*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
In a sudden splurt of inspiration in the middle of the night, I had (to my amazement) written 2 and finished 1 story. Both of which were over my usual word limit of 1000. Don't ask me why but I usually tend to cut off my stories around 1000, sequels notwithstanding.
Anyway, the sudden splurt of inspiration got me looking up on the point of view (pov) of my writings. The completed piece was written in 3rd-person pov. The longer, incompleted piece was written in 2nd-person pov. Of course, I've had pieces written in 1st-person too.
1st-person pov: main character is referred to as 'I'
2nd-person pov: main character is referred to as 'You'
3rd-person pov: main character/s is/are referred to as 'He', 'She', 'It'.
What I would want to talk about in this post is 2nd-person pov. It is by far the hardest form of writing to adopt due to the awkwardness of the tenses and the relatively harsh tone it takes on. Most people don't like to write, or even read a story written in 2nd-person pov because they feel like they are being forced along the same route that the main character have no choice but to take. As opposed to 1st-person, where the reader can choose to engage or detach himself/herself from the storyline; and unlike the 3rd-person pov where the reader is given a bird's eye view on things, 2nd-person feels like a military drill sergeant.
Which would you perfer? (tagboard me with your answer)
1. I am commanded to step into the role of the main character and do as I'm told.
2. You are commanded to step into the role of the main character and do as you are told.
3. He/She/It is commanded to step into the role of the main character do as he/she/it is told.
So despite all the sugar-coated EXPLANATIONS of your repulsion against 2nd-person pov, the main reason behind it is actually very simple. You hate to be told what to do. Your willingness to do something is much higher if you were thought to be given a choice (aka 1st-person pov) or if you were given an overview and is able to see the resulting big picture (aka 3rd-person pov). :p
(P.S. this blog post was inspired by YOU)
0 shots