I Was Vs. I Am

I wrote my entire first book, and most of my second, in first-person, past tense.  I thought it gave the story a feel of a personal storyteller, recounting the experiences that had happened to him.

However, I've read a few other YA books lately, and I've noticed that a few of them have been in present tense.  I found myself liking that tense better.

For one, it allows readers to feel like they're discovering facts at the same time as the protagonist.  In my books, my main character has no memory of where he's been or who he is, so having him live in present tense allows a shared mystery with the character and the reader.

Secondly, in past tense, you know the main character is going to survive whatever circumstances are thrown their way.  They have to, since they're still talking, and the situation has already happened.  But in present tense, that knowledge is gone.  I remember reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, and thinking, you know, Katniss might not survive.  I could easily imagine an outcome where Katniss dies, and the story switches to another viewpoint.  Since the story was told in present tense, there was nothing external stopping the author from doing that.

I want that same kind of tension in my stories.  The kind where you're constantly thinking, oh, is Garrett going to survive this?

So, I have started to rewrite my books from past tense to present tense.  And it's a large undertaking.  I have done a few find/replaces, such as I was to I am, I could to I can, but I still have to read every word.  I have a lot of other verbs in there, and they all need to be switched over.  And the stupid English language seems to have more irregular verbs than regular one.

I've finished two chapters, and I like the result a lot more. Add that to the continuous editing process, and this book should be much better when I finish with it.