Past and Present Tense in Story Writing
So you have your plot and your setting and your characters all figured out. You know what POV (point of view) you'll be using. But how do you choose between past and present tense when you're writing a story? The short answer is: if you want to play it safe, stick with the past tense. It's what most readers are used to. But present tense can be used very effectively, and is especially good if you're writing in the second person POV.
Past tense
We're all familiar with past tense. It's the tense most stories are written in. Third person past tense is the most common way to write: "He put the car into reverse and backed up slowly."
If you are just learning how to write and want to keep it simple, you'll probably want to write in the past tense. You can still create a sense of immediacy and draw the reader into the action when writing in the past tense. For example: "The smoke was seeping in under the door. Her baby started coughing. Her eyes were burning. She tried to open the window. It was stuck."
Present tense
Writing in present tense can add to the intimacy, especially if you're writing in the first or second person. "I want to sleep but my head is throbbing. The phone rings. I jump. Note to self: too much coffee and too little sleep are a bad combination."
The second person point of view is uncommon but works well in the present tense. "It starts to rain, and a car drives by quickly, splashing you with mud. You relax a little, thinking your day couldn't possibly get worse. You keep walking. Just a little while longer and you'll be home. The car that splashed you turns around. It's heading back towards you. Your heart starts to race. You can feel your palms sweating even through the rain. The car is headed for you."
Writing flashbacks in present tense
One complication that arises is how to write flashbacks in a present tense story without it sounding awkward. In "Writing Fiction for Dummies," Randy Ingermanson and Peter Economy give this advice: "Many writers want to switch to past-perfect tense for the entire back story, constantly using the word had. But that quickly ties you in knots. The solution is to use had once, the first time you use a verb in the back story. After that, switch back to ordinary past tense. Your reader will follow this nicely." Here's the example they give:
"Mr McDaniel was the only good thing that had happened to Rupert in all three years of junior high. Mr. M wore a beard, and in 1970 that was a novelty on a teacher. And he saw some sort of promise in Rupert that nobody else saw."