09/06/2026
Before an author writes a single scene, they have to make a decision that shapes everything the follows: how is this story going to be told?
Tense. Point of view. Who’s holding the mic.
Third person is easy. You get to be God. The author hovers above the action, dipping into whoever’s head they want, whenever they want. “Head-hopping” is easy, asides and descriptions flow naturally.
First person strips that away. You’re locked into one skull, and one set of eyes. The world is only seen through the hero’s perceptions. First person present tense is the hardest because there’s no hovering, no hindsight — just the plot, happening now. The only way to reach into the past is to stop the story and flash back, which can be cumbersome when time continues in the present tense.
I chose first person present tense for Biscuit. I did this because I wanted the reader in the moment with Daniel. Not looking back on or observing what is happening to him from a distance, but living it in real time, exactly as he did. I want the reader to feel what Daniel feels. As it is happening.
However, when I finished the book, I realized I had never once described what Daniel looks like. Floppy hair? Brown eyes? Tall? Short? Skinny? Fat? A kid doesn’t stop to study himself in a mirror and inventory his features. There’s no context developmentally or emotionally for that discussion. An adult version of him certainly could. But in what context? Is he looking in a mirror, sizing himself up to feel worse? To be self-critical? Every reason to look at himself feels like it was doing something to him, not just describing him.
So I had a real problem: how do I give the reader an image of how to imagine the hero in the story, while staying true to my construct of first person, present tense?
