Forum: Story Discussion and Feedback

Is this 2nd POV?

PotomacBob 🚫

Good Morning Sunshine! by Denholm Forrest, just popped up on my "random story from the archive" list.
The story begins: You must understand that most of this happened a long time ago now; well, the true beginning of it did anyway. The world was a completely different place back then; well as I just said, it was at the beginning. As teenagers back then, we were kind of naive and innocent.
Seeing the "you" to begin the story raises the question - is this 2nd POV? If not - how would this part of the story need to be rewritten to make it 2nd POV?

Replies: Switch Blayde Switch Blayde REP

Switch Blayde 🚫
Updated:

@PotomacBob

It is not 2nd-POV.

The "you" is the reader. The "you" is not a character in the story.

The "I" (I just said) and"we" (we were kind of) says it's 1st-person POV.

Switch Blayde 🚫
Updated:

@PotomacBob

This is how I changed it to 2nd-POV:

Most of this happened a long time ago. The world was a completely different place back then. It was at the beginning when, as a teenager, you were kind of naive and innocent.

Or if you wanted to maintain the "we" it could be:

"…when, as a teenager, you and your friends were…"

REP 🚫

@PotomacBob

A category search indicated there are 160 stories on the site with the 2nd POV code. I checked out a lot of these stories the last time this came up. None of the stories I checked were 2nd POV.

Many authors seem to think that the narrator using 'you' when addressing the reader makes the story 2nd POV.

Think of 2nd POV as the narrator is placing the reader in the story as a character, and he is using you when he tells the reader what the reader is to do and say as a character. Others may have a better explanation, but that is the way I think of 2nd POV.

Replies: redthumb

redthumb 🚫

@REP

I agree with the following stipulation: The narrator is NOT the MC. That would make it 1st POV. Correct me if I am wrong.

Replies: Switch Blayde REP

Switch Blayde 🚫

@redthumb

The narrator is NOT the MC. That would make it 1st POV. Correct me if I am wrong.

Yes, with one caveat. The narrator in 1st-person does not have to be the MC. Ishmael is the narrator in Moby Dick, but he's not the MC. I believe Watson is the narrator in the Sherlock Holmes novels. Death is an omniscient 1st-person narrator in The Book Thief but is not the main character. The narrator is not the main character in The Great Gatsby either.

REP 🚫

@redthumb

In 1st person, the narrator is telling the reader about the story; the narrator can be the MC, but can also be a secondary character in the story.

In 2nd person, I doubt the narrator would be a character. The narrator's purpose would be to tell the reader what their character is doing using the 'you' mode of speaking.

The following article is the best description of 2nd POV that I have found so far on the internet. One of the key points in the article is the differentiation of 'you' to simply address the reader versus 'you' in 2nd POV.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-second-person-point-of-view-in-fiction-writing-1277131

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Is this 2nd POV?

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