Living in the Present Tense
Douglas Corleone’s debut novel, One Man’s Paradise, is the winner of the 2009 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. After spending several years as a criminal defense attorney in New York City, Doug moved to the Hawaiian Islands, where he is currently at work on his next novel.
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When I set off to begin a series about hotshot Honolulu criminal defense lawyer Kevin Corvelli, I didn’t need to give much thought to point of view or tense. My main character dictated that for me. Kevin absolutely had to tell his story in first person, present tense.
Before I continue, let me acknowledge the fact that many writers loathe writing in the present tense, and thus many will tell you that they abhor reading novels written in the present tense, too. These writers will say things like, “Present tense takes you out of the story,” “It’s too conspicuous,” or even, “It’s just not the proper way to write a novel.”
Bollocks.
When done well, use of the present tense is hardly noticed in a novel. When done really well it adds to the story. It provides the tale, particularly a thriller, a certain urgency, an immediacy that might not otherwise be there. Pick up a copy of one of Steve Martini’s sensational legal thrillers featuring criminal attorney Paul Madriani and you’ll see what I mean.
Or pick up a copy of One Man’s Paradise by yours truly, and let me know what you think.
My protagonist Kevin Corvelli insisted on the present tense because his story is happening now. He isn’t sitting back in his desk chair and reflecting on it. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!) “But how is he typing his story as it happens to him?” a writer-critic surely will ask. I answer, fiction thrives on the suspension of disbelief.
Once the reader enters the fictive dream, nothing should disrupt her. Not the fire engines rumbling down the street with their sirens. Not the terrier in the apartment below her, yapping because he wants to head outside to pee. And certainly not the voice of the narrator himself. On the contrary, you’re there with the protagonist, in this case Kevin Corvelli, just as you’re with Robert Downey, Jr. or Johnny Depp when they’re up on the big screen. You’re in Kevin’s office, you’re in his Jeep. You’re in the Honolulu courthouse or the police substation in Waikiki.
If you didn’t want to spend time with these characters, you wouldn’t be reading the book. So why not let the story unfold before you? Why not witness the events as the characters experience them for the first time? See what they see, hear what they hear, smell what they smell, and most importantly, feel what they feel, as they are feeling it.
So next time you hear a writer make a blanket disparaging remark about the present tense, I hope you’ll take the time to disagree. The present tense is not for every writer; some writers simply don’t handle it well. But some do. So educate this hypothetical writer that a general negative statement concerning the present tense rings false. The proper way for that writer to express his or her thoughts on the present tense is to say: “It’s simply not for me.”
May 14, 2010
Posted in: Guest Blogs
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One Response
I agree with the Present Tense comments. It works very nicely for this book. I am in the process of reading this novel now and it is much more personal to be Kevin’s confidant and hear all he has to say.
It’s like you’re having a cup of coffee or having lunch and Kevin is telling you the whole story. I have not found it problematic at all!
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