Point of View

druscilla; daydream.:

I have a question about second person.

I know there's "you" character. But can you have second person with an "I" character and without an "I" character? Or is that still considered first person even if there are both an "I" and a "you" character?

Clarify? I think I get it, but not really.

Emilyemilyemily:

druscilla; daydream.:

I have a question about second person.

I know there's "you" character. But can you have second person with an "I" character and without an "I" character? Or is that still considered first person even if there are both an "I" and a "you" character?

Clarify? I think I get it, but not really.

I'll just write two paragraphs for each thing I'm describing.

You're standing there. You're shivering. You're staring up at me with expectant eyes. I hold my arms out and you crawl into my lap.

And...

You're so beautiful. They watch you with hungry eyes. You're the prettiest thing they've ever seen. Their fingers run over your arms, your eyes, your hair, your face, your stomach. You're their demigod, Jesus sent for their sins. And they love you.

Are they both second person?

yeah, as SOON as you mention an 'i', it turns it into first person, because the narrator has now entered the story and is a character within it.

i have a 'second person' story that's actually first person, even though 'I' is only mentioned a couple of times in the whole piece.

To have a story in second person POV, your main character needs to be referred to with a second person pronoun. That's all, you can also have first person or third person characters.
The best example of pure second person POV is Italo Calvino's first chapter of If in a winter's night a traveler.

I have a story in second person too. I thought it was really interesting to write and people seem to like it :XD I've experimented with all POV'S including, indirect speech which is fun. ~~

I write mostly in first person, because I find it easier, but I like third person too.
If I'm using first person, I also prefer it to be a male character. I prefer the attitudes and thoughts you can convey with a man.

I write mostly third, I believe.
But I don't really pick the point of view. It's just whichever works the best and most naturally with the story.

As for which I prefer to read? The same. Whichever works best with and tells the story most naturally. Typically, that tends to be third with emphasis on one of the main characters.

When I first wrote, I used the second person. But I got tired of it and tried the third and first person.
But now, I usually stick to the first person, because I get annoyed having to use too much pronouns and I'm paranoid that I'm just making things confusing. x]

druscilla; daydream.:

I'll just write two paragraphs for each thing I'm describing.

You're standing there. You're shivering. You're staring up at me with expectant eyes. I hold my arms out and you crawl into my lap.

And...

You're so beautiful. They watch you with hungry eyes. You're the prettiest thing they've ever seen. Their fingers run over your arms, your eyes, your hair, your face, your stomach. You're their demigod, Jesus sent for their sins. And they love you.

Are they both second person?

Yeah, those are both second person.

The first one less so, but still second. It's sort of both points. The reason it's second is because when your reader is reading it, they're putting themselves in the pov of "you" whereas you, the author, are putting yourself in the pov of "me/I". Does that make any sense? And like Emily said... I could be completely wrong too.

Eagles:

druscilla; daydream.:

I'll just write two paragraphs for each thing I'm describing.

You're standing there. You're shivering. You're staring up at me with expectant eyes. I hold my arms out and you crawl into my lap.

And...

You're so beautiful. They watch you with hungry eyes. You're the prettiest thing they've ever seen. Their fingers run over your arms, your eyes, your hair, your face, your stomach. You're their demigod, Jesus sent for their sins. And they love you.

Are they both second person?

Yeah, those are both second person.

The first one less so, but still second. It's sort of both points. The reason it's second is because when your reader is reading it, they're putting themselves in the pov of "you" whereas you, the author, are putting yourself in the pov of "me/I". Does that make any sense? And like Emily said... I could be completely wrong too.

Does it matter if you're not making the reader the character of 'you'?
If it's more like you're telling the story back to a character with a name that is clearly not the reader?

I mainly write in third person limited, though sometimes I'll take one first person. It really has to be
a distinct character for me to be able to use first person, and it also requires a lot more living
and acting like that specific character, because it's just like playing emotions; sometimes you
are forced to take on a roll, rather than scripting the adventures of a character from a narrator's point
of view. :shifty Sometimes I even end up switching back and fourth between pov 3- limited and
pov 3- unlimited. Though I don't do this with common stories, I do to cause purposeful
confusion based on plot twists and characters that may enter as others leave.

I used to always write in third. Nowadays, I kinda write in first more.

Though I have got a couple of fics coming up in third. :shifty

I seem to be having a phase of second person. A have a couple that are kind of like... letters to people with no memory of what has happened so they need reminding? Describing to someone how they looked or how they said something. That kind of thing. I don't know how it happened. I love it, though. Wonderful potential for poignancy. I love these two-character boylove letter-fics I can't stop writing :XD

Edit: Basically what Druscilla is talking about a few posts up. :shifty

I have another second person that's more like a flippant instruction manual. Are there special names for the different types of second person?

I've tried second person before but it hasn't worked out for me so well. I suppose I just need more experience.
I do love to read it, though. Something about it fascinates me. Perhaps being set into the story.

I write in third person, generally. My writing quality (and I don't know why) tends to be higher when I'm writing in third.

For the most part, I write third person, but the Am...? series is different, and the only exception. Each story I write within my two Am...? pentalogies is written in first person. They are the only stories that I will ever write in first person. Third person is so much easier to write in because there's a possibility to switch between characters and tell the entire story.

druscilla; on fire.:

I have a question about second person.

I know there's "you" character. But can you have second person with an "I" character and without an "I" character? Or is that still considered first person even if there are both an "I" and a "you" character?

I think that's a pretty interesting idea. The first and second person coming together that way. It sounds like it would make a good story - with the narrator talking to the reader as though they have a relationship. Not sure what POV that would be called though. I'm thinking it's still 2nd person POV or maybe it would simply be both 2nd and 1st.

---

I like writing in the third person. I like being able to get into the heads of more than one character. For me, the third person is a good way really get out a strong feel of the characters instead of just ONE character. It's also a lot of fun to write. I find it more interesting than 1st person and I'm not a fan of 2nd person.

I much prefer third person, in the past tense, like:
"The wind flew through her hair."
But, in my newest creation, I've been trying third person, but in the present tense:
"The wind is flying through her hair."
I find it refreshing, but also challenging.

I can usually do better at description and feeling when I write in first person, but I'll swing third.

I prefer first person, since it's easier for showing how the main character feels, etc. But some stories just have to be written in third to show more of what's going on.