Would you recommend using 2nd person in a novel? *Please read question*?

Question

Hi! I'm currently planning out my next novel, which is to be written in 2nd person. However, it isn't the typical "You do this" or "You do that." Instead, it is more of "She waits by the door" or "He kneels down beside her." I suppose these are two questions but:

a.) Do you like to read a book in 2nd person?

b.) Would you recommend using 2nd person in a novel? It would be great if anyone had any sort of experience with second person. Has anyone written a novel in 2nd person? How did it go? Did you find it easy? Hard?

Thank you so much in advance for any answers!

Answer 1

Well I never have seen a novel in 2nd person, but I think it will be a really difficult thing to do.

But if you're a very talented writer I'm sure you could do this.

Answer 2

     You have to be a very good writer to get away with second person.  But the examples you give,  "She waits by the door."   "He kneels down beside her,"  both of these are third person.  Honestly, it's far better to stick to first or third person.  You could get away with it well in poetry, and perhaps even a short story, but a novel?  No, I think it would be a mistake.

Good luck

Mike B

Answer 3

If you are saying "he waits by the door" rather than "you wait by the door" then you are writing in the third person, which is very common and a fine style in which to write.

(1st person: "I wait by the door."

2nd person:  "You wait by the door."

3rd person:  "He waits by the door.")

I think what you mean is not second person, but present tense.  

("He waited by the door"  -- 3rd person, past tense.  

"He waits by the door" --   3rd person, present tense.)

There are very few novels written using the second person at all extensively -- it is awkward if used for more than a paragraph every now and then, and invariably causes the reader to ask questions and brings them out of the novel.  I think if you try, you'll find it hard.

Present tense is also rare for a long form work like a novel.  But not nearly as rare, as awkward or as difficult as second person.  I'd recommend past tense, as it gives you as an author much more flexibility, and can seem just as immediate.  But write out a page both ways, and see what you think.

Answer 4

I once wrote a homework assignment in 2nd person about a girl who runs away from home.  I got a 100, but I found it kind of difficult.  I kept trying to go to third person.

I personally like to write in first person, so writing second person was strange to me.

I don't really like reading books in second person.  It doesn't flow as well as I like, and to be honest, when I start a book, if it's in 2nd person I put it down and go to another book.

However, if you'd like to give it a shot, don't let me stop you!  Because for every person that hates second person like me, there's another person who loves it!

I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 5

C_Bar is correct - you aren't describing 2nd person, you're describing present tense third person. It's kind of unusual, but I've read good books that use this method.

You should keep in mind that whenever you use a strange or unusual style, you run the risk of distracting readers from the subject matter or message of the book.