The Dreaded Second-Person
One of the many writing “rules” that I always hear about—and one that seems to be raised and relitigated on Twitter ever so often—is never use second-person point-of-view. It’s difficult to write, difficult to sell, and difficult to read. Allegedly. Well, I like challenges as much as I dislike absolutism so I’ve decided to write my next project in second person. It’s my first time trying this POV, and as with any new venture, it’s both exciting and daunting.
Intentionality is something I’m trying really hard to practice in every aspect of my writing. I can’t do things just because I think it’ll be “cool”, however I might define that in the moment—there has to be a reason that I can articulate, one that ties into good craft. Choice of point-of-view is definitely an aspect that needs to be intentional, especially since some stories work better in certain POVs.
Given most people’s preferences, there isn’t a lot of ink spilled on how to write second-person effectively, but good thing there are a ton of SFF works that showcase what the POV can do. The Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang gives the narrator someone to address, and in so doing emphasizes the relationship between the narrator and the You character. N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season has second-person sections that provide a stark sense of immersion, and also set up a structural reveal about the book as a whole and the identity of the You character. Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™ by Rebecca Roanhorse places the reader into the uncomfortable shoes of the You character and makes the reader feel part of that character’s transgressions.
I’m rereading these works and discovering a lot of new ones as I embark on my current short story project. My aim is to have the reader inhabit the role of the main character very intimately, but I wondered if there’s a reason why I shouldn’t use first-person instead, which could achieve that same goal. Second has the advantage of novelty, for sure, and I do want to practice writing in that POV, but that is not enough. There needs to be a larger reason tied to the story’s plot, character, themes, that would make second-person work better than first.
At the risk of shoehorning reasons into my choice, I needed to examine look at my outline and the themes I want to explore in the story. There is an element of voyeurism in the plot to which second-person lends itself well. There’s also the theme of internal guilt vs. external shame that I want to explore: the main character (the You) does some questionable things that I want the reader to feel implicated in as witness, or more compellingly, as active participant. [NB. It is not a story about a literal voyeur. That is very much not my jam.]
Second-person works because of that sense of complicity, in addition to the sense of intimacy or immediacy. First-person can only achieve the latter two. The more I work on this project the more I’m convinced second-person is the right choice, and here’s hoping I still feel the same by the time I finish writing it.
For cool examples of second-person SFFH stories, go see Marc Fenn Wolfmoor’s comprehensive list here.