I've been struggling for some time to finally polish off my novel for children 'The Gnarly Man' (for around 10-12 yr age group roughly). I originally did it in third person, past tense but after comments from young readers have changed it to present tense. Now that I'm doing a final (hopefully) edit I'm still wondering what's best & whether to go back to my original plan. Please could some of you have a read and see what you think?
The Writer's & Artists Guide to How to Write by Harry Bingham has a whole section on past or present tense on page 195.
He gives good examples of both and shows how it affects the story. It may be worth having a read. No doubt you've already explored what other writers in the same genre are doing.
Hi Susan I have left a comment on your work.
Regards Paul.
Hi Kate
Coincidentally I'd seen that link while I was looking around the net today, but thank you for taking the time to post it. I think the general consensus is that it's NOT a good idea to use present tense. The children who gave me the idea were frighteningly bright 10/11yr olds who were happy to read my piece through a third party so I haven't actually met them.
So looks like I've got a long slog ahead converting it all to a more acceptable form. Never mind, at least using present tense brought it very much alive for me.