When you are writing in the present tense, it's about having a good understanding of how to use verbs in their basic form. First identify your subject, then pair it with a verb in present tense. "She watches a movie" instead of "She watched a movie".
In this sense whatever happens is happening now. Your characters are not discussing what they did or waiting to do something, they must be in action. However, we need to take care about how we handle the timeline as well. If everything is 'now', it is difficult to talk about events which occurred earlier in your story at all.
If you want to write in the present, it's important to throw yourself into the moment. Just don't Informationalize the action, participate in it. For example, instead of "He went to the store."
According to the present tense, this becomes,"He steps out determinedly, the crunch of gravel under– lllll foot good natured in that quiet street going for the store." This will make readers feel that it is happening right now.
To write in present tense, try to use active voice and try not use a passive verb anywhere. You are talking about events as they take place Instead of saying 'John climbed the hill and saw the whole town', you say 'John climbs the hill and looks at the entire town'.
It adds a kind of present moment to the narrative, and brings reader right into story at this exact minute instead of hearing it from afar or interested in reflection. However, you must be consistent. Changes from past to present tense confuse newsreaders unless obviously part of narration style.
2025-02-07 08:58:31
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Stalking The Author
Cassandra Davy
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"Don't move," he trailed his kisses to my neck after saying it, his hands were grasping my hands, entwining his fingers with mine, putting them above my head. His woodsy scent of cologne invades my senses and I was aroused by the simple fact that his weight was slightly crushing me.
*****
When a famous author keeps on receiving emails from his stalker, his agent says to let it go. She says it's good for his popularity.
But when the stalker gets too close, will he run and call the police for help?
Is it a thriller?
Is it a comedy?
Is it steamy romance?
or... is it just a disaster waiting to happen?
*****
Add the book to your library, read and find out as another townie gets his spotlight and hopefully his happy ever after 😘
*****
Warning! R-Rated for 18+ due to strong, explicit language and sexual content*
The novel is set in the modern time, its the year 2024 and Callie the protagonist is trying to get into a prestigious art school, she spends a whole day working on her canvas without food, sleep or even water and passes out on the floor, when she wakes up she’s in a familiar but not so familiar attic, same design and outline but the things in it weren’t hers, just as she’s about to completely lose it a boy seemingly two or three years older than her walks in and straight through her. She wakes up on her attic floor covered in paint with a splitting headache, she’s back to normal. She brushes the experience off as a lucid dream but more strange things start happening and Callie realizes that the world she knows is weirder than it seems
She looked at her with contempt, her red heels clicking on the ground. A sinister smile is plastered on her face full of malice.
"Whatever you do, he's mine. Even if you go back in time, he's always be mine."
Then the man beside the woman with red heels, snaked his hands on her waist.
"You'll never be my partner. You're a trash!"
The pair walked out of that dark alley and left her coughing blood. At the last seconds of her life, her lifeless eyes closed.
***
Jade angrily looked at the last page of the book.
She believed that everyone deserves to be happy.
She heard her mother calling for her to eat but reading is her first priority. And so, until she felt dizzy reading, she fell asleep.
***
Words she can't comprehend rang in her ears.
She's now the 'Heather' in the book.
[No, I won't change the story. I'll just watch on the sidelines.]
This is what she believed not until...
"Stop slandering Heather unless you want to lose your necks."
That was the beginning of her new life as a character.
Cover Illustration: JEIJANDEE (follow her on IG with the same username)
Release Schedule: Every Saturday
NOTE: This work is undergoing major editing (grammar and stuffs) and hopefully will be finished this month, so expect changes. Thank you~!
For five years, Mira poured her obsession into The Reckoning of Caelen Mors—a dark fantasy about a ruthless duke and the woman he becomes dangerously fixated on. At 2:47 AM, exhausted and alone, she died at her laptop. Her final words still glowed on the screen: "Duke Caelen finally showed her his true face. It was nothing like she imagined."
