Second Point of View and Consistency

The last Point of View in our series is not a commonly used one, but in today's article, I will be discussing the black sheep of the Point of View family: the second person. Now Second person pronouns aren't used in modern day fiction books, you'll find these most often in self help books. Pronouns such as “You” break the fourth wall and allow the audience to connect to the reader. For newspaper articles, self help books, visual media, or even some high fantasy novels you'll find these pronouns relating something to the audience. “You may find this incredibly relatable, and here's why…”. The only example off the top of my head in general fiction is J.R.R Tolkien's writings. Addressing the reader's beliefs creates a conversational tone which will either make your reader feel seen or make your reader feel exploited. In the first case, if the statement you are making is widely accurate such as stating how students don't do half the homework they're supposed to, or how older people enjoy movies, the audiences will find these stigmas relatable. If the statement is too niche, however it confuses the reader and has the opposite effect, they feel like they're not heard. In a culture where most of our words fall into the abyss either in our social circles or online, readers want to feel seen and heard. If they don't, chances are they'll put the book down. 

Second person and first go hand in hand, in fact, if you're writing in first person, especially a more comedic book, a “you” might slip into your writing, for example, “I walked down the street. Now, I know what you're thinking, something big or scary is probably about to grab me, but it was a completely normal walk!” This imaginary excerpt may sound fine at first glance, but a deeper look into it reveals inconsistencies. The tone starts as First person past tense, then switches to Second person present tense, then returns to First person past tense. From an author's perspective, writing that might make sense, but when a reader reviews it, there will be a sense of something offputting. If you ask them, they may not be able to identify it, but they'll tell you something was off. It all boils down to consistency. 

Consistency determines the flow of a novel. Names of characters and places must be the same. Character personalities must be the same. That's not to say there's no arc, your character will end up changing throughout the book (I hope). What I mean is if you have a character who sees the silver lining in everything and uses humor to alleviate tension, it wouldn't be consistent for him to start a fight without a trigger. I use something similar to this in my novel, June 9th. The main character, Spade, in the beginning is a peacemaker who often retreats into himself when faced with conflict, however he refuses to kill or hurt people. After the turning point of the book, his worldview is completely shattered and all he wants is revenge. This works because there was a trigger that caused the switch. Mood swings do not equate inconsistency. Consistency is deeply rooted in your character's morals, values, and experiences. Unless you change one of the three, they will always be what defines the personality as the personality. Consistency will keep your reader invested. The slightest mistake will throw your readers out of the moment and leave them confused. The way to improve consistency comes in the second and third drafts. Editing is your best friend and getting as many eyes on your draft is essential to improving your novel. Everyone has different opinions and someone might find a scene riveting while someone else may find it boring. By having people from all ages, demographics and cultures read over your drafts, you can nail down your target audience while getting valuable feedback that will take your level 2 first draft to a level 20.

Thank you for joining me in my lovely home. The King's Actors is now available on both Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and my personal store! https://brand.site/golden-age-publishers Thank you again for joining me and until next week, stay tuned!