I left it out because it doesn't change the tense of the novel. It's not problematic, but inevitable. Present tense novels need to employ past tense verbs because that's how verbs work.

u/jmsprmj You needn't worry about using past and present verbs like this, provided you know where and when to use them.

For example. Pretend I'm the narrative voice of your present tense novel. I am sitting here in the present sending you a message on reddit. However, what am I presently replying to? Am I presently replying to an email you write yesterday, or am I replying to an email you wrote yesterday?

In a novel written in the present tense will of course use *wrote*. A paste tense novel will use past-perfect tense for the same situation.

I write a reply to what you wrote.
I wrote a reply to what you had written.