WIP challenge - day 10 check

[lullabymoon]

Apologies about missing yesterday, I'd lose my head if it wasn't screwed on at the moment.

Poll #7739

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

View Respondents

What were your ficcish achievements today?

View Answers

Wrote
6 (75.0%)

Edited
4 (50.0%)

Posted
2 (25.0%)

Researched
0 (0.0%)

Betad
0 (0.0%)

Other
1 (12.5%)

If you wrote, how many words did you achieve?

View Answers

0-249
2 (28.6%)

250-499
1 (14.3%)

500-749
1 (14.3%)

750-999
1 (14.3%)

1000 or more
2 (28.6%)

 

Today's discussion topic comes from ficwriter1966 : What are your thoughts on the recent trend of using present tense in fic? Have you tried it and loved it/hated it? Do you like/hate reading fic written in the present tense?

Comments

[jagnikjen]

I'm not a big fan of present tense. I've read my whole life (@ 35+ of reading years) in past tense. I find it sort of odd. When it's done so well you don't really notice it that's one thing. But when a mediocre writer tries to use an unusual tense (or other out of the ordinary format or POV or whatever)--well that's just begging for trouble.

I don't do it and I generally won't read it.

[ficwriter1966]

Seems like, an unskilled writer using *any* kind of style is begging for trouble. I've seen some truly hair-raising stuff - both in fic, and in the e-books that are being self-published. What bothers me the most in a present-tense story is when the writer forgets they're doing it, and merrily flip-flops between present and past. I see that quite a bit.

[mexta]

I see people say that they really hate present tense writing, and I don't really get why. I actually really like it myself, though I often don't notice it at first. In fact, I wrote a story myself in present tense without even realizing I'd done it until someone commented asking why I'd chosen that style! I guess there are probably times when it doesn't work well, but for me, stories told that way just seem to flow really well -- so well that I don't notice the present tense until I stop and think about it.

I'm a bit mystified by reader's reactions both to present tense and to first-person POV - I hear people say they dislike both and I don't really get it in either case.

[meridian_rose]

Re First person POV; I think it can work really well, but that it depends on how you take to the character.
I read the Vampire Chronicles without any issues, each of which is told first person from a different character's POV. However - and I think having watched 'True Blood' with its large cast of characters and their stories, which interest me as much/more than the Sookie stuff - when I read the Charlaine Harris novels, I find myself a bit irritated with having everything revolve around Sookie and what she thinks and does...

I'd never say it's wrong or annoying as a style however. Not at all. Same for present tense fic :D

[meridian_rose]

I don't use it often - sometimes I start a draft in present tense and change it later, once the story takes form. I think it's okay when done well; I also think it works better with short pieces. I think second person POV is harder to read for any length of time, though I did manage to read 'A Song of Stone' which was largely written as such.

I once had someone review a fic I'd written in present tense and tell me I should have written it in the past tense. This was a short piece, written as a missing scene, and described canon events around the extra material with some additional insights from the character's POV. To me, it was one of the best times to write in present tense, and added to the immediacy and intensity of the fic - as well as making it seem more 'canonical' than it might otherwise seem.

[jagnikjen]

For someone to say you should write it this way versus that way is ridiculous. It's your story for pete's sake. You can write any tense or 'person' you want.

[ficwriter1966]

Thanks for using my question!

I've found myself using present tense more and more over the last couple of years - for short pieces it seems to make the story more confined and immediate, and I like that narrowing of focus. I did write a long piece using present tense and that didn't seem to work as well.

It does seem to be something that's grown more and more popular amongst fanfic writers, and even in pro work - I've read a couple of novels written that way. The one part of it that becomes awkward in a longer work is the tense-switching that's required when referring to something that's already happened. That's tricky, and I've seen it handled both well and poorly.

[rebecca2525]

Tense-switching to past events is awkward in past tense, too, because then theoretically you'd have to stay in past perfect for a longer time which is tedious.

[littlebutfierce]

I posted a fic, wooooooooo! & wrote a snippet on a new one.

I really like present tense in some cases -- both as a reader & as a writer, sometimes it really serves to make things feel more present & immediate. Especially w/porn, but w/non-explicit stuff as well. I think it can intensify things if used well.

[curuchamion]

I did not write today. I'm on a reading kick. (39 books from the library, wow.)

I'll write in present tense if I feel the story wants it. I've been doing that a lot lately, actually. My last story, I used present tense because I was starting with two limited-third action sequences and I wanted to get the reader closer to "inside the POV character's head" without using first- or (ack) second-person narration.

[rebecca2525]

Yesterday I finished reading the essay about the play my story is base on and took A LOT of notes. Other than that I don't think I'll work much more on my fic before I'm off for holidays. Which isn't that bad, because then I can start editing with a bit of distance once I'm back. I did do quite a bit of canon review today, which never hurts, although I did it mainly to have something to listen to while doing housework, not so much for my fic. :)

I sometimes write in present tense, but that's mostly in fics that are more of a missing scene or a short moment than a complete story. It feels a bit less substantial. Most of the times I stick to past tense. As for other people's writing--I don't care much if it's done well and fits with everything else.

[lacerta]

After satisfyingly solving title woes, I got to post, yay! Will now doodle a little with the kink bingo fill before going to bed.

I don't mind much whether something's written in present or past tense as long as it doesn't switch midway. As for writing, I mostly prefer present tense. But then again, my favourite way of writing is also second person narrative, so I might be a bit odd.

[katzenjamming]

It's my third day in a row working on the idfic. It's been rather refreshing, writing without the pressure of knowing I'm going to show this to other people! Plus, it's been so damn hot hereabouts, and I've been behind on studying so I haven't been able to get my head into a place to write anything decent.

Before I dove back into fanfiction about a year ago, writing in present tense never even occurred to me. At first, it was rather jarring, though now I find I can appreciate it in certain contexts. I tend to like it when it's used for a short, confined, "in the moment" kind of scene; the ones that tend to involve a lot of emotion and/or sensory input. I've written two in the present tense, I think? If I'm writing a shorter one-shot, I sometimes test out both tenses to see which seems more "right". Like the POV debate, I'm sure they both have their pros and cons, and often come down to a matter of taste for the writer and reader.

[lea_hazel]

I am working on sussing out the long-term direction of my WIP. I think pretty soon I'll know how many chapters I need to finish.

Present tense is really good for establishing fear of the unknown. It's not a coincidence that it shows up a lot in horror and video game fandoms. Or horror video games. Writing a story where you don't know where the next thing will jump out at you from doesn't work very well in past tense, because it makes it seem like the narrator is stringing along the readers. For the reader to get the sense that the narrator is just as scared/confused as they are, present tense is the only way to go. Oh! Also ontological mysteries, because a character who does not know who or what they are can't speak in past tense.

I think sometimes people read almost exclusively limited third, past tense, and it starts to seem like that's the only right way for a story to be written. At least, I feel like that's the direction I'm going in, sometimes. That's why I need to read a lot of different formats and voices. Reading older stories, like fables or folklore, is great to break this pattern. Conversely, choose your own adventure stories also achieve the same.

[lacygrey]

I made a spreadsheet of the scenes (in what ever state of completion) I have and those I'm missing for the Big bang/Blind Go. Im doing quite well, but I think the ending is going to be a stinker to work out/write.

I like present tense. It feels immediate. Though finding both present and past attrative makes if difficult to choose what to use.

The times when I don't enjoy reading the present tense is when events prior to the story are described at length in the past perfect and it feels clumsy.