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POV question for readers
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Heidi
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Jun 22, 2015 02:56PM
I'm working on a new novel and thought I'd try something a little different with the POV. It's the 5th (and final) book in the series and will tie up all the loose ends from the previous 4 books. The previous 4 all had a single narrator, but each had a DIFFERENT narrator. So with the 5th book, I'm trying to bring each of those speakers back in to tie up their sides of the story. So I may have two or three chapters in a row told by one person, then switch for one chapter, etc. I'm curious how readers feel about that. I've read some books that have done it really well, and it was no problem at all to follow along. But I've read others that confused me to no end! (for example, switching narrators paragraph to paragraph - I will NOT be doing that).
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i have no problems with chapters having different narrators. If you label each chapter as that character's story, then the switch will be clear to the reader. If not, you need to make sure that each narrator has a distinctive voice so that they can't be confused.
I second what Shomeret said. I don't see a problem there and I'm thinking having them all do a come back should make for a grand finale. :)On the other hand, switching narrators paragraph to paragraph sounds more like someone going out of POV and not willing to admit it. Stay away from that. :P
G.G. wrote: "I second what Shomeret said. I don't see a problem there and I'm thinking having them all do a come back should make for a grand finale. :)On the other hand, switching narrators paragraph to para..."
Agreed. Head hopping confuses readers including me.
You should be OK with 1 chapter = 1 narrator (or, if you need several narrators per chapter, transition from one to the other by clearly dividing those parts, by using *** for instance). If it's done well enough, you don't need to use the character's name as chapter title.Be careful of repeats, though. If two characters are part of the same scene, don't replay the scene from another POV. A couple of lines is alright, more is going to look like filling and stalling. I think this should only be used if really necessary (i.e. char A and B have such different views of the same event, such different internal responses, that showing their reactions is useful when it comes to the rest of the story).
G.G. wrote: "I second what Shomeret said. I don't see a problem there and I'm thinking having them all do a come back should make for a grand finale. :)On the other hand, switching narrators paragraph to para..."
I agree with this, but scene breaks can take care of that as well. I would use a marked scene break as opposed to a soft scene break though.
Heidi wrote: "I'm working on a new novel and thought I'd try something a little different with the POV. It's the 5th (and final) book in the series and will tie up all the loose ends from the previous 4 books. T..."I love the idea of playing with POV - it can make things interesting! But I agree with the others on the thread who think paragraph to paragraph POV shifts may come across as head hopping. I don't see a reason not to use different narrators in separate chapters, though. I did a little of this in my last book - three different narrators over the course of the book, though two of them were only there very briefly.
Yzabel wrote: "You should be OK with 1 chapter = 1 narrator (or, if you need several narrators per chapter, transition from one to the other by clearly dividing those parts, by using *** for instance). If it's do..."Yes, POV can make such a huge difference and I enjoy reading books from multiple points of view, but agree with Yzabel, it can be repetitive if not done skillfully.
Speaking of POV shifts from paragraph to paragraph, I recently read a book from a well known author who used this technique. She would often head hop from paragraph to paragraph. I could follow the nearly seamless shifts and immediately know whose head I was in. However, even though it was well done, I was occasionally confused and annoyed by it.
With different POVs, it's all about voice. If all the characters SOUND different, it works brilliantly. However, if they sound the same, it's terrible. I recently read a really well-known book where the POV flipped between two characters, and they sounded EXACTLY the same. It was so confusing and annoying to me that I barely finished the book. And then I rated it one star.On the other hand, I've read another book that did it really well (North Child by Edith Pattou). There are about five characters that the book follows, and their voices are so distinct that you can tell at a glance who's talking.
Ellie wrote: "With different POVs, it's all about voice. If all the characters SOUND different, it works brilliantly. However, if they sound the same, it's terrible. I recently read a really well-known book wher..."That sums it up completely!
