Using "You" In Stories

[Pete Incaviglia]

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?

 

[buckweaver]

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

 

[Tom Petty]

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

you hit the nail on the head.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

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

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.

 

[funky_mountain]

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.

 

[DanOregon]

I dislike the phrase "you see."

 

[Tom Petty]

I dislike the phrase "you see."

i c.

 

[pallister]

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

This could be applied to every aspect of life.

 

[Tom Petty]

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

This could be applied to every aspect of life.

much like the eugene thread.

 

[forever_town]

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

 

[satchmo]

You may be wrong, but you may be right.

 

[joe king]

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.

 

[Lollygaggers]

Have avoided since high school English when our teacher NEVER let us use it in anything we wrote. Basically her reasoning was the same - it's lazy, not necessary, etc. I can see where it might work in some cases, but I always find other ways to say the same thing.

 

[editorhoo]

When done properly, it engages the reader, which is a good thing. When not done properly, it's lazy and cliched.

 

[I Digress]

And I'd say it is rarely ever done properly.

 

[bob]

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.

wholeheartedly agree. I know of one guy who used it in 99 percent of his ledes. He was recently taken off his pro beat and made a copy editor.

 

[write then drink]

here's one i can't stand ... well as an interjection

i see this constantly ... what a lousy device

"And the only way for that to happen is, well, to actually give him more playing time."

bleh

 

[Steak Snabler]

I suppose the alternative is to use "one," and I always found that to be a bit stuffy ...

 

[Bullwinkle]

"Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making its way down the street? ... If you've ever seen a one-legged dog than you've seen me."

 

[Barsuk]

There are two then/than mistakes on this thread. Some common grammatical mishaps I understand. Then/than is not one of them.