According to the UK Guardian, Philip Pullman (author of the books that inspired The Golden Compass) has been complaining about a trend in fiction that even I noticed this summer. Has Present-Tense Narration Really Taken Over Fiction? It’s an intriguing question, but not something worth getting your panties in a wad over. Yes, if you browse popular fiction right now, you’ll find a shocking number written in the present tense. A few I picked up this summer include The Book Thief, I Am The Messenger, and The Hunger Games Trilogy. All bestsellers. Even Wolf Hall (which I have not read), winner of the Man Booker Prize this year, is written in present tense.
As all trends do, this affection for the present will eventually fade back into the gray evening for another time and another generation. Meanwhile, why bash authors for “jumping on the band wagon”? If you want to sell your book, you need to give the audience what they want. Play to the market (within reason). Right now, they seem to want present tense narration.
If it works…if it doesn’t hinder your story, why not?
I find it amusing how much people bitch in the literary world. Quite a bit of hatred for things. Reminds me of the scary mommy movement out there that likes to tell new moms how horrible they are for not breastfeeding or not using cloth diapers or not doing at home births. Seriously, get over yourselves.
Ok, I admit…I’m just as guilty when it comes to the harsh attitude prevalent in the literary society, but I’ve been trying to pull back and assess why it is I act that way. Often it’s just pointless and mean. It shouldn’t be about whether present tense or first person or adverbs are used, but about the quality of the writing itself, the quality of the storytelling, whether you’re entertained. Sometimes the only way to tell a story is in present tense. Sometimes the best choice is first person. And a few adverbs never bothered me.
I was someone who turned their nose up to present tense until this summer. Now I find myself joining the crowd, using it in my own novel. Whether it is the best choice, I’m still uncertain, but next week it faces the grueling light of workshop for the first time. I’m certain the haters in my class will hate it, appropriately or not, but I’m curious to see if the more open minded writers will approve or put it up for revision.
Did you read any novels using present tense this summer? Did it bother you and why?
By Tattooed JJ
Some reasons why present tense may work for you:
- Pulls reader into the mind of the narrator
- Creates a sense of urgency
- Allows reader to feel like she is participating
- Helps you avoid the passive voice
September 16th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I would argue that a writer shouldn’t follow a trend just to give the audience what it wants or to try to land a publishing deal.
First, by the time you write and revise the thing and are finally ready to attempt publication, the trend has likely already passed (and, by then, is full of people who wrote bad stuff just to fit the trend, which makes everyone sick to death of it). Second, when writers attempt a certain POV/style/structure merely to try to fit a current publishing trend, it usually shows.
I’m certainly not saying you fit that mold — it sounds like you’re doing what comes naturally to the book. Personally, I have no problem with present tense, past tense, first person, third person, second person, etc., as long as it works for the story, convinces me, and interests me. If it’s done authentically and it works, then I’ll go along for the ride.
Oh, and writers who throw hissy fits about present tense novels being shortlisted for an award, or announcing they refuse to read present tense novels at all? I can’t get behind that.
September 17th, 2010 at 11:22 am
I agree that a trend may no longer be “in” by the time of publication. But I still don’t think it is fair to bash a writer for using trends to get published – within reason (as I said before). When I say that I mean that if you use a trend it should be because it works with your story, not against it. Nothing to complain about if you pull it off. In the books that I read this summer using the present tense trend, each pulled it off extremely well. So I think we can agree – don’t join the trend just because, but if it works for your piece, go for it and ignore the Pullmans of the world.
October 29th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
There are two things I rarely hear mentioned in a book review: tense and point of view. And what a shame we don’t talk about it more!
I think it matters far less to the reader than it does to the writer. Perhaps the tense, like point of view, is something that affects how the writer gets into the character’s head, or walks through the scene.
I was recently at a workshop where the presenter said he changed from first person to third person because the original draft was “too sarcastic.” I found myself wondering why he didn’t just make it less sarcastic… but who am I to interfere with another’s creative process!