Writing in 2nd Person POV
Writing in 2nd person has taught me a few things about myself as a writer.
I didn’t realize how much I would actually enjoy writing in 2nd person
2nd person actually brought my magical realism novel alive enough for me to actually follow along with the story
I never knew how intimate 2nd person could be, it feels deeper than the intimacy 1st person brings. It feels like something is walking along side of you and telling you what you both are seeing together, while also knowing your every thought, feeling and emotion. Knowing your next move while experiencing everything with you.
It has an eerie undertone to it as well, like something is watching over you while you live your life and talking directly to the character and telling the character exactly what they are experiencing and about to experience in the next second.
It helped me to be in the present moment and follow along the story with the characters. Experiencing life with them as they experienced life
It helped me to show the story more than to tell the story
It’s very interesting to say the least. I never knew I would actually be comfortable enough to write a full novel in only 2nd person. It was a little weird at first when I started writing because it was so different. But as soon as I got the hang of it and the rhythm of it, it came to me so easily. It felt comfortable being in that POV and it made the characters so clear to me. It seemed as if I could feel what they were feeling.
I don’t know if I’ll write another book that has the 2nd person POV in the future. But I know that with this magical realism novel. The idea has been an idea since 2017, at that time I was deep in contemporary fiction. I didn’t even see myself writing anything else even though I always wanted to try something. I just didn’t know I would be able to pull it off.
I tried writing this novel back in 2017, but gave up just as fast as I started. 9 years later, I heard about N.K. Jemisin and how she wrote a book in 2nd person and I looked into that perspective. Decided I would try 2nd person for this magical realism idea I had for almost 10 years, just to see how it would turn out. Turns out that’s exactly what I needed to help the story come alive for me. I am thankful for that.
Thank you for taking the time out to read my little rant about 2nd person POV.