Writing in 2nd Person POV

I don't think i've ever even read a book that was in 2nd person.

~Jesse James Akins

I've come across fanfictions on the internet written entirely in 2nd person, and (no offence) it got annoying pretty fast. It might have been the truly awful plots, or maybe the habit of leaving a few dashes wherever another character addressed 'you' by name (the reader was supposed to put his/her name there), but I am not a big fan of this style.

That being said, I can see the value of it for dream sequences - it's a good way to connect with the audience, and the fact that it is very uncommon is kind of surprising like a dream itself.

It sounds like you've got a solid plot, so I really have a hard time dragging fanfic nightmares in here. I'd be very interested in a plot with something that odd. The dialogue, like you said, sounds like it would be awkward, but if I were you, I'd try to think of it just like 1st or 3rd person dialogue, just with different tags.

I have no idea; that was some really crappy advice. I guess what I want to say is, I hope you find a way to solve your dialogue woes, 'cause that's a really awesome idea.

Characters and demons need sleep. Writers do, too, but that's just too bad.

As a reader, I just can never stand the fact that the author is trying to tell me what I did/will do. I think I may have read a couple of short stories by authors that I admired that I was able to finish, but mostly I am not going to spend any effort on a gimmick book that is telling me I did things that I wouldnt do.

Using the POV only for dream sequenses, however, could be one place where this "gimmick" could work well.

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

2009-Brother Monkey, Brother Lion, Sister Crow
2009 -Bunnystar Galactica Psychic Bunnies IN SPACE

I've read a couple of short stories and probably many poems that use the 2nd person voice, but I can't think of a novel. I think this is because, unfortunately, a 2nd person voice does wear thin very fast. It's really hard to do without sounding artificial and gimmicky (and I've heard editors mostly hate it).

Of course, you could find a way to make it work, because there are always exceptions that prove the rule. It's just that you should be aware of the prejudice against it.

On the bright side, I'm currently reading a well-reviewed book ("Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris) that is written almost completely in the first person plural, if you can believe it, and it got published and it does seem to work. There was definitely an intent behind using this voice and it is an integral part of the novel's theme.

I'd say keep going. You can always re-write in December.
Good luck.

Ellie Mae

Camus did second-person in The Fall. I'm not sure how much dialogue it really includes, but it might be worth taking a look.

An excerpt
Google books

I would imagine in this voice dialogue doesn't really end up being much different from a third-person narrator. For example:

You say, "I need to leave" but you just sit there. The waitress says, "Whenever you're ready, hon."

I have a vague idea that If On A Winter's Night A Traveller (by Italo Calvino) had parts written in 2nd POV, but I'm not entirely sure. Other than that, the place I'm most familiar with it is in choose-your-own-adventure books. Like others have said here, used for particular sequences, like in dream sequences, as you're doing, sounds like it might work pretty well.

Second person is definitely common in fanfiction, and when I was reading fic more often I tended to write in second person. I don't think second person really works when there is a lot of action or very many characters; it's better suited to thoughts, a vague overview of a time period, or conversation only with one particular person. I've also seen a lot of variations of second person, where a first-person narrator is speaking specifically to another character ("I tell you to leave"), which works well if the story focuses on the relationship between two characters. In this style it's also easier to include other characters, but they tend to be peripheral ("So-and-So says we should go"). In a full novel, I think second person could get awkward, convoluted, or annoying, but in short stories, a novella, or if chapters alternate between second and first or third, it could be really effective and interesting.

Out side of a game book (aka a Choose Your Own Adventure book) second person does not go over well, with either readers or publishers. It's hard to read, if you are just reading it for the sake of reading it. It's extremely difficult to write well, and is considered a "lazy form" of writing when used outside of a game book. The term "lazy form" is used to describe a style of writing that is pretty easy to write, but is hard to read or understand, resulting in the reader thinking the author was "too lazy" to bother to write something better. (First person, is also considered a "lazy form" of writing as well.)

Unless you are really, really, really, really good at English Grammar, and I mean college professor good, it's VERY hard to write second person AND come out sounding grammatically correct.

That said, when it is well written, it makes for a very fast read, and draws the reader right into the book.

Pretty much every book on these lists is written in second person. I read most of them, but, most of them came out in the 1970's so that tells you how long ago I read them. I can't remember if they had dialog in them or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebook

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gamebooks

I recommend you try finding a few of these books via inter-library-loan and scan through them to see how other authors handled second person.

If you are writing something which you plan to publish, I would advise against second person, because most publishers toss every second person manuscript that comes across their desk, with out reading it. Unless it's a game book, you will have an extremely hard time finding a publisher and will have to resort to self publishing it yourself. But if publishing is not your goal or it is a game book you are writing, than go ahead and write in second person, because it can't hurt to try.

Incubus: Fear the Night

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Do you have something to back up this claim?

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

2009-Brother Monkey, Brother Lion, Sister Crow
2009 -Bunnystar Galactica Psychic Bunnies IN SPACE

I think "Handle with Care" by Jodi Picoult was in second person, but I could be wrong.