Do I write the later chapters of my book in present tense because they happen after the prologue, or in past tense like the chapters before?

Question

I've written my prologue in present tense. The rest of it is a flash to the past that leads up to that moment which I write in past tense. When I get to the current part of the book where the prologue starts do I change back to present tense?

Answer 1

This is entirely you as the writer and what effect you want to create. There is no hard and fast rule here. You can continue in past tense or switch to present when you reach the end of the flashback and come to the moment of the prologue action.

That said, most fiction is written in past tense, and long stretches of present tense are unusual' David Drake's Ranks of Bronze was written in the Historical Present tesne to achieve a particular effect, but that is very much an exception. If the prologue is of even moderate length, putting the whole prologue in present tense would be unusual. Putting a substantial part of a novel in present tense would be still more unusual, but authors can do unusual things if they think it works for a particular novel or story.

Answer 2

Past tense, as far as I have seen, is the standard. When I read present tense writing, my mind reads slower, having to convert mentally back to past tense.

You can use present tense if you feel inclined to - but I doubt anyone would object to past tense.