Not trying to come across as a smart ass here, honest, But I think your confusing two different things. You can write in past tense and still be in first person. Example.<em>"I went to the store to buy a beer."</em>would be in the first person narrative, but written in the past tense.<em>"I'm going to the store to buy a beer."</em>is first person narrative in the present tense. And of course,<em>"I will go to the store to buy a beer"</em>is in future tense.<br/><br/>I hope that helps clear things up a bit. :)