Yes, I normally don’t enjoy reading stories told in second person, but it’s not because it’s badly written (although that can be a part of it), it’s just not my favorite to read when in comparison with stories told in first or third person. In addition, just because I don’t particularly enjoy reading second person in general, doesn’t mean I can’t attempt writing in second person myself, and that‘s because only I know what my personal conditions I like when reading these types of stories. Because I hardly find second person stories written the way I like to read them, I mostly don’t go looking for them, and that‘s why they aren‘t my “favorite“ kind of stories to read, especially when they are written by someone else. Besides clashing with writing style in general, there are plenty of other complaints when writing in second person. One of them is “Real authors don’t write in second person!”
Uh, yeah they do. It’s mostly seen in Create Your Own Adventure/Pick Your Own Path (CYOA/PYOP) stories, which are published professionally. The Goosebumps series was famous for it, and people still enjoy them. Quizilla also became a popular hot-spot for CYOA/PYOP along with Who Would Fall For You/Who Would You Fall For (WWFFY/WWYFF) before the site changed to have stricter story and quiz templates, along with limiting the amount of characters used when using the quiz-maker.
“It’s impossible to describe all of the readers in one character!”
Well, yes, you can’t say the character has a specific color of hair, but it isn’t as if you’re barred from describing the characters, period. Just say that the character brushed their hair or outlined their eyes. Don’t go into specific colors or styles. There are also ways of making the “reader” unique through the story. If something like the character worrying about their weight comes into play, just say something vague like “you checked into the mirror for signs of cellulite.” Even if most of the readers don’t worry about their weight or how they look, I’m sure they would understand that it’s still fiction, and if the character had perfect-looking people constantly around them, I’m sure the readers would understand why the constant nit-picking. Just like in any normal story, the main character, in this case “you”, need to change by the end of the story. “You” can still develop just as much as “he”, “she”, or “it” can develop in a story.
“No one reader has the same personality!”
That is also partly true; however, this is a fictitious story where the reader will be under different circumstances from their real life. That means that the character will have different parents, teachers, friends, and overall a different kind of life from their real life, and even though I still suggest being vague with the personality (i.e., “you were stubborn to get your way”), the writer still has freedom to make up a personality. Even if the story is CYOA/PYOP, the writer can’t possibly write down the different answers in all of the different personality types. In other words, the writer is allowed to make up a shell with half a soul; the reader can fill in the second half with yourself mentally throughout the story (I still have thoughts as I read any story) and whenever it comes into play by making choices if it‘s CYOA/PYOP/WWYFF/WWFFY. If it’s a WWYFF/WWFFY story where personality definitely does make a difference, the writer is allowed to pick and choose which personality types would best suit the story and characters. A sloth-like computer technician who doesn’t know about magic, probably wouldn’t survive long enough in a mythological apocalyptic world long enough to fall in love or have someone fall in love with him or her.
“You can’t name the main character!”
That‘s definitely the one thing that I see almost everywhere and don‘t agree with! I see it on other people’s writing guides, I see it on someone else’s preferences when concerning second person, but I’ve never seen the rule of not naming the “reader” from a professionally published author declaring that. Maybe it’s just my (unprofessional) preference, but I think you can most certainly name the second person main character. You created the parents who have to choose a name for their child, just like with first and third person, so why would second person be any different? And what if your own name doesn’t coincide with the universe?
YOU ARE READING
The Mary-Sue Complaints Checklist
Non-FictionMy second Mary-Sue series revolving around specific complaints most people would declare as Mary-Sueish or considered as bad writing, which I don't agree with. This series includes: Writing solely in second person Using cliches or writing self-inse...
