What is the Second Person
An example
from
Let us talk about writing, just me and you. Pull up a chair and make
yourself comfortable. Pour a cup of joe, or whatever your favorite
poison is. Settle in and we'll get down to the nitty gritty. I can go on
for hours about this writing business, but I won't take up too much of
your time today. Writing is one my favorite subjects. I'm thinking it
might be yours too. Why do I think it might be yours? Well, you're here
aren't you? That's a pretty good indication. I could be wrong though,
and I'm more than willing to admit that. But let's talk a bit if you
don't mind.
See this paragraph above? That's one way to use the second person
properly, when directly addressing someone. I'm addressing you, the
reader and possible writer, directly. The paragraph is written with a
specific audience in mind, not a general one. I blame my first college
professor for my pet peeve about the misuse of the second person. He
pounded it into my freshmen skull many years ago that "you" had no place
in any essay except for extraordinary circumstances. When I had him
again for nearly every other English class, that lesson was simply
emphasized in other writings. Other professors touched on it in
literature, but he really sent it home.
I mostly blame advertisement for the misuse of the second person in new
writing. I don't know how many times I have driven my family to
distraction because I've absentmindedly disagreed with an advertisement.
Listen to those things sometime - advertisements. Most of them are
trying to target a specific market, but the way the commercials are
written is so broad. The net thrown tries to catch as many people as
possible. The public at large is included in the message. "You" is
inclusive. The message is worded so everyone hearing it is led to
believe they need that product or service by the simple use of that one
little word. It's no wonder beginning writers use it in their writing;
they're exposed to it constantly.
Another reason some beginning writers use the second person incorrectly
is because they are "telling the tale." Most people learn to talk before
they learn to write, and more people are better at telling stories than
writing them. When beginning writers start to write the stories in
their heads, often things become lost in the translation. Oral telling
is different than the written word, and some writers don't make the
distinction between what's said and what's written. When storytellers
have an audience in front of them, they can say "It's so black that you
can't see your hand in front of your face..." or "...the wind's so cold
it'll cut right through ya." Storytellers
talk directly to their audience. Even if the audience doesn't "feel"
the cold, the use of the second person can bring them deeper into the
story.
It can be done; Half Asleep in Frog
Pajamas by Tim Robbins is a fictional novel written in second person,
and there are several short stories which use the second person well,
but they are rare. Also, the "choose your own adventure" genre of
fiction has often been written in second person. Now that the Internet
is so well established, interactive stories and many role playing forums
are perfect homes for fictional stories that incorporate the second
person.
In non-fiction writing, the use of the second person is commonplace. As
in this opening sentence from Take Control of Your Sales by Sonya
Carmichael Jones, "Regardless of your writing genre, marketing is the
primary means by which your book sales are generated." This article
addresses a specific audience, the book writer who wants to sell books.
By inserting "you" into the article, the author attempts to draw the
writer in and make the article personal. Such casual writing is routine
nowadays. However, the above sentence could just have easily been
written, "Regardless of genre, marketing is the primary means by which
book sales are generated." Both are correct, it's simply a matter of
preference.
If used properly, use of the second person can draw the reader into a
piece like no other word. Such as this statement: "If you're one of the
millions of people in the United States who has ever..." It is written
directly to a specific audience. It attempts to hook that audience
immediately. Hopefully, anyone who falls into the category of the
article will read the rest of article with interest. Those who do not
fall under the umbrella of whatever the article covers will most likely
not read it. However, since they are not the intended audience, the use
of the second person has fulfilled a purpose as well.
Using the second person is the easy way, but it can alienate half the
readers in the blink of an eye. Consider an article written about some
extreme sport where the author has written "... and you feel the rush of
wind screaming through your hair. This is why you dig freefall, the
rush..." Well, there went all of his sensitive bald readers and anyone
who's never felt freefall, or those who don't "dig" it.
Using the second person can be a very powerful tool in an author's
toolkit. But if it's used incorrectly it can gum up the works good and
proper. Generally, try not to use the second person in an essay or a
fictional story that is not aimed at a specific audience. There are
always exceptions of course. What would this wonderful language be
without exceptions? In my opinion, there are ways to get around using
the second person - notice how I have not used it since the first
paragraph except in quotations? A writer simply has to be creative. It's
more fun that way. Is there a better way to enhance writing skills than
finding more creative ways to say things? I can't think of one.
Well, I enjoyed this time with you. I hope you did too. Thanks for
coming by and listening to me voice my opinion. It was a blast. I've got
to get on to other things, but I hope you'll stop by again soon.
Take care.
from
www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1200131-That-Second-Person
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