I think the hunger games is written almost entirely in present tense? that's the most well known example I know of. It really aided the story in getting the reader to feel like they're right there in the moment, especially in the audiobook version.
I've got a Novella up "Dead Souls Doing the Samba"
I think the subject of everything a person writes dictates (darn that little voice in your head) how it should be written.
Darn it, tried to put in a link... oh well
I write in first person, present tense. For me it creates a sense of wonder and anticipation for my character. I have to be mindful of tense slips and properly sectioning when something is being explained in past tense, but other than that I have fun with it.
I pretty much exclusively write in present tense because I find it a much more limitless medium than past tense. This of course changed from writer to writer, but it's my preference to use present. I'll just link my profile since all my stories use the same tense haha
Edit: My whole shtick is third person, present tense. I don't write in first person often if at all!
I actually disagree with you there. I'd highly recommend present tense because of the closeness of the action, and the potential for strong voice. I do agree that one must be pretty comfortable writing in present tense, though, especially if they're coming from writing strictly past tense. It's a difficult switch to make, but not because present tense is difficult, rather because being used to doing something one specific way and switching it up always requires an adjustment period.
As for outward reflection, of course you can have that in present tense! It's a tricky balance if you're writing in limited POV, which is a given if you're doing first person but also possible in third, but it's really more about learning to shape your words differently. All the potential is still there!
I love present tense. It's definitely less popular than past, but when it's done well? CHEF'S KISS. It's my favorite haha
It would be easier to write in present tense for me as I come from the language that have no tenses at all. However, many people shit on that usage for being amateur and even call it lazy shit writing . I thought of me being no spik Inglish, incrorect grammer, with present tense would not be a good impression, so I try (keyword: try) to force myself to write in past tense even if I have not grasped the whole concept of tenses.
Plus, my story is third-person omniscient shit with fuckery shit amount of world building sprinkled in which IDK how fitting it is with such tenses use; I observe it is more common in first person and I don't like it. As my language does not have tenses, I cannot sense the difference of "immediacy" as well as many people pointed out here. I also more used to past tense in fiction.
Does using past tense make my writing better? Absolutely not. It's shitty as always. Here is a proof of its shittiness1
When I wrote a short story, it felt awkward. But after a few pages of the novel, i became comfortable. But when I switch from editing Trapped (Present Tense, First Person) to writing or editing Free Spirit (Third Person, Past Tense) or vice versa it takes a little readjustment.
I did like it for Trapped by the Mafia because it is both romance and a thriller, and it helped to bring the element of raw feeling and unexpected turns to the narrative.
I write my story in both present and past tense. This might be kinda weird but it makes sense when I think about it. I am writing a fantasy novel, so the character's dialogue and feelings are in the first person. Narration and worldbuilding stuff is written in the third person. Not sure this works very well, but I like writing like this so screw it.
My works are typically written in present tense. Mainly because that is the tense I find it the easiest to write in.
In my experience choosing the tense really depends on the setting of your story. I have written stories in both past and present tense, and while I have a preference for writing in the present tense for it giving me clearer paths when I have to shift between tenses for narrating purposes, it doesn't always flow smoothly. Still, I'm glad the present tense setting has been becoming more and more popular among writers, and I know I will try to write in the present tense as often as possible. It also helps that the story I have on Tapas is marked by exact dates, so writing in the present tense at the moment is the logical decision.
But going back to the grammatical aspect. Have you guys felt like getting confused at times which tense and aspect to use when you were writing in the past tense? Maybe it's an ESL thing, I'm not sure, but while I was aware that even though I was trying to tell an event that was yet to happen, because the setting was in the past, it felt like I was messing things up because when I was learning about different tenses in my grammar classes I was never taught how to apply these to storytelling...
Yes, English Past tenses and Tenses coordination give me trouble, it’s part of the learning process. Before Present Tense became popular, when I saw fictions in Present Tense, I’ve assumed that it was used by non-native speaker to make things easier.
However, narration in Present Tense has its own grammar problems, as in you have to watch yourself for not slipping into the Past Tense, or if you are doing it, you are doing it correctly.
