Writing Perspective and Tense

I’ve been working on a writing project where I feel like I’m not connecting with the main character.  And if I’m not connecting, it’s a safe bet a reader won’t connect.  Another problem I’m worried about is that the pace isn’t quick enough and the action is dragging.  So I wondered what I could do to make the character more relatable and tighten up the pace.  

I started the project writing in the past tense from a third person point of view, which is common in mystery and fiction. I enjoy reading books written in the first person, however, so I thought that might be something to explore.  I skimmed through a few books written from the first person perspective and decided I was onto something.  With first person, the character tells the reader their story directly.  The reader can get into the character’s head and experience his or her thoughts, emotions, and actions along with the character.  One drawback is that this is a somewhat limited style in that you only have the character’s point of view rather than an omniscient viewpoint.  You can only tell about what the narrator knows and experiences.  But I thought it would help give my character her own distinct voice.  I decided I would give it a try and convert what I had already written into first person.  

I noticed that most of the books I reviewed involved the narrator speaking from his or her own perspective about events that happened in the past.  However, the book I happened to be reading at the time was written from the first person point of view, but in the present tense.  I was already on chapter three of the book before I realized this.  As I continued to read, I noticed that the present tense helped move the story forward by giving the reader a sense of events as they were actually happening.  

I thought this might be just the thing to help quicken the action in my WIP.  I read a little bit about first person present online, and was surprised to find that this POV and tense can be annoying to some readers who find it awkward or uncomfortable.  It definitely didn’t bother me since I had gotten through three chapters of the book I was reading without it begin obvious to me.  I liked the immediacy of it and the fact that it keeps the plot moving forward at a good pace.  So, I’m giving it a try on my WIP.  If it doesn’t work, then at least I’ve enjoyed the exercise and the experience.  

What POV and tense do you enjoy reading or writing in?

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.