You You You

It's not all about you. Oh wait--in second person perspective it is! Currently I've been working on a scene, (albeit very slowly, life kinda has put the brakes on my writing for a bit) where this point of view perspective I believe, I hope, is going to work for the scene. The rest of the book is in third person, sometimes close, sometimes a little more distant, all depending on the scene, which in the edits and rewrites I'll make it my goal to transition everything more into a closer third perspective. This scene, though, will most likely be the only one in second person point of view, unless I decide to delve into it again with another similar scene.

The reason for this little change up isn't to be show offy, it's because for the point I'm trying to bring across in the way I want the reader to see and feel in this particular scene, I believe second person will work best. A lot of peeps don't like second point of view, and I'm not too thrilled with it either, yet for this short scene I think it'll work. Second POV comes off to some as pushy, like the narrator is telling you how to feel, what you should see, what you should do, like in those Choose Your Own Adventure books I used to read as a kid. 

You think everything is about you.

However, that is what I want. A little bit about the scene in question--Vlad, the main character in the story, has been going through a bout of melancholy, so bad that he has attempted to kill himself. In his final attempt he slices up his arms with a shard of glass and nearly bleeds to death. Anna, one of my other character's healer woman (Vlad calls her a witch), does what she is told to do, heal his wounds. She knows, though, if his mind isn't healed as well, he'll keep attempting to kill himself until one day he succeeds (or so she believes). Vlad's call on her being a witch isn't too far off, she's also a mystic, and in this scene I'm writing she delves into his subconscious through hypnotism, which is where the second point of view comes in. She's directing him into what she wants him to see, to feel, to smell and so forth, her objective having him realize his life is important to not only himself, but for all of those that care for him. Everything in this dream-like state she puts him through she has control of. He hears her voice, which is in the second perspective in as close to her voice through choice words as I can, in italics, and he responds back to her, his words in quotes. Here's a bit of an example:

Floating, flying on unseen wings, above the tops of trees, toward the azure sky. The sun is bright, warm upon your skin. The breeze gentle, the air flowing through fingertips, rippling your clothes. Your wavy blond hair. The air is so clean, so fresh up here. There! A cloud, white and cool as you float through its mist. Ah, but you must come back down, beautiful. This is not where you need to be.

“But I don't want to leave. The ground below, so far, and green, above, the blue sky. I want to fly higher.”

You can't! Down back to the earth. You are not finished here. In a field so green, dotted with wildflowers, the mountains in the far distance. The forests behind you. What is that you hear?

“I hear—laughter. A child's laughter.”

 Of course, this is just a sample, and in first draft mode, but I hope it illustrates what I'm trying to explain and I think it'll work for what I'm trying to achieve. Now, onto finishing the scene. Butt in chair time.