Lending A Helping Hand: Writing Tips

What is Second person ?

Let's start with a second-person point of view definition.

In fiction, pure second-person POV uses the perspective of a single character, the protagonist, to tell the story. This character is well-defined, with habits, traits and a unique personality. The reader is simply placed "behind" this character, seeing and experiencing the world through his eyes, body and mind.

Need a second person example? It sounds like this:

Eventually you ascend the stairs to the street. You think of Plato's pilgrims climbing out of the cave, from the shadow world of appearances toward things as they really are, and you wonder if it is possible to change in this life.

— Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City

As you can see, there is no "I" in this second person example. There might be a "he" or "him," whenever the protagonist is interacting with someone, but your principal pronouns are "you," "your" and "yours."

For that reason, it's a bit hard to create a variety of sentence structure in this POV. Starting every sentence with "you" can quickly grow old.

If you try using the second-person POV, watch out for this issue. You can alternate pronouns by writing about items and other characters in your protagonist's environment. For example, here's an excerpt from from Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler:

Adjust the light so you won't strain your eyes. Do it now, because once you're absorbed in reading there will be no budging you. Make sure the page isn't in shadow, a clotting of black letters on a gray background, uniform as a pack of mice...

The good and evil of writing in second person
The second-person POV casts the reader as the protagonist. That means she's "forced" to act and think in ways that might not be authentic for her.

If you, as the writer, pull it off, this POV creates instant, complete empathy between the reader and the protagonist. It makes every thought and action her own and evokes emotional responses from her gut.

If you aren't successful, though, reading in this POV can be a highly annoying experience for your audience.

Writing in the second person means treading a fine line. When you write in this POV, you're very clearly attempting to manipulate the reader's thoughts and emotions. Not all readers will take well to this strategy.

But that's OK! All good writing manipulates a reader's emotions; consider how we connect with characters like Holden Caulfield and Harry Potter. After watching the world through their eyes in third-person limited POV, no one can resist feeling for them — even though Holden is a fairly unlikeable character. That intimacy is emotional manipulation at its literary best.

The challenge of the second-person point of view is to manipulate your reader's thoughts and impressions without forcing feeling and emotion where it doesn't belong. You want it to feel natural, not kick your reader out of the story by trying too hard.

How do you master this balancing act? By reading great examples of the second-person point of view, testing it in your own writing and sharing your work with others for feedback and advice. A writing accountability partner or group will be invaluable in exploring this POV.