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Tights, A Cape, And Flying, Do Not A Superhero Make

By Robert Swartwood on January 18, 2010

My story “Superman’s Dead” is up today at Monkeybicycle. It is another one of my stories written in the second person. I think it will eventually come to the point that all I write are stories in the second person.

Fun fact: I like to think my titles are usually pretty clever (or at least decent), but the original title for the story was the title of this blog post. Yeah, pretty bad, right? I can’t believe I even subbed the story like that. But then one night I put in an old CD and — bam! — I knew what the new title had to be. So thanks to Our Lady Peace, and to Jessa Marsh and Steven Seighman for taking a chance on the story.

Posted in , | 7 Responses

  • http://MadelineMora-Summonte.blogspot.com Madeline

    Good one, Robert. I don’t usually enjoy stories in the second person, but this one I liked.

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  • http://benwhite.com Ben White

    I’ve discovered over the past year that I find myself wishing more stories were in second person. Maybe it’s the personalization or the immediacy of it, but sometimes I just want to do a ctrl+F and change all of the I’s to You’s.

    Nice one.

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  • Robert Swartwood

    Thank you, Madeline and Ben. The second person POV is the bee’s knees … when done correctly, which I hope I’ve accomplished.

    (Even funner fact: the story was originally written in the first person, then changed to second person; seemed a better choice in the end.)

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  • http://fright-fest.blogspot.com Cate Gardner

    You’re becoming the king of second person POV. Enjoyed this one, Robert.

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  • Robert Swartwood

    Thanks, Cate!

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  • http://bradrosepoetry.blogspot.com/ Brad Rose

    Hey I read your piece at Monkeybike. I really liked it. It is clever, and nicely written. I found myself reading faster and faster to get to the end. Lovely piece. I especially liked the cat. Nice finish. For some reason, although I am not religious nor do I know the Bible, the story seemed a little like the story of Job. Tests, Tests, Tests. Loyalty, compliance, devotion. Should we trust ‘grandfathers,’ Gods? In my opinion, only if we are superheroes and they aren’t. Trust me. Excellent.

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  • Robert Swartwood

    Hey, Brad, thanks for the kind words! And you know what, I CAN see what you mean about it being a little like the story of Job. Good insight :-)

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