Like nearly every household in America, we now have our copy of “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E L James piled amongst the many other books in our music room, which in any other home would be the living room, except that instead of a giant wide-screen TV bolted to the wall we have a baby grand piano–a 1920s Knabe that we inherited. Anyway, our copy of FSG is displayed casually with other books, not drawing attention to itself but plainly visible to anyone whose eye wanders over the piano top and the stacks of books on the floor and on the little end tables.

To me, as a writer, one interesting feature of “Fifty Shades of Grey” is that it is written in the first person and the present tense:

“I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror. Damn my hair–it just won’t behave, and damn Katherine Kavanagh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal.”

First person is very common, but writing a novel in the present tense is uncommon. It can get tricky, because you are dealing with a narrow temporal window. When is something not happening right now? A few seconds ago? A few seconds in the future? Consider these two sentences:

“Before taking off my shoes, I untie the laces, which are knotted tightly. When I finish this task I place the shoes by the door and go into the bedroom.”

Obviously the actions described have taken place over a period of just a few moments. This kind of temporal sliding is easier to write in the past tense:

“Before taking off my shoes, I untied the laces, which were knotted tightly. When I finished this task I placed the shoes by the door and went into the bedroom.”

The timeline described is more flexible; it seems less rushed, more leisurely. So is there any qualitative difference?

Perhaps. The goal of “Fifty Shades of Grey” is to get the heart pounding (along with other physical responses). The book is all about breathless excitement. The actions do not take place in some undefined past, at arm’s length; they are happening now. It’s cinematic. When you watch a movie, even one set in the distant past, you experience events unfolding now, right in front of your eyes.

Would FSG be as successful if it had been written in the past tense? Good question–but there is no doubt that the author’s use of the present tense heightens the sense of emotional immediacy. It’s easy to imagine that you are there, which is a big reason why millions of women readers find this book to be so captivating.

– Thomas Hauck provides a wide range of ghostwriting and editing services for both established and new authors. When you need your book edited or ghostwritten, contact Tom for a free consultation.