Past v present tense.

[William King]

I have noticed that some new authors are using present tense to tell their stories, when it is much more usual to use the past tense. I remember reading a comment on this that said, "It is a quirk of the English language that the past tense better describes what is happening now, than the present tense."

Example: 

I retrieve the plastic water bottle that was thrown at me and sheepishly return inside the apartment, closing the door gently. The ominous sound of thunder rumbles from the south indicating that the storm is nearly here. The spirited conversation continues in the lounge room. The riotous laughter that remained constant as I escorted James out has suddenly stopped though. A crackle of lightning resonates near our residential tower.

I retrieved the plastic water bottle that was thrown at me and sheepishly returned inside the apartment, closing the door gently. The ominous sound of thunder rumbled from the south indicating that the storm was nearly here. The spirited conversation continued in the lounge room. The riotous laughter that remained constant as I escorted James out had suddenly stopped though. A crackle of lightning resonated near our residential tower.

When I read the first paragraph (original as written by the author in the present tense) it jars, I find I odd and uncomfortable, I have to concentrate to read it. The same paragraph written in the past tense (the more usual) flows naturally, requiring little effort to read and understand.

Any thoughts on this?

 

 

 

[Adam]

I think one may use the present tense, first person for effect,  but only in fairly brief passages. Alternatively, one may use it if there is a narrator introducing a story, perhaps, when the bulk of the story is then in past imperfect. This method was used by Mark Twain, by Shakespeare in MND, by the lyricist of Mozart's Zauberflöte, and so on.