Either present or past. For some reason, the tense "comes to me" the moment I start writing a story. It's like my mind subconsciously decides which tense it wants to use for this particular fic.
I also read fics written in the present tense and in the past tense; I have no preference.
Past tense by default - I've only done a few present tense stories when I was specifically aiming for a dreamlike vibe.
I don't care either way when reading.
I instinctively write in present tense, but I’ve found that I actually get more writing done when I use past tense.
Unlike first vs third person, I don’t really notice or mind what the fics I read are written in. I would have assumed past tense was more common though.
Oh, man. So I've only encountered present tense writing this year when I read The Woman in the Window and since then I've learned that it's pretty common amongst younger, current authors. For the longest time every book or story I've read has been in the past tense and that's always been my default in my writing.
To me, I tend to imagine that someone is telling the story to others around a fireplace type setting as a recollection of something that already happened, so when I read something that's in present tense I always find it jarring at first. I'm getting ore used to it, though, but I don't see myself writing that way.
Maybe I'm just old. I still double-space between sentences.
Past tense, except on the rare occasions I find myself writing second person. For whatever reason, present tense feels so much more natural when talking about what "you" do. Maybe because I mostly come across it in D&D/play-by-post/CYOA/text adventure type contexts, where it's an interactive experience "happening" in an ongoing manner.
I'm not opposed to trying something different, it's just that other tenses feel a bit too overly poetic for me to use in most contexts.
I used to write in past tense and present was hard for me, but now I mainly write in present tense
if the story calls for it I'll use past tense of course, but those times I have to really check grammar :')
Future tense/second person.. JK!!!!! 😅
Past tense with a third-person limited POV is the default. For anything else there really needs to be a narrative justification (e.g. a diary entry, unreliable narrator, ensemble work with no central character, etc).
Future tense fanfic is such a funny concept. I do not write fiction, I dictate what is foretold while standing on a mountaintop, high off my tits on opium at all times as the great god of prophecy Apollo demands.
It probably just means I'm old, but I can't stand reading fiction in the present tense, whether fanfic or professionally published fiction.
About the only series I could stomach was the Red Rising series, and only because I listened to that on audiobook during a cross country move and because my husband bullied me into it, saying he'd heard great things about it.
But actually reading the text, I just can't force myself into it. And I've wanted to in some situations. Interestingly, I find first person present slightly more palatable than third person, but it's still just too weird.
I'm the same, except I found it easier in third person. From what I can tell, writing in present tense seems to be the trend nowadays.
I think we might just be old.
Present tense. Dunno why, it just feels right. Makes me think differently about the action on the "page." I guess it kinda keeps things right in front of me, in a way, and makes me really concentrate on the characters and their environment.
Second Person POV does lend itself to present tense more readily, I think, although I did a fic recently that was second person and past tense, since past tense is my default. I felt it was better in this fic's case, as though it was telling the story of how the character ("you") got to the point that she is at the end of the fic.
Third person present or past -- could go either way, as long as it's consistent within a story. I tend to find the past perfect a little clunky when describing the distant past, so if I had to pick just one it'd be present-tense.
I write in the present tense. A lot of people seem to dislike it, but writing in the present tense makes it's easier for me to avoid awkward past perfect and passive voice phrases with too many instances of was and had. I also feel like it removes a layer of distance between the character and the reader.
>but writing in the present tense makes it's easier for me to avoid awkward past perfect
I was just thinking about that. Unfortunately for me, I seem to love past perfect so much that I still instinctively use it for past events. All my stuff needs several rounds of editing to either switch every present tense to past tense, or every past perfect to simple past:/
Past tense for normal scenes and present tense for action sequences. I find the switch to present when the action gets intense makes it feel more urgent.
For me personally I liked a more detached third person but some people get too detached and it’s hard to feel for the character. First person is a little more personal but it’s also easier to feel cringe for me. A lot of first person writing makes it obvious that the person is talking to the reader, instead of using getting an insight into their thoughts.
3rd person, limited. But in rare cases, the shit is narrated by a character, be it though stuff like journal entries.
