A question of POV

[Tim]

In my first book, I had 3 POV characters - the girl, the boy, the brother. That worked out okay, I think, because they were rarely in the same place at the same time, and when they were, I picked one POV over the other (generally the title character). I did write the final set piece from two POVs though, because I think it warranted it.

In my second book, I ended up with 4 POVs - the girl, the boy, the 'B plot' MC, and a "cutaway" POV that gave a radically different perspective, but was only used very sparingly. All 4 POV characters come together in the final scene, but I only play it out from one perspective (the audience can kinda see whats coming).

Now in book 3 (the NaNo book), I have all 4 POV characters from book 2 in one place, and they are forced by circumstances and geography to remain together. So the question is, what do I do? I can't really give them all equal billing, so to speak, since one of them is the series main character, which her name on the cover. But also dropping the others as POV characters seems kinda harsh. (actually, I could drop the "cutaway" character without too much trouble, but it still leaves me with 3 big POV characters together for most if not all of the book.

Any thoughts? How would you handle it?

[Michael]

Is there a specific character that drives the story at any given time? Swicthing between them is fine (although I'd keep the switching to a minimum), but within each chapter I'd focus on one charcter, but the other characters can of course be reflected in their interactions.

[Michael]

Handle it however you want.

I think it was the Game of Thrones books that were the first books that I really noticed using the 'focus on one character at a time' approach.

Several of the reviews on my latest book have commented that you constantly get different thoughts and POV from the different characters all at once. I wasn't even aware of it when writing it, but none of the reviewers have said anything negative about it.

Ultimately it will depend on how well you do it.

[Laurel]

So far I've been able to stick to omniscient pov in my books -- up to this third book I'm working on now where I'm limited omniscient to the main character.


In my case, I'm being practical. I write science fiction and use carefully calculated units of time and distance for planet Beinan. When my central character is forced into exile on an alien world by a coup d'etat, sticking to her pov is the only way to avoid confusion.


So really this all boils down to clarity. What do you need to do in order to tell your story clearly? In what rendering will your story be most comprehensible and enjoyable to the reader?

Remember: the point of writing is not ego or even internal drive to write; it's to entertain and educate our readers.

[Andrew]

It's a rule of thumb that any chapter or section of a given book should be from a single viewpoint only. Swapping between POV characters mid-section can be really jarring to the reader. And it's one of those writing rules that I have to say does really get to me as a reader when it's broken. I've never judged a book on its quantity of adverbs, but not knowing whose head I'm supposed to be in from one paragraph to the next is a real red flag for me.

As with most rules on writing it can of course be broken, but you need a really good reason to do so (and I'd suggest respectfully that 'seems kinda harsh' doesn't automatically qualify - though obviously I've not read the WiP), and you need to signal the shifts in viewpoint explicitly so that it doesn't look like a cock-up, basically.

[David]

I read many books where POV is clearly marked into sections. Some work well , as the story is constantly progressing. The ones that don't works tend not to do so because they cover the same ground. Could you perhaps bring the other characters POV out through dialogue or action/response to the main character, therein leaving it to the reader's inference; This is after all how we see real life, and the characters come across as more realistic.

[Tim]

lol, that's why I'm asking the question - so it doesn't look like a cock up!

I've always been meticulous about keeping POVs separate, generally only one POV per chapter (I switched to one POV per scene for a chase sequence, basically the literary version of a fast cut, to keep up the tension) and always indicate the POV character within the first sentence or two. So I hope people don't get confused as to whose POV they are reading.

I guess in one sense I'm thinking my readers might feel cheated if a character who has been POV for two books, who they've come to love (or hate), suddenly isn't. It's as if they're being sidelined...

Or maybe I'm being too sensitive?

I suppose I could do the Dr Who thing, and split them up at the first opportunity...

[Andrew]

I think you might be being a bit sensitive. There's plenty of scope through both dialogue and actions to keep a character prominent without narrating from their point of view. Not to mention the thoughts of the POV character on each of the others.

