Heya Nonnie! Uh, okay! I’ll do my best. This is just my (totally subjective) observations – others may feel otherwise, and that’s awesome.

To me, there’s no “right” tense. I have used both. Sansukh is in past-tense, and ‘They Know’ is in present-tense. It all hinges on the effect you want to produce. 

Most fics do, however, use past tense. That’s because past tense is comfortable to read and naturally reflective in nature (which means it is far easier to examine past events as they affect the present). It’s worth considering that your target audience is very used to reading in past tense and will find it accessible. So, that means ‘Random did this’ is your go-to tense 🙂

Present tense is trickier, depending on the effect you want to give. Present tense can either give a sense of urgency, or a sense of timelessness. 

Shifting tenses is even more precarious! It is mostly very frowned on: if you start in past-tense, it is very jarring to suddenly swap to present halfway through a scene.

However, if the change happens between scenes rather than during? It can work quite well for stream-of-consciousness writing, or in non-linear narratives. I used present-tense stream-of-consciousness for some of my fics, most in ‘The Long Road’ (which also uses shifting non-linear tenses).

So, here’s a short passage from Sansukh Chapter 36 that I have rewritten in present tense:

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_{“You ridiculous Dwarf,” he tuts, and the worry in his voice is even clearer. “You’re dead on your feet!”}

_{“Clearly.” Thorin says, and gives his Hobbit a rather flat look.}

_{“I didn’t mean that,” Bilbo says, and he lets out a gusty sigh of exasperation. “Well, there’s nothing for it, I’m going to have to help you.”}

_{“Help me?” Thorin pushes open his chamber door, and nearly groans aloud at the sight of his bed. It seems years ago that Bilbo had appeared upon his dresser. “Bilbo…”}

_{“You do need my help, look at the state of you,” Bilbo says, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows. “This single-mindedness of yours is dreadfully bad for you.”}

_{“And you, Master Baggins, are so free of any unhealthy obsessions,” Thorin mutters. Then he lets out a growl and flops down onto his bed and buries* his face in his pillow. “I apologise for my sharpness, Bilbo. I am not in any state to bandy clever words today. I have watched too many die. I have seen too much grief.”}

_{Bilbo is quiet for a long moment. When he speaks again, he sounds closer. “Do you want to tell me?”}

_{Thorin rolls over to see Bilbo perching upon the foot of his pallet. He seems about as comfortable as a Dwarf in an Elven talan, his knees pressing together primly and his hands clasped in his lap. But his face is, for once, soft and sympathetic.}

_{“My cousin died today,” he says, and feels at his nose again. Still a little sore. “He gave his life for my home, and now my sister grieves once more.”}

_{“Your cousin? Which one?”}

_{“Dáin,” Thorin sighs.}

_{“Oh, the one who…” Bilbo’s eyes widen, and Thorin nods tiredly.}

---

You can see that the feel of the passage changes: it becomes more immediate and personal, but it also has a slight air of ‘announcing’ the action rather than reflecting on it. 

So there we are – I hope all that was helpful, though I’m not an authority and you might want to investigate other avenues as well. I tried! Basically, I would stick with past tense (and don’t shift out of it at any point) for a while, until you’re comfortable. Then you can start to play about with some of the other options I have laid out here! Good luck to you in your writing, Nonnie!