When and How to Use Future Tense in Ficiton Writing

This is it— the final installment in the tenses series, where we cover writing future tense in fiction. We previously broke down the past and present tenses, which are most common in today’s market. Future tense stories are unique and rare to find on the shelves, but they exist. Let’s dive in to when to use future tense in creative fiction writing!

Since this tense is rarer, I suggest reading these stories to help you understand how it’s implemented into narrative. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, Aura by Carlos Fuentes, Amalgamemnon by Christine Brooke-Rose 

I’ve discovered that books written in the future tense are often executed in sections or dialogue rather than an entire novel. Despite that sentiment, books have been written entirely in this tense. I’ve come across at least one thus far: Amalgamemnon by Christine Brooke-Rose. Comment below and tell me if you know of any others. 

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It seems like future tense stories are a wild card; they are what the author makes of them and are often paired with other tenses to portray a complete story. 

For example, the author of Sea of Tranquility used future, present, and past tense to tell her time travel story. The execution was seamless. This style choice felt justified and perfect for her novel because it’s a book about moving through time. 

Writing in future tense has different forms: 

Similarly to the other tenses, there are four forms of future tense in English. 

• Simple Future

  • I will write. 

• Future Continuous 

  • I will be writing. 

• Future Perfect 

  • I will have written. 

• Future Perfect Continuous 

  • I will have been writing. 

Using this tense may be the most complex of them all, so if you are lost, check out this video. This YouTuber breaks down the future tense in a digestible manner.

Now that we have an understanding of this tense, let's look at some examples. 

Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel, Knopf First Edition (April 2022)

Joey is going into town, and he expects he’ll see Martha at the register. Same as every day.

Do you notice the future verb tenses in this paragraph? “He’ll— he will” is the simple future tense used in this paragraph. It tells us what this character will do. 

What’s fascinating about Sea of Tranquility is that it jumps through the past, present, and future. The true victory of that seamless success is in the structure. The author separates the time jumps every time they occur by using a new chapter, part, or break in the text. This goes back to that same idea we discussed when writing in the present tense. If you’re swapping time periods, ensure you’re giving your reader a visual que so they immediately understand the shift. 

Grab your copy of Sea Of Tranquility!

Now vice versa— this next novel is written entirely in future tense, which sets a different tone and reading experience because we aren’t really experiencing an event with the character. Nothing is happening — yet. This tense gives the hypothetical, it’s speculative, and dreamlike. 

Amalgamemnon, Christine Brooke-Rose, Dalkey Archive Press, Reprint Edition (July 1994)

The story uses phrases to show what the character will do and what they’ll have to do if what they anticipate becomes a reality. Amalgamemnon’s tone seems like a continuous internal monologue of anticipation. It’s fascinating. 

The best way to show this visually is similar to the 2009 film, Sherlock Holmes; when the character visualizes his fight scenes, he’s anticipatory. This works in the film to show that Sherlock is methodical and highly intellectual. So, when used well, you can convey a tone for your character. 

Pros and Cons of Future Tense:

Pros: Creates suspense 

Cons: It's hard for readers to stay invested in events that haven't happened yet. 

Can you swap tenses in fiction?

You can swap tenses within fiction if it’s necessary to the characters development and plot of the book.

Contrary to staying in your tense lane— Sea of Tranquility debunks that, but it works because this type of plot calls for it. It’s a story about time travel. The author could have written the entire novel in past tense, and it would have portrayed the subject well, but jumping between tenses helped the momentum of the story.

This won’t work for every book, but it will for some. Always do what fulfills the narrative.

As previously mentioned, it is best to stay within one tense, and I still believe this. But if your novel calls for multiple— do it, just ensure the structure is well developed so your reader can follow along without putting your book down. Sea of Tranquility is an excellent example of seamlessly weaving through time. So, if this is the route calling to you, I recommend reading this book to understand what I mean. I hope this article showcases when to use future tense in creative writing and how it can benefit a story moving through time.

Ultimately, always follow what your story calls for.

I hope this tenses series has helped you find the right one for your novel. 

Now, tell me about your writing project, which tense you’ve chosen, and why.