I’ve noticed a growing trend in the books I’ve been listening to lately—especially in paranormal and monster romance, but also creeping into mystery and thrillers.
More and more authors are writing in first-person present tense.
And I have to ask… when did this become the default?
For me, it’s the literary equivalent of handheld camera work in movies. Think The Blair Witch Project—all raw energy and shaky immersion. It’s meant to be immediate. Urgent. You’re there, it’s happening now, feel the tension.
But honestly? It often just feels… cheap.
It’s Not That It’s Bad, But It’s Definitely Jarring
There’s something about:
“I walk into the room and see him standing there…”
Versus:
“I walked into the room and saw him standing there…”
that pulls me out of the story immediately. It feels like I’m being dragged along by someone gripping my wrist, whispering, “Quick, hurry! You have to see this right now!”
Instead of drawing me in, it makes me feel like I’ve been dropped into a scene with no context and no emotional buffer. And yes, sometimes it works—when the writing is strong, the voice compelling, and the characters vivid, I’ll forget all about the tense after a few chapters.
But at the beginning?
It’s like a stranger is standing way too close at a party, talking directly in my face. I need narrative personal space, even in fiction.
I Get the Appeal… Theoretically
I do understand why writers choose it.
Present tense creates immediacy. It makes you feel like you’re experiencing everything alongside the protagonist, right in the thick of the action.
But for me? I don’t always want to be in the thick of it. Sometimes I want a storyteller, not a tour guide with a GoPro.
Blame It on the Books I Grew Up With
Maybe it’s just my literary preferences showing, or maybe I’m aging into that “back in my day” stage of readerhood, but I grew up on past-tense narratives that offered a little space, a little reflection—like someone recounting what they lived through with the benefit of hindsight.
There’s comfort in that. There’s trust in a narrator who’s already made it through the storm and is now inviting you in to hear how it all went down.
So Where Does That Leave Me?
Am I still reading these first-person present stories?
Absolutely.
Some of them are phenomenal. Some have hooked me so hard I stopped noticing the tense within a few chapters. And hey, I write in first person myself—I’m not immune to the benefits of voice and urgency.
But I won’t lie: every time I open a new book and that present tense hits me, I brace a little. Just for a second.
So, I’m curious:
🧠 Does first-person present tense work for you?
📚 Do you even notice it?
😬 Or does it make you want to take a step back and look for something with a little more narrative distance?
Let me know in the comments. I’m genuinely interested in how other readers feel about this trend.
In the meantime, I’ll keep giving these books a chance, pushing past that initial jarring sensation—while still quietly longing for the days when protagonists had the good sense to tell their stories after they happened.