Using "You" In Stories

I'm not fan of writing directly to the reader and I wonder what other people think of it.

What I mean is writing a sentence like:

If you ever had something or other than you know . . .

OR

If you could only see into something . . .

OR

Whatever else.

All bad examples, I know.

My question is, does "you" work in a lede or story?

 

Sometimes you can make it work. Sometimes you can't.

 

you hit the nail on the head.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I used a "you" lede tonight and I was like, "huh. That works." And I'm usually dead set against it. I can't remember the last time I used it.

 

what you're also going to find is some people can't stand the use of it and some people who don't mind it. the writer needs to know his/her limitations. when s.l. prices uses you, he has the grace to make it work. when i find myself going the 'you' direction, i spot it and go another way.

sometimes, using 'you' is an easy way out. it's a universal way of trying to put the reader in the subject's shoes, and it can be a cliche when a skilled writer isn't doing it. heck, it can be a cliche when a skilled writer is doing it.

at the end of the day, i'm with buckweaver. the writer and desk need to know when it works.

 

I dislike the phrase "you see."

 

i c.

 

This could be applied to every aspect of life.

 

much like the eugene thread.

 

Like buckweaver said, it depends on the story. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

 

You may be wrong, but you may be right.

 

Hate it, hate it, hate it.

It can work, but 99 percent of the writers out there who think they can make it work, can't. Then they get pissed when they're told that.