She woke as Isadora Vess—the secondary character from her manuscript—in a silk bed, in a monster's house, with servants calling her by a name she'd invented.
The problem: Mira remembers writing this world. She knows every dark secret. She knows how the story should end. Except her memories are fractured. The manuscript was never finished. And the characters have evolved without her input, making choices she never wrote, saying things she never scripted.
Worse—Duke Caelen knows she's different. He's been waiting for her. Across seventeen timelines, he's seen her arrive at this exact moment. And in three of them, everything burned.
Now Isadora must navigate a world she created but no longer controls, surrounded by men who each want to use her—a charming prince offering escape, a dark count offering power, and a villain offering the only thing that might be true: the answer to why she's here, and what happens when an author gets trapped in her own story.
Because in every version where Isadora arrives, the empire falls. And Caelen has been waiting a very long time to see which ending she'll choose this time.
Cancer took away her first love and Regina view on life changed. She wants to fulfil her dead boyfriend wishes as that was his last wish.
On her flight to Greek, to attend the wedding of her cousin, she met Alex Pierce a billionaire who was named as a most promising young entrepreneur. In additional to that he was popular, having his article written on magazine with a printed photo of his.
An fate decides, Regina met Alex Pierce through an unfortunate event that lead to hate relationship between them.
Appointed as the bridesmaid and groom's best men, lead them to a different path.
Where does this adventure to fulfil the dead boyfriend lead them?
excerpt
"How dare you," I raised my hand, but he got hold of it and shoved it down. Frustrated, I punch his chest as hard I can. After few punches, he grabbed both my hand and push me away. Thinking that finally he freed me, I turned my heel away from him.
"I'm saying this again, you're delusional if you think you are living your live. It is not. You're living in his dream. His wishes," he seethed.
"I love your free spirit, but you are so caught in your past that you don't see your future," he continued as his grip on my hand on body loosened.
"I don't know how many wishes left, but I'm ready to fulfill it with you," he roared behind me as I walked away from him. Stunned, I stopped walking.
Turning my head, I can see his shadow from the corner of my eyes, "Why? I'm delusional right then why are you joining this delusional woman?" I asked sarcastically.
"Because, that's the only way to be with you and maybe I can break your illusion,"
Alice Meyers is undeniably powerful! Since she was young, she has been aware of her extraordinary ability known as ESP. When her emotions run high, she can make things happen with an intensity that often surprises her. This captivating story centers on time travel and the intricate dynamics of friendship and love between Alice and her childhood friend, Johnson Taylor. Unfortunately, Johnson seems to attract danger and tragedy at every turn, leading Alice to question whether she can save him in time. As their journey unfolds, readers will ponder whether they can achieve a happy ending together or if Johnson will become a sacrifice for the greater peace of humanity. Join Alice as she travels from the United States to the Philippines, moving through modern times and back to the harrowing days of World War II, and be swept away by a myriad of emotions along the way.
There's this magic in present tense that makes everything feel so immediate, like you're living the story alongside the characters. I recently reread 'The Hunger Games', and the way Suzanne Collins uses present tense puts you right in Katniss's head—every decision, every panic attack, every arrow shot feels visceral. It's like watching a livestream of someone's life, unfiltered and raw. But here's the flip side: some stories need that reflective quality only past tense can offer. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' wouldn't hit half as hard if Scout wasn't looking back with adult wisdom layered over childhood innocence. Present tense shines in action-heavy scenes, but past tense lets you weave in foreshadowing and hindsight, which can be just as powerful.
That said, I've noticed present tense works wonders for unreliable narrators too—it keeps readers guessing whether the protagonist's 'now' is trustworthy. Past tense, though? It's like sitting by a fire listening to someone spin a tale they've polished over years. Both have their place, and honestly, my preference changes depending on the mood I'm in. Lately I've been craving present tense's adrenaline rush, but nothing beats the cozy familiarity of past tense for bedtime reading.