Writing in 2nd Person | The Forgotten POV

AUTHORTUBE WRITING CONFERENCE 2022:

EXAMPLES:

RELATED VIDEOS:

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
2:40 - What is 2nd person POV?
7:00 - Misconceptions about 2nd Person
- Types of 2nd Person -
12:35 - 2nd person pure
13:55 - 2nd person interior
16:06 - 2nd person instructional
18:35 - 1st person referral
20:12 - Why use 2nd person
22:02 - Why not use 2nd person

MY SHORT STORIES:

FAQS
→How old are you? - 25
→How long have you been writing? - Since I was 8
→Where do you live? - I keep that private for safety reasons, but I grew up in Vancouver.
→Where did you go to university and what did you study? - I keep my university information private, but I majored in writing with a concentration in fiction.
→What are your pronouns? - They/them or she/her
→Where can I read your books? - None of my books are published yet, but you can read my published short fiction in my linktree (linked above!)
→So when will your book be published? - I don’t know! I’m in the revision process right now, but I can’t predict exactly when I’ll have a book published. But I’m working on it!
→Do you plan to traditionally publish or self publish? - Traditionally publish
→Will you read my book/story/chapter/mentor me? - Unfortunately I cannot accommodate these requests because editing/critiquing is a labour intensive task that I can’t afford to do for free alongside my job, my own writing, and running this platform. If you would like to hire me for paid editing work, contact me privately on twitter or instagram.

OUTRO MUSIC: "l u v t e a [acoustic]" by Autumn Keys

[TheCedarFresh]

My favourite type of second person literature are passive agressive tweets starting with "Y'all"

[axe-tqwn]

You wake up in a dark room.
You feel that someone is observing you.
Oh no.

[humourlessjester]

Through this video I just realized that one of the creative non fiction essays that I'm writing is perfect to be rewritten in the second person. I'm writing it more to console myself of certain things that had happened in the past so having it be framed as a present self talking to a past self helps me a lot because now the form is in line with the intentions that I had with the piece. Thank you!

[ShaelinWrites]

Hi everyone! I've linked the examples used in this video in the description, but thought I'd leave a comment with a longer 2nd person reading list for those interested. Please feel free to mention your favourite stories/books written in any form of 2nd person on this thread!
-The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin
-Self Help by Lorrie Moore
-How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
-Vanishing Monuments by John Elizabeth Stintzi
-You are eating an orange. You are naked. by Sheung-King (1st person referral)
-Fever Dream by Samata Schweblin (kind of - very unique use of a direct address)
-In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
-After Dark by Haruki Murakami

[AmongstTheSoil]

I love, love, LOVE Harrow the Ninth. Excellent video!

[Anna-B]

Second person is very unique. I’ve only read it in choose your own adventure type things

[rudolphpyatt]

Jay McInerny’s “Bright Lights, Big City” is a brilliant novel in second person.

[jackhaggerty]

Edna O'Brien's *A Pagan Place* (1970) is in 2nd Person POV and sustains intensity, passion and bitter humour all the way through.
A wonderful account of an Irish childhood and adolescence.

[SDHuston]

I am so excited to see this presentation! It will add something unique for the Authortube Writing Conference that no one else is talking about!

[emmyelenakatzen]

this video absolutely inspired me to change the point of view of my WIP to 2nd person 😁 so tysm

[personnoun]

For me, the first scenario that came to mind to use 2nd person would be of a loved one telling a story of a shared memory to another with Alzheimer's or dementia. Gently reminding them of their role in the other person's life. +1 points if it's a love story.

[matheusb]

Lol this video is gonna come out 4 days before the last submitting day to a short story competition I wrote in 2nd person. I hope I can get the tips in enough time (gosh i hope i do)

[JDris]

As a songwriter and poet, I use 2nd person the most. I never made the correlation to my literary work. I’m knee deep in my first short story collection and just wrote my first 2nd person fiction ever as a flash piece. It was a lot of fun to write and now making this connection to the skill of handling this POV in a different context makes me excited on what else I can do with it.

[azriel]

I've been dying to watch this video! I'm so excited for it, I love your videos on point of view

[jackhaggerty]

*It's like the story is telling the story to the protagonist.*
I had never thought of this before. This is what they call deep structure. Thanks.

[lavymaplemagic]

Ur making me want to write in 2nd person pov...damn u got me....

[m.i.a.]

Love this underrated pov. Thanks for sharing!

[dires]

Starting with an example in the first minute would been very welcome. And when you come to the part, you start with POV instead!

[JohnMWest-tggo]

The second person pov is the middle child. There and relevant, but forgotten about and not talked about.

[jackhaggerty]

James Baldwin's biographer David Leeming described sitting with the writer as he was dying.
Leeming was reading Chapter 19 of Pride and Prejudice, where Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth Bennet.
Baldwin chuckled in memory of the passage and said, 'So economical, so devastating.' An example of third-person omniscient POV.
Helen Moffett's novel *Charlotte* (2020) is a speculative novel of the marriage of Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas, a lively debut novel.