Philip Pullman Is Done With Present Tense

So this happened on Twitter the other day:

It’s possible he came close to saying, “Off with their heads!” a la that obnoxious queen in Alice in Wonderland, but nobody knows anymore if we’re allowed to make guillotine jokes on Twitter.

In other words, if I was making that tweet, I’d be tempted to say, “off with their heads.” Little as we like to admit it — since so many of us write in present tense ourselves these days — we do know exactly what the poor man’s shouting about.

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When Writing Present Tense Goes Terribly Wrong

Haven’t every voracious reader opened one of those “present tense” novels where the choice of tense makes the whole story silly?

Like… a “present tense” historical. Seriously? Or science fiction. This ain’t the twenty-seventh century, Dave.

My pet peeve is the “present tense” contemporary novel that is, nonetheless, set in an identifiable year.

If your novel talks about the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, that is a very specific year. It may have felt like it lasted forever, but it didn’t.

Would you write a plot that revolves around the 9-11 attack on the Twin Towers in present tense?

(Oh, Lord. Maybe some of you would.)

So let’s be real. Pullman isn’t coming out of nowhere with this gripe.

Sometimes, you open a book written in present tense, and “presently,” the book in question is flying across the room to smash itself against the nearest wall.

When you write in past tense, you’ve had the courage as a novelist to say, “This happened.”

When you write in present tense, you never quite say anything so definitive. Things are in flux.

This can be useful in the right place. It can also be irritating.

Use present tense badly, and readers wonder if the writer knows what happened in their own story.

Let’s see if we can work out some guidelines for choosing the best tense for writing your particular story. Spoiler: It’s easier than you think.

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Here’s What Everyone Should Write in Present Tense

Everybody (even Pullman, I betcha) can agree you should be writing these things in present tense:

• Your novel’s blurb and synopsis
• Your screenplay

That’s the convention. That’s what people expect. If that’s what you’re writing, that’s how you write it.

The novel presents more choices and more challenges. It isn’t just the screenplay. It’s the whole production.

You can’t get away with writing nothing but dialogue lightly cut with some sketchy stage directions like, “Exit, pursued by a bear.”

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How Present Tense Can Distance Readers

There’s a popular belief among erotica authors that present tense is more intimate. Um, no? It’s more voyeuristic, but not necessarily more intimate.

Think about it this way. Present tense is the screenplay tense for the perfectly good reason that plays are watched in real time. The voyeuristic nature of stage and screen can be very sensual indeed, but it has a significant downside. You’re not in people’s heads. You must infer emotions from without.

Don’t get me wrong. Lots of perfectly good erotica/erotic romance is written in present tense. But I don’t believe these writers do so well because present tense is better than past tense. I think they’re successful because they’re good writers writing what’s in style.

Other people tell me that fiction written in present tense is faster-paced. The action is more immediate. More go, go, go.

Eh, maybe. Depends on how much like a screenplay the alleged novel really is. If there’s less time spent looking inside, the book may move faster.

But at what cost?

If I’m watching instead of feeling, I might not finish the book. What’s the use of a fast-paced road to nowhere?

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But My Readers Demand Present Tense Books!

Finally, we arrive at the real reason many of us often choose to write in present tense. In some genres, including many pulp genres open to indies, readers strongly prefer it.

Or, even if they don’t especially care, they’ve come to associate it with the fast-paced, pulpy, lighter reads they’re looking for.

As far as I know, there’s no real technical or craft reason why a virgin/older man or virgin/billionaire erotic romance should be written in present tense.

It isn’t easier to write. It doesn’t seem to change the setting or mood.

You just write ’em that way because the ones that came before you were written that way. It’s a convention. Readers expect it.

Fine. Give the readers what they’re looking for, sell more books, and everybody’s happy.

Nothing wrong with that.

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How To Decide Between Present and Past Tense

The first step is to read a lot of books in your genre. If there’s a strong trend, follow it.

And if there’s a weak trend or no real trend at all, don’t worry about it. Write in the tense that flows most naturally.

I pick up so much erotic romance in present tense that it seems we have a clear winner. However, huge best-selling thrillers can be written either way. Reading a lot in the genre you’re currently writing will tell you a lot.

Still not sure? Here’s step two.

Ready?

Take a nice deep breath and hold it for a count of four. Then relax. You won’t mess this up. You can’t.

Want to know the ultimate secret about writing in past versus present tense?

Here it is: Readers don’t notice.

They really don’t.

Take me. I was already a voracious reader long before I became a novelist/self-publisher.

Know how often I picked up a book and then dropped it saying, “Ugh. Present tense. Think I’ll go read something else?”

Exactly never.

I didn’t care. I didn’t even notice.

As professional authors, we start to notice this stuff because we’re trying to craft the fine details of the experience.

Most readers aren’t authors, and only one of them in all the world is Philip Pullman. Most readers could not care less about the technical details. Ten minutes after they read, “The End,” they couldn’t tell you if the book was written in past or present tense.

What they remember is the story.

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Author's Note: This story was originally published to Writers' Blokke, a Medium Publication, as part of my ongoing series of articles about writing from the perspective of a full-time fiction author. If you enjoy seeing it outside the paywall, consider giving me your heart, your comment, or a small tip. Thanks.

Here's another article you might find useful if you write for Amazon KDP or plan to start: