TaleSlinger 8: Getting Into 2nd Person

It doesn't have to be a headache

Hi there! Welcome back to TaleSlinger on Inklings, where I take 30yrs of writing experience and try to explain it.

Today we're talking about writing in the 2nd person. If you don't know what that is, that's alright, because that's where I'm starting!

What is 2nd Person?

2nd person is something I don't do often but I love it because, done well, it's the epitome of knowing your character. It takes you, the storyteller, out of the narrative, to have your character address the audience directly, telling them their thoughts right from their own mouth.

It’s the difference between:

Jenna crawled out of the sewer, the long night over. She hoped.

And

Getting out of that sewer felt like a miracle. I didn’t care how bad I smelled, I just prayed that was it. That there’d be no more.

It’s not quite a breaking of the 4th wall, that requires the character to speak out of the story itself. For example:

Fuck me I hate sewers. I hope you never have to go down them, it sucks. Fucking writers…

2nd person is a direct narration, but within the confines of the universe. The above, breaks out of the story universe to both communicate directly with the reader (asking a question) and insult the writer (to be fair, my characters do that a lot, just not in type).

So there you go. 2nd person is using your character’s thoughts, to speak directly to the reader, without breaking the immersion.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

So…how?

How indeed.

To start, of course, you first need the basic framework of things: who they are, how old, how they look, etc - and once you have that, you need to find your way inside their head. Remember, you’re writing as them, which means it has to sound like them, and keep sounding like them (see step 3 below).

I have a 3-step process to properly crowbar myself into a character’s head and let them do the talking.

The first is: facts! Fill in your framework with their music, films, hobbies, where they went on holiday as a child that one time that always stuck with them. Do they make pop culture or literary or anime (etc) references? And so on.

All those memories and likes and dislikes that helped shape who they are (or will be by the time you get there). Decide how far away from the incident they are, and what their perspective on it is right now (if anything). Fill out as much of that as you can and you'll have a person, waiting to be activated.

Second: emotional connections. Why that music? Why that holiday memory? Why that moment of teenage angst?

Why that hobby?

What are they ashamed of? Why?

What was their first heartbreak? Their biggest?

Are they prone to cruelty? Anger? Jealousy? Kindness?

Are they a good friend?

Everything that makes their emotional engine tick, especially that which connects to the facts from earlier.

With that, you have a machine up and running, ready to go, it just needs pointing in the right direction with step 3!

Photo by Arshad Sutar

Step 3: find their voice. Think about all those little things that make up a person's speech. How high or low is it? Does it sound nasally or rumbling? Loud or quiet? Meek or confident?

What inflections does it have? A lilt at the end of a sentence? A pause to find the right word? A stammer? An accent that fades in and out?

What causes it to become charged with emotion, or bored and weary? Does your character taste the words, roll them on their tongue and gift them, or do they spit out utilitarian words and move on?

How do they react to things? Are they sweary? Hard to surprise? Deadpan? Open-faced? Quick to laugh?

How do they speak about themselves and other people?

And for extra flavour, step 4 - what do they do as they speak? Prop up a wall? Toss a dagger up and down? Pace in circles? Do they meet a gaze or look away?

And there you go!

Get all of that together, and use it to become your character. Get a 1st draft down, and then read it aloud to yourself. That's a good idea with anything, really, but especially this. You'll learn to pick up the bits where the narrative trips itself up somehow—fast, slow, clunky, wrong word, etc. Then you fix it, read it again, and repeat til happy!

Video break!

First of all, this is the question you’re answering when you write any narration.

And second of all, it’s now stuck in my head. You’re welcome!

---

And that’s it! Hopefully it now sounds and feels less insurmountable a task.

Meanwhile, I am, as ever, available for comments, questions, and topic requests. This was one from a little while ago, so many thanks for that!

And please, don’t forget to subscribe and share. Even sending this post to one person helps a lot.

Also, tell me about your own adventures in 2nd person—or the ones you plan to have!

That’s all for today. See you next time.