Has My Story Happened, or Is it Happening Now? When to Write in the Past or Present Tense

Among the plethora of elements a writer has to consider when writing a manuscript is what tense they wish to write their stories in. The tense of a story is separate from the point of view it is told, but thankfully, there are only two tenses to choose between: past and present.

In brief and relatively self-explanatory, past tense is used when telling a story that contains events that have already happened (whether in the distant past or recent past). Present tense, on the other hand, is used when telling a story of events that are currently happening or happening in real time.

Let us look into the difference between the two forms of tense with some examples.

Past Tense

This is the most popular tense to write in for both fiction and nonfiction for a number of reasons. First, most stories, especially nonfictions like memoirs that reflect on past stories or history books that relieve wars and other occurrences that happened hundreds of years ago, involve retelling events that have already happened. Second, it is actually an easier tense to write in as many writers seem to drift into writing past tense more often than not.

When writing in past tense, a main key to follow is to end verbs with -ed:

• Cynthia walked to the register and placed the items she wished to purchase on the counter.
• Robert kicked the soccer ball across the wet grass. As he tried to make the winning goal, he slipped.
• Mathias blocked the oncoming attack with his sword, then immediately parried, which caught his opponent by surprise.

Basically, the easiest way to write in the past tense is to know what your character did, not what your character is doing.

Present Tense

This tense is a bit rarer to come across as, in all honesty, it can be a bit more challenging to write. This, however, should never deter a writer from using this tense to tell an engaging story for it can definitely give a story a different effect.

Let us use the same examples from the past tense, but instead of ending verbs with -ed, replace the endings with -s:

• Cynthia walks to the register and places the items she wishes to purchase on the counter.
• Robert kicks the soccer ball across the wet grass. As he tries to make the winning goal, he slips.
• Mathias blocks the oncoming attack with his sword, then immediately parries, catching his opponent by surprise.

Just these simple changes make the sentences read a bit differently. Present tense can really be effective in suspenseful, mystery, or horror books as it can give the overall tone that much more of an edge. Popular books to consider that have been written in the present tense include The Hunger Games series (Suzanne Collins), Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn), If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Bird Box (Josh Malerman), All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey).

Helpful Question

To be quite honest, there are times when it is best to write your manuscript in the past tense and then when it is up to the author to decide whether the story would read better in the past or the present. When it comes to deciding, a helpful question a writer could ask themselves:

Has my story already happened, or is it happening right now?