When creating a prose tale, writing in the present tense has the same effect of making the reader feel as though they are experiencing the event as it happens. This allows the reader to get more engrossed in the tale than if it were delivered by a single character in the past tense. Telling stories in the present tense also makes them more exciting to read because you aren't sure what will happen next. Stories have been told in the present tense for centuries. Some famous works of fiction written in the present tense include William Shakespeare's plays Romeo and Juliet, Thomas Hardy's novels The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd, and John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row. In literature classes, students are often asked to choose between using the past or present tense when writing narratives. Although it is recommended that you use the simple past when writing academic papers, it is acceptable to mix the two tenses within a narrative article. As long as you use simple verbs in the present tense, there should be no problem presenting scenes from the protagonist's point of view. Simple verbs are those that don't change form for subject matter; they always remain -ate, -d, -en, -er, -est, -ing, or -t. These verbs can only take singular subjects: he, she, we, they, this, that, and none other.