Started my first rewrite of STORM

3/06/07 -- Started my first rewrite of STORM MOUNTAIN. On a whim I tried switching from the first-person present-tense I used in the first draft to third-person past-tense. For example, "I stare in complete and total confusion," became "He stared in complete and total confusion."

Which may not seem like much -- just change the pronoun and add "ed" to the verbs -- but there is more to it than that. Using first person puts me, the writer, in the role of the viewpoint character. I become that person, and spend lots of time in his head. Which can be great for some stories and add a wonderful interior element, but STORM MOUNTAIN is an action filled survival saga. I needed to be out in the real world where the action is taking place. Switching to third person did the trick!

I hope.

We'll see.

Regardless of whether I stick with it or not, the point, at least to me, is this: Always keep your mind open to the wonders of rewriting. It is only by tinkering and experimenting, and sometimes trekking into box canyons and then out again, do we get our best work.