Second Person & Anon · 3:13pm Nov 21st, 2018
Does anyone else have trouble with second person stories? I have nothing against the stories themselves, or the authors who write them, but I have significant trouble reading them. First person stories I don't read very often (though I don't see them often either), and I'm definitely a 3rd person/3PO (not the droid) story writer and reader. I just cannot grok 2nd person stories for more than half a chapter before I set them down. I hate that, too, because there have been some stories I've been eager to read, only to discover they're in second person format, and I know I'm going to have a headache if I pick them up.
On that subject, and since I'm Andy Rooneying it today, do people like Anon stories? I'm not a fan at all. I've been told by one or two authors that by using the "anonymous" moniker, they get around the immersion issue, where the reader isn't pulled into the story if they have to pretend they're "Bill," or "Ted," or "Rufus," or "Socrates."
If I'm reading someone as "Anon," or "Anonymous" (though there have been some clever workarounds for this), that takes me out of the story more than anything, because my brain keeps asking me who the hell names their kid anonymous. Some of the neat workarounds I've seen, though, have been "Anny," someone used "Nemo" (which means "nobody" as in "Captain Nemo"), and a few others, but I'm just not sure why the anonymous placeholder is used.
Just a few thoughts today, as the holidays approach and my mind breaks from the tripled responsibilities that I normally take care of being piled on top because of the season.
Thoughts?
