Countless books have been written in past tense, how do you feel about them?
There are many books that are not written in past tense. They are done in present.
We follow the characters as they are experiencing events there and then. For example "she reaches for the handle. She grabs the gun and shoots the guy. She runs from the maniac" etc.
But past tense is "she grabbed the gun. After shooting the guy, she runs. She ran as fast as she could."
Da vinci code
secret smile
derailed
These are among the few that are written in present tense and which i enjoyed.
Besides, "we know it has already happened and therefore cannot be changed"? It's a story. It's meant to involve stuff happening that can't be changed. That's what stories are all about.
I think you're misunderstanding me.
I know a book that is written cant be changed. We dont buy books and expect the pages to magically change do we?
What i meant was the characters in the actual story. If we read sutff that has
already happened such as " a few years ago, she was stalked by a crazy man. She tried to find help from the police but they couldnt do anything. She was then bombarded with prank calls"
then this takes away the excitement.
Whatever happens to the girl, we know it has happened already.
But saying " she IS being stalked by a crazy man" is present tense and is far more excting. Whatever happens to her depends on what she does there and then and we as the reader, feel more involved.
Not every single book done in past tense is bad. Im not saying that. Some can be done quite well. But puzo didnt do this well in my opinion.