What is this?

POV = Point Of View. Who's telling the story, basically.

There's 1st person POV: I went to the store.
2nd person POV: You go to the store and see a homeless man.
3rd person POV: She went to the store and kicked the homeless man.

There are also variations such as 3rd person omniscient, 3rd person objective etc

For a better explanation you might try Uncle Jim's thread or do a search in the forum for POV

1st POV... one main character tells the story from their POV throughout the story without having any indication of what other characters motives or thoughts may be unless they tell them but can see outside emotions and actions of the other characters but they can't read minds.

2nd POV..(rarely used) this POV allows the writer to address the reader directly using the pronoun YOU, usually reserved for instructional manuals, because it adds intimacy between writer and reader

3rd POV... can work a couple of ways...telling the story through one perspective using the pronouns he, she, or they...Third person limited POV the reader only gets to read the thoughts of one main character. ... BUT can be told in 3rd person multiple POV, several main characters all contributing to the story
3rd.Omniscent..is told from a narrator who knows all, sees all......the writer knows and can reveal at any time anything and everything about any of the characters (this includes past, present, and future,... what's happening anywhere at anytime to anyone,... can interpret any characters motive's, action's, or thoughts....Can reflect, judge and reveal truths)


For beginners 3rd person POV limited is considered the easiest to master

mdmkay said:

2nd POV..(rarely used) this POV allows the writer to address the reader directly using the pronoun YOU, usually reserved for instructional manuals, because it adds intimacy between writer and reader

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My 2nd person story went up Monday in audio form at Escape Pod.

Second

mdmkay said:

2nd POV..(rarely used) this POV allows the writer to address the reader directly using the pronoun YOU, usually reserved for instructional manuals, because it adds intimacy between writer and reader

Click to expand...

Actually, second person isn't teribly uncommon in fiction. It isn't used to address the reader in most fiction, but the POV character. Instead of "I" did it in first person, or "he" did it in third person, second person is "you" did it.

It's generally only in hyperfiction that the "you" of second person is the reader. This isn't the norm, and is a higly specialized type of second person.

Second person is used most often in short fiction, but the novel "Bright Lights, Big City" was written in second person, and was actually a pretty good read.

I very seldom like anything about second person. It usually comes across as a poor gimmick, but like everything else, in the hands of a master it can be very good.

mdmkay said:

2nd POV..(rarely used) ... usually reserved for instructional manuals, because it adds intimacy between writer and reader

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Umm... what kind of instruction manuals are we talking about here????

There's a really great weblog of little flash (stories, I guess, not really sure what they are) written in 2nd person.

http://www.girlsarepretty.com/

They are kind of addressed to the reader, but I guess they could also be an addressed character.

But they are, anyway, a good example of second person POV.

pixiejuice said:

There's a really great weblog of little flash (stories, I guess, not really sure what they are) written in 2nd person.

http://www.girlsarepretty.com/

They are kind of addressed to the reader, but I guess they could also be an addressed character.

But they are, anyway, a good example of second person POV.

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All the ones I read there are character addressed. If the person being addressed is doing the action in the story, second person is talking about the POV character, not the reader. In this way it's no dfferent than first or third person.

Take the first line of the first story. Six days ago you spotted your husband mooning across a lunch table at a coworker of his.

In first person the POV character would actually say Six days ago I spotted my husband mooning across a lunch table at a coworker of his. In This case, the POV character is talking or narrating the story to the reader.

In third person it would be: Six days ago she spotted her husband mooning across a lunch table at a coworker of his. In this case the narrator is actually talking to the reader and telling the story.

In second person it's: Six days ago you spotted your husband mooning across a lunch table at a coworker of his. In this case, the narrator is actually talking to the POV character, or just as likely, is actually talking about himself in second person. He's sort of addressing teh reader, but in most ways, there's actually more distance from the reader.

It's really first person and third person where the narrator is actually addressing the reader. A story has happened, and the narrator is now telling use the story.

Niggle said:

Umm... what kind of instruction manuals are we talking about here????

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Two of mine that come to mind are "How to Sell Your Home in 21 Days" and "Find Your Soul Mate Online." For some reason, non-fiction editors are really fond of second person, although writing it gets old quickly.