Ellie wrote: "With different POVs, it's all about voice. If all the characters SOUND different, it works brilliantly. However, if they sound the same, it's terrible. I recently read a really well-known book wher..."I agree with Ellie. The voices definitely have to sound different. I recently finished listening to "The Girl on the Train" audio book which illustrated the unique voices of the three narrators with different actresses, but in print writing, making your narrated voices distinguishable can be much more difficult. You really have to nail down how you want your characters to sound before you can even think about giving them a unique voice.
Paula Hawkins listed the name of the narrator at the beginning of each chapter which proved extremely helpful for me - even with the unique voices of the actresses. However, if you decide on a third person limited POV, the direct introductions at the beginning of each chapter would be redundant.
Hope this helps!
As long as it's clear to the readers, there's no problem. My novel is told from the POVs of about 25 characters, so I labelled each section with that character's name. If anyone has had a problem following the story, they kindly haven't told me :)
The effectiveness and readers' comfort level regarding multiple point of view narration depend almost entirely upon the writer's narrative skills. Each specific P.O.V. narration must convincingly reflect the character's personality, language quirks, philosophy, prejudices and attitude. The reader should be able to immediately recognize which character is narrating which chapter automatically, without the aid of an explicit prompt.
That perfectly sums it up, Jim. A chapter heading is not enough -- the character narrating must show enough individuality to distinguish themselves from everyone else. Just another example of how good characters make stories infinitely better.
I would imagine a story with twelve clones, each with the imprinted memories of the original person, would be a bit more difficult as far as POV shifts go.
Jim wrote: "The effectiveness and readers' comfort level regarding multiple point of view narration depend almost entirely upon the writer's narrative skills. Each specific P.O.V. narration must convincingly ..."I agree each character must be distinct. Why would a writer bother with more than one POV if not?
As to the reader immediately recognising which character is the narrator, that really depends on the story and the way you present. My aim is to leave the reader in no doubt as to where they are in the story and who they are with at all times, and there are many creative ways to skin that cat.
I agree with what many people have already said here. I have a book farther down the book series that is drafted with 2 POV's. Since it is just a first draft, I have labeled it with the character's names instead of chapter numbers, but I hope when it is ready that readers will be able to figure out quickly who is talking even if I take the character designation out of the heading.
Yes, that's the true test. Admittedly, I've never tried writing a book with multiple POVs, but if I did I'd run it past some beta readers without putting in the chapter headings and see if they still knew who was talking. If they didn't, I'd revise until they did. That would ensure that the characters' voices would stay consistently different throughout the book.Oh, I really want to go write a book with multiple POVs now!
Ellie wrote: "Yes, that's the true test. Admittedly, I've never tried writing a book with multiple POVs, but if I did I'd run it past some beta readers without putting in the chapter headings and see if they sti..."It's great fun, Ellie, and you come out with enough skills to be a circus juggler!
Now I really, REALLY want to write a book with multiple POVs ;)
Susan Howatch did a great job with this in Wheel of Fortune. There were about six sections in the book that was titled by the (character) narrator's first name so you knew whose head you were in. It would pick up the scene right where the former one left off but with someone else's thoughts.
One of the best examples of multiple point of view narration that I have read can be found in the 7-book Dark Tower series by Stephen King. At various times, the story is told through the eyes of a professional gunslinger, an adolescent boy, a young black woman who happens to be a double amputee, and a twenty-something male drug addict. All born in different eras, and one from a different dimension, brought together to form a unified team on a dangerous quest.
Being frustrated with books that were only written in 1st person POV I wrote my first book with each chapter being from one of the four main characters POV. It worked out well and all the feedback has been very positive. I enjoyed it so much that my next two books will be in that format. I have another series I'm pondering that will just be a single POV but that is a few years out.
I actually tried something similar with my latest novel. I have some chapters written in 1st person but then in 3rd person in others. I say go for it if it's necessary and you can really make it work.
Jim wrote: "One of the best example of multiple point of view narration that I have read can be found in the 7-book Dark Tower series by Stephen King. At various times, the story is told through the eyes of a ..."That is an excellent point, Jim. I enjoyed the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and he did a good job at keeping true to each character, whether it was Roland or Jake, Susannah or Eddie.
