
• Mini writing workshop on mainstream publishing (with a resource for 50-word story authors)
• Mini writing workshop on voice and language (as compared to the importance of plot)
• Mini writing workshop about becoming a great writer
• Mini writing workshop on contests and challenges
• Mini writing workshop on what makes a story a story
• Mini writing workshop on demystifying story writing
• Mini writing workshop on 50-word short story writing process
• Mini writing workshop on the steps for writing 50-word stories
• Mini writing workshop on micro-fiction and writing succinctly
• Mini writing workshop on the "why" of writing
• Mini writing workshop on the challenge of micro-fiction

In-depth workshop posts

The original writing workshop series:

• Writing workshop volume 1: The beginning
• Writing workshop volume 2: Exploring voice in writing
• Writing workshop volume 3: Say what you want to say
• Writing workshop volume 4: Serial fiction projects on Steemit
• Writing workshop volume 5: Getting organized and actually writing
• Writing workshop volume 6: Tips for writing anywhere, anytime
• Writing workshop volume 7: Should you write historical fiction?
• Writing workshop volume 8: Prompts, contests and challenges - oh my!
• Writing workshop volume 9: Pushing through insecurity and writing anyway
• Writing workshop volume 10: Perspective and POV in fiction writing
• Writing workshop volume 11: Second person point of view in fiction
• Writing workshop volume 12: How to write your character's background
• Writing workshop volume 13: What to do with all these voices in my head?
• Writing workshop volume 14: Write your story from a logline
• Writing workshop volume 15: Three tips for improving your fiction
• Writing workshop volume 16: How to accept criticism on your fiction writing

Thank you, as always, for reading, following, upvoting, connecting, HODL'ing, resteeming, laughing, sharing, and being you.

Note: The image is sourced from Pixabay.

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