A.R. Simmons asked Sage Nestler:

How do you handle POV when dealing with dialog involving more than two characters in conversation?

Sage Nestler Ooh, this is a very good question. Now that I think about it, when I am writing a novel in the first person point of view I tend to only have the main character talk to one person at a time. Even if they are in a situation where multiple characters are involved, I make sure the character talks directly to the characters one at a time. I avoid having any of the other characters talk to one another in a scene without the main character, because then the first person POV would be lost. The thing to remember is that if you have a main character who is voicing the POV in your story, make sure that you don't write scenes where the main character wouldn't physically be able to witness what is going on. For example, after writing dialogue don't say ..." she said, lying through her teeth." if the POV of the character you are writing from doesn't know that the other person is lying. Only write what your main character knows or witnesses and make sure that you don't lose your POV by having other characters talk without the main character involved.

flag