Dangerous territory - Second person writing...

[WBDaddy]

So I have a concept for a new piece (now that I've finally, and rather ham-handedly, finished my most recent project) and I'm kicking around writing it in second person.

Question for the group - how do you feel about second person when major elements of the character "you" are being pressed into don't necessarily apply to you personally?

[WakkoWannaBe]

I've seen plenty of fanfic that use second person, but it's written in second person so that the reader can insert themselves into the story. I can't imagine a set-up in which a story was written with second person AND in which it was very clear that the person being talked about wasn't the reader.

If you think you can make it work then do it! But even if that's hard to do, you could always just intend for the reader to insert themselves.

[WBDaddy]

Well, it's tricky.

[WakkoWannaBe]

give the "you" character as much background as you like, imo! You're not gonna please everybody anyway. Some people might really love the extra background and for some people it might not do anything, and for some they might hate it. Me personally I would like to have some background!

[Cute_Kitten]

I've come across stories like this, where second person is used to help the reader feel more immersed in the story.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Cute_Kitten

[WBDaddy]

Yeah, I've written a couple of 2nd person vignettes, and while it was challenging, I feel like I managed to pull it off pretty well.

[Cute_Kitten]

Suspension of disbelief is relative to the story.

[WBDaddy]

But in a way, isn't assigning you the reader a history that doesn't belong to you sort of a "screw-up"?

Edited July 25, 2015 by WBDaddy

[Cute_Kitten]

I

[babylin]

"You wont't believe this, but this is how it happened".

"You won't believe this but this is why it happened".

"You won't believe this but this is what happened.

[ausdpr]

RPGs often give some measure of unnamed protagonist backstory, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Over time I've come to think that the trick is not mentioning any biological relatives. Almost anything else is a fluid possibility in people's lives. If it's not true now, it might be at some other time.

[WBDaddy]

RPGs often give some measure of unnamed protagonist backstory, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Over time I've come to think that the trick is not mentioning any biological relatives. Almost anything else is a fluid possibility in people's lives. If it's not true now, it might be at some other time.

That's the inescapable part for this story, and why I just need to scrap it and go a different direction.

[willnotwill]

It is an interesting and as you realize difficult pov to use.

Edited September 3, 2015 by willnotwill

[Cute_Kitten]

As a writer, it's not something I'd be keen to try, just because I feel my skills aren't up to the challenge. As a reader, I'd definitely want to read it. XD

[Dr_J]

I'm working on a story that uses the 2nd person POV. It's very tough, especially when the protagonist remembers something from his past, then goes back to the present.

Not sure I'd consider it dangerous...just amazingly difficult to pull off!

[willnotwill]

Hemmingway drops in and out of it in A Moveable Feast.

[Zinaya]

I know that I've only just joined but I have been reading the stories on this site much longer and, believe it or not, happen to know a bit about writing from both the practical and theoretical side (as I can tell some others do as well). There are many wonderfully creative and imaginative writers here, there are many good and sometimes even great storytellers here as well, but writers technically proficient enough to pull off a 2nd person narrative there are not. If you feel intrigued by the form and want to explore it, why not! Myself, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole because just like C_K, I consider it to be a gimmick, something used just to show off one's technical skills. Entertaining and enjoyable reading, it makes not.

If you want to write stories, start out doing so in the 1st person as it is the easiest and the way we talk all the time when we speak to others. Once you've become proficient enough as a writer, and that includes mastering certain forms such as in media res, then it is time to move on to the 3rd person omniscient which by far makes for the easiest and most enjoyable reading experience.

Bottom line is that if you have a great concept for a story, why ruin it by writing it in a form that you do not master and the reader finds difficult anyway?

[WBDaddy]

I'm not entirely sure I agree with the "most enjoyable reading experience" of 3rdO as a point of view.

[Cute_Kitten]

I don't think it's a gimmick or a way to show off.

[Zinaya]

I'm not entirely sure I agree with the "most enjoyable reading experience" of 3rdO as a point of view.

[willnotwill]

Both the 3rd person close and the 3rd person omniscient doesn't mean you have to tell everything.

[WBDaddy]

As you come to the crest of the hill, your legs burning and feet hurting, you will be both tired and thirsty as the climb is steep and the days always sun-baked. In front of you..., to your left... and you begin to wonder if the path will ever end.

That's 2nd person narrative, and that's what this discussion was about.

FWIW, I have (some weeks ago) elected to go forward with it, and so far what I've produced feels pretty comfortable from a narrative perspective.

[Zinaya]

That's 2nd person narrative, and that's what this discussion was about.

I'm sorry to correct you but that is not 2nd person narrative as there is no such thing. There are only two perspectives from which to tell a story and that is one of either 1st or 3rd person which makes it C3P0

Edited October 21, 2015 by Zinaya
Errors of syntax

[WBDaddy]

Okay, I'm sure Georges Perec, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and numerous other authors would argue the validity of second-person narrative, but

[Zinaya]

And likewise, I will play along nicely! From a linguistic point of view, what determines which type is the identity of the "speaker", the narrator or teller of the story, the person speaking through the text to the reader. If it is one of the protagonists, one of the people in the story, it is in 1st person. Otherwise it is third person. Or to put it in another way, from a linguistic point of view the "I" is the person communicating the story. The "you" the "I" is communicating with, through the medium of the text, is the reader.To use the snippet I used before, slightly modified: