Second Person POV

[suffixedishness]

What do you think of second person?

I'm talking straight up second person here: You do this. You do that. You think this. You look at that, rather than I wanted to tell you this, but you weren't there, but the whole time I thought of you, and then I saw you. I've seen the latter referred to as second person, but I tend to think of it as first person.

Personally, it's my favourite POV, but it's hard to do well. It definitely doesn't fit every piece of writing, though I'd be hard put to clarify when something should or should not be second person, unless it's my own work.

I've found that there are some people who like it, some people who have no opinion, and some people who really dislike. What's your take on it?

[Fuck Yeah Dion]

It reaaaally makes me uncomfortable. Like I said in the other thread, I've only seen it effectively done once in a short story called "Orientation" by Daniel Orozco(sp?). Its just something that kind of makes my skin crawl personally. Not my cup of tea.

[embonpoint]

I think it can work, occasionally, but for poems, maybe, or shorter stories. If I picked up a novel and it was in second person, I'm pretty sure I'd put it back down again because I wouldn't want to read it like that. I think it's really, really difficult to do well, and there are only a few instances where it'd be appropriate.
In the spectrum of like -- dislike, I think I come somewhere in the middle, but certainly swaying towards 'dislike'.

[djcarter]

I concur, I'm generally not a fan of 2nd person. It makes me feel like I'm reading a choose-your-own-adventure novel, and that I'll be told to turn to page 17 at some point.

I liked Calvino's "If On a Winter's Night a Traveler" but haven't actually encountered any other works written in 2nd person. Just the very idea of it is strange to me - it doesn't feel natural.

[cyanea]

Another voice to add to the others saying that it just feels awkward. I loved "Create Your Own Adventure" stories when I was a kid, but the reader was supposed to be a character in those.

[Dobby]

I think it's okay in certain situations. I agree though, definitely not in a novel.

[Dodger Thirteen]

I'm anti-authoritarian and thus hate being told what to do.

That being said, second person POV is very difficult to do well.

[onlyaworkingtitle]

Hard to do well in poetry. Harder to do well in prose. Either way, not my cup of tea to read.

[Olive]

I enjoy it, but only in very short instances. I think if I read an entire novel in 2nd it... wouldn't end well, for me or the book.

I don't think I've really run across it in poetry, but I do like it in very (very VERY very) short instances of prose. Of course, I've written a couple things that way, so maybe that's why...

[Fuck Yeah Dion]

I've never written in second person. Hm.

[nodeerskulls]

I adore using it, but only in my short prose. Novel length is just nu-huh, for me. It simply doesn't go well in lengthy instances.
When I use it, I am usually addressing someone only I know of, and if the reader finds himself in the place of that person, even for just a second, then it's great, but if not, it kind of puts them in the shoes of someone I am writing to, and for.

[Deleted]

I'm not overly fond of second person POV when the author/narrator is treating the reader like a character in the story, dictating their responses and behaviours, since that is more often than not rather alienating for the reader. However, when second-person dialogue is used by one character addressing another it can produce some very powerful prose. For example, We Need To Talk About Kevin is an amazing book, written as a series of letters from a woman to her absent husband, and the direct discussion invited the reader into the intimacy of their relationship. I guess you could say I like stories addressed to an imagined reader, someone who is already a character in the world of the narrative.

In addition, some speeches or dialogue between two people can be immensely powerful uses of the second person voice. For example: "You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away..."

[imaginarymelodies]

I read a novel that's written almost entirely in second person narrative called Leftovers by Laura Weiss. The second person narrative is interspersed by first person, which makes it a bit easier to deal with. Though I did not like the book, I thought choosing the second person narrative was a brave and interesting choice. Personally, I think it works best in short stories.