So I guess the question may be... so why this blog post
then? Has something happened? Why, yes actually!
I read a blog post by an author about writing in a
second-person perspective a little while
back and was intrigued enough to give it a go. I'd never done it before, not
even considered it. The only time I can really think that I've read anything from
that view point were those 'Choose your own adventure' books as a child. (Turn
to page 67 if you want to do 'this', turn to page 21 if you want to do 'that',
and turn to page 42 if you're deliberately trying to kill yourself.) I remember massively enjoying them, but I
guess from that point I figured it was the ultimate deployment of the whole
perspective, it didn't even cross my mind you could use it in any other format.
So I found an upcoming flash fiction competition and
decided to give it a go. I found it to be a challenging experience. It was nice
to write something differently, (I almost write exclusively in third-person)
but the novelty was quickly wearing off by the time I'd finished. The problem
was I found my options very limited. Not everything works when writing in
second-person. The original plan I had for the piece was very quickly strangled
and tugged away in one clear direction, whereas I like having two or three
different options to choose from. Of course, this could have been a limitation
of the story or more likely my own inexperience with the view point, but it
just felt very restraining and I'm not sure I'll be attempting anything else
similar for a while.
I must have done something right though because I actually
finished third in the competition!
I've included a link to the piece on this site and also
the original announcement of results on the head judge's own page if you'd
prefer to read it there.
I'll admit, when I read back over the final version of
the piece I wasn't too sure about it - but then there was one thing I got from
the feedback of my few test readers that made me wonder if I'd cracked the
format a little!
Have a read if you
like, and then get back to me either by commenting on this post, maybe leaving
me a comment on my Facebook page or dropping me a tweet to see if you can spot
it! Just ask yourself what the story is about...
Until next time, buh-bye!
__________
'Blink' - Flash
Fiction - http://bit.ly/1oRKunx
'MorgEn
Bailey's Writing Blog - http://bit.ly/1mNopl8
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