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Old 09-20-2010, 01:02 AM   #26
nomesque
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In my experience - not incredibly wide - the younger the audience, the more likely it is that present tense will be considered acceptable. The younger the person, too, the more likely they are to tell their own stories in present tense.

"So I'm walking down the street, right, and this guy comes up to me. And he asks if I've got a cigarette, and then chucks a wobbly cos I don't have any. What's up with that?"

I write in past or present tense, depending on what fits the story I'm telling. DEAD(ish) is an appalling - to many - combination of present tense, first person perspective, and multi-person narrative. It's been compared by a few (including people who didn't like it) to a movie script. Beaut, that's the feeling I was going for, while realising that a good percentage of people would dislike it. Maisy May, on the other hand, is narrated by a single teen. Given the way most teens I know talk, it made sense to put the whole thing in present tense.

I've read a couple of books in present tense, recently - notably Parable of the Forgotten and (still reading) Loisaida - A New York Story. Both very enjoyable reads, to me.
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