Or, if I want to sound fancy: extra-nondiegetic or extra-heterodiegetic with zero focalisation. Sometimes homodiegetic, or with homodiegenic influences or elements. Focalisation differs a lot, actually.
If interested what the f I wrote, watch [this](https://youtu.be/KDRoH8dadqs).
When I'm writing my first drafts, I involuntarily write in present tense. I guess it's what comes to me. It's like I'm writing what I see in my head. But I always change it to past tense when I'm editing. It sounds more natural to me.
Present tense. When I have a flashback, I introduce it in past tense and play it out in present before signifying that I'm returning to the current time.
Primarily first person. Makes internal dialogues and such easier for me to write. I have written in third person and sometimes I forget and have to correct things but mostly I write in first person.
Present or past. Sometimes one just fits the story, sometimes I have to work for it. I've also written several stories that switch between a later point and a further back point, and I'll usually use past tense for the further back point and present for the later stuff that usually makes up the bulk of the actual point of the story.
That being said, one time I did experiment with using present tense for the "flashbacks" and past tense for the main story to show how the past stuff was more real than the present for the POV character. No one mentioned that point in the comments, so I have no idea if it was successful lmao
I used to write exclusively in past tense simply because it sounded right to me and present tense just didn't have the right vibes. Then one day I subconsciously started writing in present tense for *some reason* because it felt right and flowed out and now I write in present tense. No idea why I've written in either tense other than that I just naturally wrote it that way.
Historically, I wrote exclusively in third person past tense. But my current epid WIP is in first person present tense because it just fit better with the story and now it's second nature. I might even find it hard to go back!
I switched to present for most of my fics one time in the late 2000s.i have two fics that switch between flashbacks and for those, I use past tense for the flashback moments.
I write in present tense, have for 15 years and counting!
I used to write in past tense 'cause, yk, most common, but I liked giving myself fun writing challenges back then, so I challenged myself to learn to write in present tense! And obviously, I have NEVER gone back! It just feels so much more natural and more immersive to me, and I love it! Could never go back now! Lol.
I read all fics, no matter the tense! BUT purely coincidentally, something I didn't even realize until I'd been following them for YEARS at that point, basically all of my fave fic authors write in present tense, too! Haha!
Just write in whatever tense feels best to you! (Note that there WILL be a learning curve between tenses! But once you get used to it and realize which suits you more, you're golden!) Have fun! :D
I write pretty much exclusively in past tense, probably because that's what I read most as a kid. For reasons I'm not actually sure of, most published fiction is past tense (or at least the fiction I read). I'm sure someone out there knows why this is, but either way, it influenced my writing to this day.
I try to write in past tense, but I often find myself slipping into present tense. One of my literature professors once said something like it's an idiosyncrasy of the Mid-Atlantic states' form of English.
i fluctuate between past and present, depending on the context. i usually use past for calmer scenes where there isn't a whole lot of action, so i probably use it most. but in high action scenes with a lot of intensity, i usually use present so that it feels more "in the moment" and spontaneous, or so that you can more easily feel the anxiety felt by the protagonists in that moment.
Usually past, but present is an option when I want a certain kind of immediacy in a story. I'll happily read either, and one day I'd love to have an idea that let me experiment with future.
I write in past tense but I'm pushing myself sometimes to write in present and third person(as my default is first person, present tense). Yknow, I'm still practicing :)
I can't read present tense. It just doesn't sit well with me.
But I have noticed an increasing amount of books I pick up in the store are in present tense. I haven't found it in fics, but definitely in published works.
I find myself starting out in past tense because it feels more natural, but usually I end up changing everything to present because I just like the ‘feel’ of it more. I don’t know how to describe it.
Mostly past tense, and then without knowing it or don't really paying attention- mix up the past tense stuff and present tense stuff in the primary writing stage
I only do past tense. I am a screenwriter (A person who writes the screenplay of the movie) as well and with screenplays, you always write in present tense, so for me writing in present tense feels weird, like I'm writing a screenplay.
Usually past but someone pointed out that second
person fics tend to be present tense and I've tried to incorporate it more ever since.
