You? No You. No, You!
You? No You. No, You!
A Second-Person Challenge
A Second-Person Challenge
Most stories are told in first or third person—but what happens when the reader becomes the protagonist? In this challenge, you will write a story using second-person narration, where the narrator speaks directly to the reader as “you.”
Second-person stories can be immersive, unsettling, or strangely intimate. Maybe the reader is a detective uncovering a mystery they can’t remember. Maybe they’re making decisions they didn’t realize they were making. Maybe the world is shifting around them, and they are powerless to stop it. The key is to pull the audience inside the experience—make them feel as if they are living the story, rather than just reading it.
The Reader is the Protagonist – Speak directly to “you,” putting them into the action, the choices, the consequences.
Use Second Person with Intention – Are they in control, or are they being manipulated? Is the narratiaon guiding them, or trapping them?
Create Immersion, Not Just Gimmick – Second person works best when it makes the reader feel something—whether that’s deep connection, unease, or the weight of inevitability.
Experiment with Control – Does the reader think they have choices? Are they a passive observer of their own fate? Does the narration predict their thoughts before they have them?
Why does this story need to be told in second person? What effect does it create?
Is the reader acting of their own free will, or are they being led?
What happens when the reader tries to resist the story? Can they?
How does the second-person voice make ordinary actions feel different?
If on a winter’s night a traveler (Italo Calvino) – A novel where the reader is the protagonist, constantly trying (and failing) to begin a story.
“Thomas Frank” (There There by Tommy Orange) – A chapter that uses second person to create emotional distance and inevitability.
Bright Lights, Big City (Jay McInerney) – A novel that makes second-person narration feel like an out-of-body experience.
Interactive Fiction & Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Stories – Stories where the reader is both participant and observer.