I'm always in favour of emulating Doctor Who wherever possible ;)

[Judy]

I'm writing a series where in the first book there are two main characters. They travel together, but they will each have their own story arcs. So I divide up sections or chapters and assign them to whoever has the most to lose in a particular scene--whichever viewpoint will have more impact.

Perhaps you could use something like that? Since you have one main character it might mostly be in that POV but you could switch now and then for scenes that might impact the others characters. Some scenes are also best told in another's perspective, such as if your main character is not thinking coherently. As long as you keep space breaks between sections and clearly indicate whose head you're in, you should be fine.

[Rosen]

How about writing from the god perspective but occasionally dipping into particular character's thoughts?

[Tim]

Judy wrote: "I divide up sections or chapters and assign them to whoever has the most to lose in a particular scene"

Now that's an interesting idea. :)

[Tim]

Rosen wrote: "How about writing from the god perspective but occasionally dipping into particular character's thoughts?"

Maybe an interesting experiment for a standalone or a new series, but I don't want to be too radically different in the third part of a trilogy.

[Rosen]

How about an interactive book with the climactic scene played from all four perspectives, with readers being able to make their preferred choice and then go back later to see other character's take - a bit daring, a bit different but it's your book and you can take the reader wherever you like.

[Yvonne]

What is POV please tell?

[David]

Point of view, Yvonne: through which character's mind the story is being told.

[Yvonne]

hanks David. Now I can read the comments above and understand the flow of the thread.

[Jim]

Rosen wrote: "How about writing from the god perspective but occasionally dipping into particular character's thoughts?"

Now writing from the point of view of a God could be fascinating

[Tim]

I quite fancy writing a fantasy sometime from the POV of the monster...

[Kath]

Darren H's Orc book - for example?

[Tim]

(looks around cautiously) I might not have read that one...

[David]

Jim wrote: "Rosen wrote: "How about writing from the god perspective but occasionally dipping into particular character's thoughts?"

Now writing from the point of view of a God could be fascinating"

Get off - I've got dibs on that one - a putative trilogy as it happens. One about the god, one about the son of the god and one about... er... something else.

[Patti (baconater)]

Tim wrote: "(looks around cautiously) I might not have read that one..."

It's okay. It's not Ward but it's okay.

[Kath]

It's stonking!

[Patti (baconater)]

Ha! Knew you'd say that, Iggy.

[Kath]

I didn't wish to let you down. :)

[Andrew]

I need to read that one too...

[Kate]

I think multiple POVs are fine as long as it's clear to the reader whose POV it is. You can have a lot of fun if the characters have dramatically different perspectives on the same events. Or if one knows something that would change the actions of another if they only knew it...

Changes in POV are only a problem if used lazily. I've read a couple of books where the author jumps abruptly into the POV of a minor character to convey a vital piece of plot and they're never heard from again. It feels like cheating.

[Andrew]

It feels like cheating and it's downright confusing.

When I was reviewing for the Book Bag, I occasionally used to receive uncorrected proofs. On one occasion the manuscript was what later turned out to be the penultimate novel by a very elderly writer. I've no idea how the finished novel read but it still needed a lot of work. At one stage the POV character made a phone call, and at some point during their conversation the viewpoint meandered over to the other character who ended the call. It was outright confusing to read and review...

[Victoria_Grossack]

Here are a couple of articles on the subject

http://writing-world.com/victoria/cra...

http://writing-world.com/victoria/cra...

[L.F.]

In my opinion, it is best to limit the POV to the main character(s) to avoid confusion. I recently read a novel, that while an enjoyable story, had me bouncing back and forth between everyone's minds so much I felt like a ping pong ball. Most of it could have been handled in a better manner.

[Jan]

Head-hopping can work if handled properly. When I submitted But Can You Drink the Water? to a group of professional editors they said they usually dissuade writers from changing the POV , but in this case it worked and they recommended leaving it as it was.

Conversely, with my latest book, a romance, I decided that the reader would learn everything about the male MC through his dialogue and actions. None of the scenes are from his point of view. Readers have been unaware of this until I pointed it out.

There are no writing rules, only guidelines. (winks)