Why I love present tense
The title is deliberate. I'm not against past tense! I just love present tense and I know this catches some flak. So when I say, "These are the things I love about present tense," I'm not saying the opposite is bad. Obviously I read huge amounts of past tense and I'm no more or less likely to read something based on the tense or POV.
You don't have to agree with me, either. Some people see present tense being cinematic is a good thing, some see it as a bad thing. That's okay. Personal preference and all that.
On the writing side, present tense suits me. I'm a present-tense-close-third person. Wasn't always. But then I wrote a thing in present tense for deliberate style/form reasons... and it broke my brain. Changed my default settings. (For some people, I know, this is their least favourite combo. Fair enough.)
So here are some of the things I love about reading and writing in the present tense.
Immediacy! I like stories clippy, immediate, fast paced, right here right now. Present tense is good for this. Less distance, more engaging. And because I (almost) always write in third person a bit less distance is helpful. And first person present tense is immediacy on steroids.
In an otherwise past tense story some of the most thrilling parts in Jane Eyre are when she slips into present tense. Partly this is just the shift itself highlighting something, but those passages are heightened - made more immediate by their tense.
Coherence! I write a lot of dialogue. There's dialogue in pretty much every story, however it might be formatted. Dialogue is always in the present tense, no? It is pleasing to me when the tense of the dialogue and the tense surrounding it match.
Clarity! If there's a flashback or reference to the past in a present tense book it is super duper easy to show that... the tense changes. There's no clunking around with 'had had' and the like.
Flexibility! From the present you can shift backwards or forwards. Obviously works contain various tenses and to excellent effect but starting in the middle helps, I think. It's clear and it's also very flexible.
Suspense! Present tense is just happening. Unfolding before our eyes. Immediate and exciting.
With past tense there's a lingering question of, where is the narrator located? Like, in time. If they are looking back they know all the answers... they just aren't telling us? Are they relating this tale to someone? Writing it down? It often feels a bit melancholic to me.
Back to Jane Eyre: explicitly writing an autobiography at a decade's remove pretty much has to be done in past tense. The tense matches the form. Perfect.
But if there's not some framing reason... maybe it could be in present tense?