Should this be a series...?

[Allison]

I love all of the characters in my novel equally and they each have their own unique stories to tell, that I feel like need to be told. But I'm afraid that I've tried the several-point-of-view thing, and it didn't work out. I've also played around with third person and it doesn't seem right because the novel is supposed to have a story-told-around-the-fire type of feel to it. I've also played with the idea of the main character knowing everything that is going on in each of the character's lives, but that is very overwhelming for the reader.

So I'm thinking about making it a series, with each book being a different character's point of view. It would be very tedious, but I think that the character's lives are so complex that even though they're telling about the same time period, it would almost be a completely different experience for them and for the reader. I won't do all the seven characters I have - probably only 3 or 4 - but I really feel like their stories should be told.

If you don't understand what I'm getting at here, imagine a group of friends sitting at the dinner table. One of them reminisces about something that happened with all of them, and once they are finished, another person chimes in and tells how they interpreted that experience. It's basically like that, but in novel form, and the author is telling this story directly to the reader, sometimes addressing them to try out certain things or to think about certain things. I want it to almost be an interactive experience between the characters and the reader.

If that makes any sense at all.

Please give me your thoughts :)

[[deleted user]]

I'm in that situation now too. I love all my characters equally. I even put myself in the story, but I don't do first person tellings. I've been thinking about making series like hints of characters' backstories.

[Grace]

As someone who lives for backstory and knowing what the other characters are thinking, this is an amazing idea and you should go for it.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

I say try it out! It's always a good writing exercise to tell the same story from multiple points of view––you can learn a lot about characterization and voice that way, and it can give you more insight into each of the characters. At the very least it will be a good way to learn something.

I do think, though, that at some point the writer has to limit how many perspectives to tackle––because I mean, you could potentially go on forever! So I think it's good that you're only going to be trying out 3-4 points of view. But also it can be challenging to juggle multiple POVs, especially when you're retelling the same story, because you take the risk of it becoming repetitive. Like I said, though, there's no reason not to try it out and learn more about your characters, even if all those perspectives don't "officially" make it into the story.

[Allison]

Thanks guys!