In present-tense narrative, does "I spend the NEXT few hours..." make sense?
I was directed to the writers stackexchange from the English/grammar forums.
I'm writing a novel in present-tense. If all the actions are in the present-tense, e.g. as the character is experiencing them, does the phrase, "I spend the next few hours pondering about it" make sense then? Doesn't it seem like a flashback instead?
I know in past-tense this would be no problem.
Thanks!
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1 answer
The only issue I have with it is that it sounds bookish — it's a narrative device. So if your character is telling this story to the reader, even if it's in the present, you'd be okay. You can particularly get away with more when it's a first-person present-tense POV, because the narration is "spoken" in the character's voice, and you have more flexibility.
I stare at John, the fall of light on his hair, wonder if it would be okay if I approached him. I spend the next few hours pondering about it, until Molly finds me at the café still staring at the table where he'd been sitting.
But if it's a third-person present-tense POV, I wouldn't use it. It would throw me out of the story.
He stares at John and the fall of light on his hair, wondering if it would be okay if he approached him. He spends the next few hours pondering about it, until Molly finds him at the café still staring at the table where John had been sitting.
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