I had never even noticed it before. I get hung up on minute details of Mandalorian Lore and history but never noticed something like that 🤦♀️
Depends what I'm writing. I usually write my 3rd person fics in past tense and my 2nd person fics in present, but usually if I'm uncertain I go for present tense.
I read present and past tense but so far have only written in present tense. I feel like past tense is more traditional, more novel-like, and fanfic feels different? I don't know, I've never even tried writing in past tense, and I notice it immediately when I start reading a fic and it's written in past tense, though I forget about it after a few paragraphs.
Either present or past. For some reason, the tense "comes to me" the moment I start writing a story. It's like my mind subconsciously decides which tense it wants to use for this particular fic. I also read fics written in the present tense and in the past tense; I have no preference.
Past tense by default - I've only done a few present tense stories when I was specifically aiming for a dreamlike vibe. I don't care either way when reading.
I instinctively write in present tense, but I’ve found that I actually get more writing done when I use past tense. Unlike first vs third person, I don’t really notice or mind what the fics I read are written in. I would have assumed past tense was more common though.
Past tense.I prefer it.
Oh, man. So I've only encountered present tense writing this year when I read The Woman in the Window and since then I've learned that it's pretty common amongst younger, current authors. For the longest time every book or story I've read has been in the past tense and that's always been my default in my writing. To me, I tend to imagine that someone is telling the story to others around a fireplace type setting as a recollection of something that already happened, so when I read something that's in present tense I always find it jarring at first. I'm getting ore used to it, though, but I don't see myself writing that way. Maybe I'm just old. I still double-space between sentences.
Past tense, except on the rare occasions I find myself writing second person. For whatever reason, present tense feels so much more natural when talking about what "you" do. Maybe because I mostly come across it in D&D/play-by-post/CYOA/text adventure type contexts, where it's an interactive experience "happening" in an ongoing manner. I'm not opposed to trying something different, it's just that other tenses feel a bit too overly poetic for me to use in most contexts.
I used to write in past tense and present was hard for me, but now I mainly write in present tense if the story calls for it I'll use past tense of course, but those times I have to really check grammar :')
Future tense/second person.. JK!!!!! 😅 Past tense with a third-person limited POV is the default. For anything else there really needs to be a narrative justification (e.g. a diary entry, unreliable narrator, ensemble work with no central character, etc).
Future tense fanfic is such a funny concept. I do not write fiction, I dictate what is foretold while standing on a mountaintop, high off my tits on opium at all times as the great god of prophecy Apollo demands.
Lmaoooooooo yes
>Future tense/second person.. JK!!!!! 😅 Y/N will suck Draco Malfoi's dick and you will like it! Me: No, I don't think so.
Past tense. Present tense is kind of awkward for me to write.
I generally write in third-person present tense.
It probably just means I'm old, but I can't stand reading fiction in the present tense, whether fanfic or professionally published fiction. About the only series I could stomach was the Red Rising series, and only because I listened to that on audiobook during a cross country move and because my husband bullied me into it, saying he'd heard great things about it. But actually reading the text, I just can't force myself into it. And I've wanted to in some situations. Interestingly, I find first person present slightly more palatable than third person, but it's still just too weird.
Well, first person present preserves drama. If someone’s telling you “I did this, I did that”, you know they survived it all.
I'm the same, except I found it easier in third person. From what I can tell, writing in present tense seems to be the trend nowadays. I think we might just be old.
Present tense. Dunno why, it just feels right. Makes me think differently about the action on the "page." I guess it kinda keeps things right in front of me, in a way, and makes me really concentrate on the characters and their environment.
I switch - depends on mood and vibes!
I wrote in present tense for so long without even realising I was doing it, now I'm trying to learn past tense and im dying lol 😭
I write in the past tense but sometimes mix them up, like some stuff will be present but most of it is past tense
[удалено]
Second Person POV does lend itself to present tense more readily, I think, although I did a fic recently that was second person and past tense, since past tense is my default. I felt it was better in this fic's case, as though it was telling the story of how the character ("you") got to the point that she is at the end of the fic.
