: Re: In present-tense narrative, does "I spend the NEXT few hours..." make sense? I was directed to the writers stackexchange from the English/grammar forums. I'm writing a novel in present-tense.

@Radia543

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I think a simple rewrite of the sentence will solve your problem:

"Over the next few hours, I think about what life might be like living in Hawaii. I could be surfing waves, but instead, I'm cleaning grease traps for Pizza Hut."

However, you're inherently messing with your timeline with the expression "next few hours." It will push you into present perfect or future tenses--or just sound awkward and slow down your reader. You can roll with it:

"I ponder it, and I ponder it some more. In fact, hours slip by thinking about that North Coast surf and the pina colada sunsets."

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