Second person narration in general

I respect the hustle for trying something new, but as someone who's written in it extensively before it's very clumsy and not ideal for beginners. Stick to third person if you want to be precise, or first person if you want to really get in the point of view character's head and emotions. It sounds like first person would suit you best for this piece.

The wrath quietly pulses inside your head. A voiceless echo bouncing under your skull. You stare down at the crumbled photo in your hand.

A quick mockup of this in first person with some touch ups/advice:
The wrath quietly pulses inside my head. A voiceless echo, bouncing inside my skull. There's a crumpled photo in my hand, and I can't stop staring. I can't stop staring. My breath feels shaky with fear- with anger.
First person will immediately make the feelings more personal, and you can add a visceral element by using commas and other forms of pauses to simulate internal voice. Repetition, used sparingly in choice places, can help hammer in that a character feels panicked. It will give the reader a sense of hyperventilation.
The rest of this I'll just put the edits in the greentext quote.

A reflection of a face like mine stares back at me. The smoothness, gone. He'll have scars now, like my scars. Someone out of frame is holding the limp figure up by the hair. Streaks of crimson from a busted brow ridge paint his right side. The eyes which used to stare at me with a mix of disapproval and worry are swollen nearly shut. I flip the Polaroid over once again.

Lean into the familiarity, the changes in his brother's face, the comparisons to himself. That's good, you were on the right track here.

"If you don't want to become an only child, come."

Straight and to the point suits a yakuza threat, no grandstanding, just the demand.

The simple message is accompanied by an address. A warehouse in bumfuck nowhere, the same address that's on the bus' rollsign. The wait is killing me, but there's nothing I can do. My eyes just continue to drill a hole in the plasticky paper as I imagine what I'll do to those bastards once I catch them.

Just removed some extraneous words. Sometimes early writers feel the need to add extra words like 'some,' 'almost,' 'seems to be.' Make no mistake, they have their place, but shorter and snappier will flow better to a reader. 'Same one' in reference to bumfuck nowhere felt a little disjointed, so referring back to the address felt cleaner to read.


The sun is starting to set as I step off the bus. First thing I do is grab a map of the local area from a nearby kiosk. It's hard to make heads or tails of it over the angry shouting of the shopkeeper, so I glare at him until he shuts up.

Then, another damned interruption.

Don't be afraid to make yourself angry when writing an angry character, and let some of it slip into the text. Harsher language can add a nice bite. Good to remind everyone what the stage looks like after a scene break as well, is he stepping out of the warehouse from before, or the bus? The reader doesn't know right away.

"You can't just take stuff without paying, mate," interjects a boy around my age. "Shopkeep works hard to make a living," I consider headbutting him. "Gotta respect his effort." I step closer and crane back. "How about I show you around instead?"

If you end with ',' follow with an action. If you don't, close the quotation with a '.' instead. Breaking up the dialogue with punchy thoughts and actions like this is good though, it creates a great flow of action. You're on the right track.

Summary

Don't throw it out. Paragraphs 2 and 7 were edging close to some gold, and the rest just takes experience. Try picking a voice for your character, or just an expressive internal voice you like reading in, and go over the dialogue. If you find yourself instinctively pausing, add a comma. If it feels long-winded, add a period and split it in two. If it feels bland, throw in some emotion. Don't be afraid to get more informal, don't be afraid to get mean, specially in first person with a character whose background is as a thug.

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Pub: 01 Nov 2025 00:41 UTC

Edit: 01 Nov 2025 00:45 UTC

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