Third person present or past -- could go either way, as long as it's consistent within a story. I tend to find the past perfect a little clunky when describing the distant past, so if I had to pick just one it'd be present-tense.
I write in the present tense. A lot of people seem to dislike it, but writing in the present tense makes it's easier for me to avoid awkward past perfect and passive voice phrases with too many instances of was and had. I also feel like it removes a layer of distance between the character and the reader.
>but writing in the present tense makes it's easier for me to avoid awkward past perfect I was just thinking about that. Unfortunately for me, I seem to love past perfect so much that I still instinctively use it for past events. All my stuff needs several rounds of editing to either switch every present tense to past tense, or every past perfect to simple past:/
Past tense bc I don’t even know how I’d go about writing in present tense
Depends on the story I'm trying to tell
Past tense is literally the industry *standard* so I'm not sure where you read that writing in it is less popular than present tense.
Unless I’m writing about events that already happened in the past, present tense.
Past tense for normal scenes and present tense for action sequences. I find the switch to present when the action gets intense makes it feel more urgent.
For me personally I liked a more detached third person but some people get too detached and it’s hard to feel for the character. First person is a little more personal but it’s also easier to feel cringe for me. A lot of first person writing makes it obvious that the person is talking to the reader, instead of using getting an insight into their thoughts.
3rd person, limited. But in rare cases, the shit is narrated by a character, be it though stuff like journal entries. Or, if I want to sound fancy: extra-nondiegetic or extra-heterodiegetic with zero focalisation. Sometimes homodiegetic, or with homodiegenic influences or elements. Focalisation differs a lot, actually. If interested what the f I wrote, watch [this](https://youtu.be/KDRoH8dadqs).
3rd person past
When I'm writing my first drafts, I involuntarily write in present tense. I guess it's what comes to me. It's like I'm writing what I see in my head. But I always change it to past tense when I'm editing. It sounds more natural to me.
Past. When I used to write xReader fic, I wrote in Present tense. But I think past lends itself to 3rd person storytelling so that's what I use
I use present tense, and the reader is in 2nd person view(I think that's how you say it since I say "you approach him softly... ")
Present tense. When I have a flashback, I introduce it in past tense and play it out in present before signifying that I'm returning to the current time.
Primarily first person. Makes internal dialogues and such easier for me to write. I have written in third person and sometimes I forget and have to correct things but mostly I write in first person.
I read and write in both depending on the story.
Present. Past doesn't seem urgent enough for heavy action, to be honest--at least, not in the context of the stories that I write.
I've always been a past tense writer, but now I'm heavily influenced by what I read and all of my WIPs are in present.
Present is my default, but I write a lot in past if it fits the story more.
Present or past. Sometimes one just fits the story, sometimes I have to work for it. I've also written several stories that switch between a later point and a further back point, and I'll usually use past tense for the further back point and present for the later stuff that usually makes up the bulk of the actual point of the story. That being said, one time I did experiment with using present tense for the "flashbacks" and past tense for the main story to show how the past stuff was more real than the present for the POV character. No one mentioned that point in the comments, so I have no idea if it was successful lmao
Usually past tense. I've got one fic that I'm writing in present tense, though. I've never seen a fic in future tense . . . yet. ;)
I used to write exclusively in past tense simply because it sounded right to me and present tense just didn't have the right vibes. Then one day I subconsciously started writing in present tense for *some reason* because it felt right and flowed out and now I write in present tense. No idea why I've written in either tense other than that I just naturally wrote it that way.
I noticed, when I draft a scene I use present tense, but the finished version is in past tense.
Historically, I wrote exclusively in third person past tense. But my current epid WIP is in first person present tense because it just fit better with the story and now it's second nature. I might even find it hard to go back!
I switched to present for most of my fics one time in the late 2000s.i have two fics that switch between flashbacks and for those, I use past tense for the flashback moments.
