- SECOND PERSON STORIES TEND TO MAKE THE READER A SERIAL
- SECOND PERSON STORIES TEND TO MAKE THE READER A SERIES
I quite like the idea of using it for the final episode of the podcast series I'm writing at the moment, because it'll be a different POV to every other episode, making it both special and, if I get it right, increasing the implied threat. I've only used it occasionally, more as an experiment to see if I could make it work than anything else. It's also used a lot in erotica, because in those cases the point is that the reader wants to imagine the things described happening to themselves, though I imagine that's probably not what you're writing.
SECOND PERSON STORIES TEND TO MAKE THE READER A SERIAL
That used second person when in the chapters from the POV of the antagonist serial killer, and it both disguised the identity of the killer and made those scenes extremely personal.Ĭome to think, I think all of the novels I've read using it have used second person to disguise the identity of someone, either the 'You' in question or the narrator. I think the one that did it best was Complicity, by Iain Banks. I've read a few novels that incorporated second person, but in all of them it was a voice used for certain POVs rather than the whole thing. I think second person works better in short stories inasmuch as it's hard to do it well, and the conceit is easier to maintain over a shorter period. This is very different from a generic you aimed only at the reader, so it has no specificity. They dress alike, the boy is learning to think and talk like the dad, and is apparently (at this point) going to inherit the business, and he wants to be just like daddy dearest. So the things said at him or to him carry meaning-he's the other half of the duo of big-business tycoon Daddy and his son who's being groomed to be a carbon copy of himself. But the you is aimed at the character of Bunny. The you is aimed not at the reader, except olbiquely, since I assume the reader is invited to imagine him-or-herself in the place of the boy, who seems to be ostensibly the POV character in these early scenes. You know, You walk slowly across the courtyard, the moon shimmering like chased silver across the balustrade.
I've seen 2nd person used a few times before, but usually clumsily, with the you aimed directly at the reader, so sort of a blank personage, a non-entity intended to fit every reader. And Sinclair is such a good writer it doesn't feel like any kind of mistake, instead it feels dizzying with possibilities. Most times the you seems to be the general you-as in 'When you see such a huge truck bearing down, you pull over as far as you can and slow down to let it pass.' It refers not to any particular person, but to anyone in such a situation.Īnd yet at times the you in the story definitely does refer specifically to the boy. If I remember right most of the story is in a pretty normal 3rd person, except on the beginning, where many times the boy who is the main character (of that section) is addressed as 'you'. Sorry, I'm writing a bit like Upton Sinclair because I've been reading him and marveling at his excellence. Wow, did I have it wrong!! It isn't in 1st person at all, in fact the beginning seems to be in 2nd person! That rarest of all literary animals. I just recently wrote something about it in a PM-let me paste a few things in here: I was very impressed with the use of second person in OIL! by Upton Sinclair. When, if ever, do you choose to play around with second person? It will probably stand out more in second, but I probably have a better chance of selling it in third. So, I switched to third to see how that felt for the rest of the story. Halfway through I started to think it was a pretty good story and I didn't want to ruin in by having it in second person. However, I seem to go through this cycle with everything I write where I love it then hate it then work hard to love it again. I started it using second person and I felt like it was working.
I'm just not sure of when I pull it off verses just wrote something that's more of a cheap thrill if that. It's just not something I see often and I read quite a few publications regularly. That being said, I have read second person stories, including one in The New Yorker. Also, not interested in self publishing anything so I do care about what the market wants. Is using second person in short stories any better than in a longer work though? I feel like I'm shooting myself in the foot when opting for this POV when it comes to publishing prospects. I've only used second person in short stories, but it's not something I've done a lot. I think it can be fun to write in second person, but often it can come off kind of gimmicky.
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