System/Mechanics Present Tense 3rd Person- Thoughts?

[MG Maggio]

Morning! I'm wanting opinions about present tense third person. I myself have been heavily influenced by screenplay writing over the past three years or so, and now strongly prefer the present tense third person writing style. In my opinion, it lends a dynamic immediacy to dialogue exchanges in rp that I really enjoy. I would love to hear opinions for and against in an rp 1x1 or group setting. Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Grey]

I generally prefer it for any collaborative exercise. Useful for embellishing and expanding a scene or adding a bit of ambiguity.

Also if I wanted to actually have some fun with the prose in first person, the character would have to be a writer to justify and that feels a bit insufferable.

 

[Crayons]

It's fine for rp imo but better to have everyone in the group using the same tense and viewpoint - whichever the group or the GM choose.

 

[Daisie]

I agree that it's easier for the tenses to stay consistent throughout the different players' posts. Just makes things nice and clean, ya know? Past tense 3rd person is the most common I'd say, but present tense 3rd person is pretty common too.

Of the two RPs I'm in, one is past tense, the other is present, both are 3rd person. Really it's just up to preference.

 

[MG Maggio]

I generally prefer it for any collaborative exercise. Useful for embellishing and expanding a scene or adding a bit of ambiguity.

Also if I wanted to actually have some fun with the prose in first person, the character would have to be a writer to justify and that feels a bit insufferable.

That seems reasonable. I had a romance novelist once who secretly submitted chapters about the other characters to the local periodical. It was very fun, and the only time I have felt comfy with 1st person.

 

[VALEN T.]

i agree with Grey prose in first person would feel kinda strange.
also i think most people prefer past/present tense but 3rd person in particular bc it distances them for the character they're playing

 

[MG Maggio]

i agree with Grey prose in first person would feel kinda strange.
also i think most people prefer past/present tense but 3rd person in particular bc it distances them for the character they're playing

That jives with my experience too- it's a strange thing to me to play a character in 1st person anything, unless they are writing! But if it toots a person's horn and their partners also like that kinda toot, well, nothin wrong with that

 

[Onmyoji]

I'm too used to past tense 3rd person, because that's what they usually use in books.
However, I do like present tense 3rd person for dynamic scenes. I think it is awesome for short stories and screenplay writing, as you've mentioned.

For roleplaying, I mostly use past tense 3rd person. But I had a rp partner (for 1x1) who preferred present tense. I decided to give it a try. Since our rp was action-oriented it actually fit quite well. Describing combat in present tense felt very natural. But since I was not used to present tense I kept catching myself falling back to past tense at times lol It was quite a writing exercise in the end because it was hard to stay consistent, especially during less intense scenes that were not combat or immediate dialogues.

 

[MG Maggio]

I'm too used to past tense 3rd person, because that's what they usually use in books.
However, I do like present tense 3rd person for dynamic scenes. I think it is awesome for short stories and screenplay writing, as you've mentioned.

For roleplaying, I mostly use past tense 3rd person. But I had a rp partner (for 1x1) who preferred present tense. I decided to give it a try. Since our rp was action-oriented it actually fit quite well. Describing combat in present tense felt very natural. But since I was not used to present tense I kept catching myself falling back to past tense at times lol It was quite a writing exercise in the end because it was hard to stay consistent, especially during less intense scenes that were not combat or immediate dialogues.

Oh my gosh! That must have been such a good brain exercise. I'm rping 1x1 with someone now who uses past tense, and I tried to rewrite my scene in past tense after they posted for the first time, and was shocked at how difficult it was to take something in one tense and shift it to another. I commend you for being able to do it both ways, hahaha

 

[Idea]

On the occasion when I do any chat roleplay I usually use 3rd person present tense, I think it lends itself very well to that sort of roleplay. I think for longer, more narrative content like the kind I usually do though, past tense just sounds far more natural though. Besides, I use first person in those posts.

 

[MG Maggio]

On the occasion when I do any chat roleplay I usually use 3rd person present tense, I think it lends itself very well to that sort of roleplay. I think for longer, more narrative content like the kind I usually do though, past tense just sounds far more natural though. Besides, I use first person in those posts.

I'm of exactly the same mindset! There's nice immediacy to it.