WHEN THINGS ARE 'TENSE'

Despite not receiving any money yet from the two huge companies Waterstones and Bertams, for payment of goods, I've decided to head on to my next publication Aquasapien - Metamorphosis.

I got rather excited as I unearthed the manuscript and began another review of my earlier work. This story is about a mercenary, a martial arts and weapons expert, who's DNA becomes altered following a stealth mission. The prologue piece is about one of his missions and is written in present tense. For those of you who haven't been near any literary works recently, it means, - as it happens. Present tense creates an immediate feeling like you are there with the protagonist (leading character).

The novel following this is in past tense, which involves the reader following something which has already occurred rather than being in the moment. However, I quickly realised that present tense would work well for the first chapter too and now I don't know when or how to stop. I've re-written three chapters into present tense format and I'm thinking it needs to stop but don't know where or when to do this. I can't do the whole book in present tense, I'm sure.
You know when you begin writing a piece, or a story, it seems something so seamless, so simple (please note the alliteration), thoughts of past, present or future tense don't bother you. Then you learn more about plots and storylines, and characters and grammar etc and what seemed effortless becomes more like work.

I often think about people who are professional writers and do this for a living, or ghost writers who write for other people, or commissioned writers who get a set fee for producing whatever is asked of them and I wonder. Do they ever have times when the nuts and bolts of grammar, punctuation and format bog them down and make writing a chore? Because I'd love nothing more than to be a professional writer, maybe I'd even have the time to dedicate hours to reviewing this issue rather than fitting it in between my real life.

I have contacted a few professionals to ask their advice and I'll let you know what they suggest. Meanwhile feel free to offer your own comments. Any thoughts are good thoughts.