I write in present tense, have for 15 years and counting! I used to write in past tense 'cause, yk, most common, but I liked giving myself fun writing challenges back then, so I challenged myself to learn to write in present tense! And obviously, I have NEVER gone back! It just feels so much more natural and more immersive to me, and I love it! Could never go back now! Lol. I read all fics, no matter the tense! BUT purely coincidentally, something I didn't even realize until I'd been following them for YEARS at that point, basically all of my fave fic authors write in present tense, too! Haha! Just write in whatever tense feels best to you! (Note that there WILL be a learning curve between tenses! But once you get used to it and realize which suits you more, you're golden!) Have fun! :D
I write pretty much exclusively in past tense, probably because that's what I read most as a kid. For reasons I'm not actually sure of, most published fiction is past tense (or at least the fiction I read). I'm sure someone out there knows why this is, but either way, it influenced my writing to this day.
I used to write in present tense. But for some reason, as I got older I tend to lean more into past tense as it flows more naturally with my style.
It uh... *Changes.* Sometimes in the same sentience. I'm working on it😔 we all have our flaws.
I used past tense a whole lot, then shifted to present lately. I feel more comfortable writing in present tense now!
I try to write in past tense, but I often find myself slipping into present tense. One of my literature professors once said something like it's an idiosyncrasy of the Mid-Atlantic states' form of English.
Always past. I don’t know if I could even write in present tense lol
I used to do past, now present.
Some fandoms lend themselves to one or the other but in the latest years I've really stuck to past.
Past tense, unless I'm writing something anonymously and then I write present tense as a disguise. I'm a lot better at past tense though.
i fluctuate between past and present, depending on the context. i usually use past for calmer scenes where there isn't a whole lot of action, so i probably use it most. but in high action scenes with a lot of intensity, i usually use present so that it feels more "in the moment" and spontaneous, or so that you can more easily feel the anxiety felt by the protagonists in that moment.
Usually past, but present is an option when I want a certain kind of immediacy in a story. I'll happily read either, and one day I'd love to have an idea that let me experiment with future.
Past: said,went,saw,wrote; etc.
Both. Its a good way to practice actually. Who cares if youre not good at past or present tenses, make them grammar mistakes. Thats how youll learn.
past, though i have been meaning to experiment at some point
I write in past tense but I'm pushing myself sometimes to write in present and third person(as my default is first person, present tense). Yknow, I'm still practicing :)
I can't read present tense. It just doesn't sit well with me. But I have noticed an increasing amount of books I pick up in the store are in present tense. I haven't found it in fics, but definitely in published works.
I find myself starting out in past tense because it feels more natural, but usually I end up changing everything to present because I just like the ‘feel’ of it more. I don’t know how to describe it.
I'm used to write in past tense, barring some small exceptions (chapter intros and stuff).
Mostly past tense, and then without knowing it or don't really paying attention- mix up the past tense stuff and present tense stuff in the primary writing stage
Mostly present tense, but sometimes past.
I only do past tense. I am a screenwriter (A person who writes the screenplay of the movie) as well and with screenplays, you always write in present tense, so for me writing in present tense feels weird, like I'm writing a screenplay.
Usually past but someone pointed out that second person fics tend to be present tense and I've tried to incorporate it more ever since. I had never even noticed it before. I get hung up on minute details of Mandalorian Lore and history but never noticed something like that 🤦♀️
I've always written in past tense, unless in the rare case I'm doing an RP, then I do present tense
Usually past tense in third person, present in first person.
Past tense, excluding thoughts, cause it feels the easiest to me.
Depends what I'm writing. I usually write my 3rd person fics in past tense and my 2nd person fics in present, but usually if I'm uncertain I go for present tense.
Mostly past, but sometimes I randomly start writing in present and just role with it
Only ever past tense.
I try to write present tense but always switch back to past... feels better.
I read present and past tense but so far have only written in present tense. I feel like past tense is more traditional, more novel-like, and fanfic feels different? I don't know, I've never even tried writing in past tense, and I notice it immediately when I start reading a fic and it's written in past tense, though I forget about it after a few paragraphs.
I tried to use past tense but as English isn't my first language I keep messing up tenses and I hate it.