Overall, just keep the grammatical rules in mind, and proof read a lot. There is really not much else you can do, no matter which language you use.
You're right. It's curious because nearly a decade ago one of my Lit professors, who worked as a literary translator as well, asked us during a class what we think of narration in the present tense as well as of writing in first or second person. Back then, I'm not even sure it was possible to get a publishing contract if your story was set in the present tense and first person narration was treated with scorn by many (unless it was written by one of the great writers, I guess?). Although, at that time, even fanfiction was mostly written in the past tense, still, but there appeared a few cases where the story was set in present tense and it was refreshing and interesting to see something so out of the norm.
Yes, from what I've seen, this is more frequent for writers who are switching from one tense to another. It's easy to forget what tense you're supposed to write in and only realize that you made a mistake pages and pages later. If you even realize it before posting. Having a beta reader can help wonders with this issue, though.
I always found it clunky, particular when the writers are just starting out and tend to overuse I see, I feel, I do, I say in sentence construction. It is harder to make it flow well, because we tend to switch to past tense when telling a story in English vs doing running commentary in present tense on everything that goes on around us (outside the Driver's training heh).
So this is less of a tense issue and more of a tell VS show thing. Words like "see, feel, do, realize, wonder, think" etc are called filter words, which separates the reader from the action by filtering it through the POV character. You can absolutely write any combination of POV and tenses without filtering, but it's a very common rookie mistake!
I myself only started cutting filtering out of my writing about a year ago. I write exclusively in present-tense but when I was a preteen I wrote in past, and I promise I had this issue with both tenses haha
It is less glaring in the Past Tense though because it is more natural, it sort of sticks out worse in present tense, or at least that's how I feel. That was my biggest concern when I tried Present Tense
Nothing a little editing and TLC won't fix! I agree it can be a more common first draft issue for present tense, but I would actually argue I see it much more commonly in first person POV regardless of tense, interestingly. I love writing because it's so versatile haha you can do almost anything with it 
Writing in first person in a way that's not a running mental commentary is hard in my opinion because essentially, even when the writer tries to give a voice to their protagonist, it is rare that they do not bleed into the character and essentially project what they want to portray directly. It is natural to use "I see, feel, do, etc." because that's how we communicate when relaying a story that happened to us to others. But it is also one of the reasons it is harder to find distance and give a realistic description of emotions and actions that is also pleasing to read from an aesthetic/artistic point of view when writing in first person.
Then again, I've noticed that the more simply written stories are often more popular because of the comfort of familiarity and relatability they give to readers.
I totally agree! Writing is incredible and the feeling of creating new worlds and giving life to our characters is just so exhilarating!
It’s not so much relatability or comfort as the essential reading skill. Readers of the free stuff on the internet are often just not particularly well-read.
That might be part of it, true. Then again, how do we define being well-read? Can we only qualify if we are avid readers of the great classics or if we prefer complex, plot twist filled, emotionally wrecking stories? The age of the majority of online readers is statistically low, so it's not a surprise these readers who are often in different levels of their education surrounded by pretentious classics want to get away from all that's high and mighty because it was written by 'important' literary figures decades/centuries ago and just enjoy stories they can understand without doing mental gymnastics.
Does it suck for those, who work hard on creating intricate plotlines with constantly evolving characters only to be overlooked for yet another cliché? It sure does because great complexity won't put bread on the table if one wants to get recognition and money out of writing when left unseen but is it worth becoming popular if it means giving up the quality one values?
(Btw, the stimulation value of Literary/Classical vs Popular Fiction is a fascinating research topic - I've written part of my last thesis on the issue - but sadly not one with much valuable data...)
Classic is not pretentious. It’s the familiarity with printed books that went through editing process, no matter which genre they are and what year they had been written in. In some cases, it’s, regrettably, just literacy. In other cases, it’s ability to focus on sentences, and connect the dots without being explained everything. The whole idea of High Interest, Low Ability level fiction revolves around it & internet tries to emulate it. But it’s hard to stay on low literacy level, while still delivering a story that is not also simplistic plot wise.