There are so many times that when I read books, I am unaware of what tense the author is using. Whether it's I, you, he/she or we, I never notice it. Then, half way through the small-group reading, I realized it was spoken in 2nd person. All the "you's" kept throwing me off when I had moments of awareness to the text instead of the story. But it got me thinking: why would an author chose different tenses? Let alone, the 2nd tense?
Part of me thinks is how the author thinks. Some people naturally write in one tense or another. Like when I provide feedback on friend's papers, I tend to notice some friends falling a lot into the infamous "you's" and others falling into the "I's", or the more subtle present vs. past tense. When I write stories, I naturally begin typing in past tense first person. If I try to write in any different tense, I tend to make multiple slip-ups.
I'm believing that the author in "Leftovers" purposely wrote it in that weird 2nd person tense for a reason. I don't feel comfortable giving spoils to a great story, but it's mysterious connection to the ending was done very creatively. It added more voice and feeling of "you're there" in the beginning and ending, although I lost it and the sense of what tense I'm reading in the middle with intermittent pockets of "OH, YEAH! that's the tense!"
I totally agree with you. I make a lot of slip ups when writing in second person. I will always put he or she and forget about using you. I also agree that the way people write most of the time reflects on how they think.
ReplyDelete