Hi All,

I know there have been a couple of threads already about writing in the present tense, and the conclusions seemed to be that it is probably best to avoid it; however, I'm currently working on revisions to my first novel and am thinking of framing it with the protagonist in the here and now (present tense) looking back on events that happened twenty years earlier.

This would only man about four to five shortish sections in the whole novel, but in order to establish it, it would mean opening the book in the present tense which is bothering me.

I'm really just thinking out loud here, but any thoughts on this would be very welcome.

All the best

Harry

Harry, I'm wary of present tense usually, for all the reasons that have been thrashed out in previous threads. But I think yours is a classic example of where it can work well, in making those sections have a completely different flavour from the rest, and reinforce the sense of someone looking back to things that happened in the past. I don't think it matters if it opens in present tense at all, since it will become obvious that it's a frame as soon as you move into the main narrative.

The only thing I would say is that you may need to look at the how the two narratives intercut, since there may be tweaks to do in both. The past story now has a context - the present telling of it - which may affect exactly how you tell it. And the present narrative needs to dovetail with the past in some detail, or it will feel stuck-on, rather than an organic part of the whole thing.

Sorry, that's rather obscurely put. I think what I mean is that when someone tells you a story of what happened to them a while ago, you're mostly concentrating on those events, but also aware of how that person is now, and what that tells you about them then, and them now.

Emma

Harry,

Annie Proulx, opens Brokeback Mountain in the present tense with Ennis freezing in a trailer after waking from a dream about Jack. The story then slips into the past tense with Ennis telling their story. It’s about 300 words. It's a very good beginning, check it out.

Dawn

Thanks, guys, that's useful, reassuring stuff.

I'm fairly confident it will work in the way you're suggesting, Emma. But, of course, I won't know until I put it all together.

Thanks for the recommendation, Dawn. I'll go and grab a copy.

All the best

Harry

I think that Margaret Atwood uses present tense really well in some of her work. Check her out as you might get a few tips.

Thanks, DJC. Will do.

Harry

Hi DJC,

do you know which books of margaret's are in the present tense as there are a lot of them.

Thanks,

Brian.