My default is past tense but I use present tense sometimes, mostly for shorter fics. I don't really choose these things, it's just how the fic works out.
That said, I have changed some fics that started out as present tense fics to past tense. I find it works better for a longer fic.
Is something wrong with the present tense? *is confused*
I use present tense a lot in short snippets and one shots. It's very immediate and I like that about it! But for long stories, with multiple chapters, I pretty much have to use past tense. It feels right, probably because almost all books are written that way.
I can very easily switch between tenses though, which is very frustrating if I'm writing something in installments. Because I'll start a peice in present (or past) and be called away, and invariably when I go back to it, my brain insists on writing it in THE OTHER tense that I was not using previously. Silly brain!
For reading, I don't really notice it? It's just... there. It's not like first person which I generally loathe.
Now, if a person can't stay consistent--that's a problem.
As for writing, sometimes present is exactly what the fic has to be (in my head). Other times, it feels stilted that way, so I shift. Both of them have their own headaches--especially if I'm having one of those days where I switch tenses too much.
But I do agree that the longer-chaptered fics are usually best as past tense.
I do use the present tense quite a bit in shorter works but have also tried it out in my longer story Always There (and Sam Lied - I think? :/ ) , but I've found that in longer works it takes a lot of concentration to keep it so - I think my brain naturally wants to add an 'ed' at points :)
I'm keen to start a multi chapter first person AU in the present tense, but I think I need to finish other things first, hee! XD
Like others, I tend to use present in short things (especially porn) and past for long. Part of that is that longer stories are more complicated, and I find that past/past perfect/etc all work together more seamlessly in my head, where the same constructions in something that's overall present tense feel more... awkward. I suppose it's just more familiar, but I find I have to THINK a lot more about what the specific verb form should be in present tense stories where I rarely have to worry about it in past.
I find present tense to be a mixed bag. I almost exclusively like reading/writing it for action and smut fics—the urgency really helps sell the scene. When used in any other way...I'm about 50/50 on the resulting quality.
When I write... Sometimes, a story just *demands* to be written in the present tense (though I find it mostly happens with shorter stories, at least for me. I've already read novel-length stories written in the present tense and it didn't bug me). On the other hand, I've tried to force myself to write a story in the present tense once, and I had to go back and change it to past tense because it just didn't feel right.
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rose_griffes) wrote2011-10-30 10:56 am
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That said, I have changed some fics that started out as present tense fics to past tense. I find it works better for a longer fic.
Is something wrong with the present tense? *is confused*
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I can very easily switch between tenses though, which is very frustrating if I'm writing something in installments. Because I'll start a peice in present (or past) and be called away, and invariably when I go back to it, my brain insists on writing it in THE OTHER tense that I was not using previously. Silly brain!
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Now, if a person can't stay consistent--that's a problem.
As for writing, sometimes present is exactly what the fic has to be (in my head). Other times, it feels stilted that way, so I shift. Both of them have their own headaches--especially if I'm having one of those days where I switch tenses too much.
But I do agree that the longer-chaptered fics are usually best as past tense.
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I'm keen to start a multi chapter first person AU in the present tense, but I think I need to finish other things first, hee! XD
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When I write... Sometimes, a story just *demands* to be written in the present tense (though I find it mostly happens with shorter stories, at least for me. I've already read novel-length stories written in the present tense and it didn't bug me). On the other hand, I've tried to force myself to write a story in the present tense once, and I had to go back and change it to past tense because it just didn't feel right.
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