Writing Excuses20 Apr 2025

20.16: Second Person

People often think of first person POV as the most intimate voice. But in a way, we think second person might be more intimate. With second person, you’re forcing the reader’s subjectivity into the fiction itself. You are integrating the person who is reading the story into the experience of being in the story– in a way that can be a little disorienting (or fun) for the reader.

In the world of POVs, the second person can sometimes feel like a chaotic perspective. There are several different versions, depending on who the “you” is addressing. Is it the reader? Is it another character? What happens when “you” appears in a letter within a story? Second person often appears in conversation and on social media because it’s a way to draw your conversational group into the experience that you personally had. So, when should you use it in your writing, and how can you use it to help advance or deepen your story?

Homework: Write something in the second person, and think of something you’re getting across in the scene. Now, try to convey it with a “you” that’s directed towards another character. Then, as a “you” in a letter. Finally, write it again where the “you” is the reader themselves.

P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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