Head Hopping with 2 characters?

[Preston]

Hi, so I'm working on my novel, and have several instances where I transition back and forth between two characters.

I'll have one scene where I'm in the head of one character as he traverses through a maze, and then, with a clear transition, I'll switch back to the second character and re-tell the same scene that just happened in the first character's head.

Do you think this is unnecessary and/or confusing to the reader? I make a clear transition via a symbol and switch back and forth between the two characters over the course of a couple paragraphs.

My reasoning for doing so is some points in one character's head reinforces or explains what just happened in the other character's head.

Any thoughts??

[Alexandra]

I think it can be interesting, but only if the scene is dynamic, and both stories are equally exciting. What I mean is, they should describe different things and engage the reader enough so they won't get bored and annoyed reading it all over again.
I switched between the characters a lot because I have a lot of fighting scenes in my book, and it helped to create a 3-dimensional view of the situation and not leave anyone out (like, one of them is sweating with her sword while another one does God knows what).
If you feel like it'll be good, do it.

[Dale]

I prefer to stay in one character's head for the duration of a scene, but it can certainly work so long as the transitions are clear. The reader has to know who's point of view they are following at each point.

[R.A.]

I usually dislike it because it takes away the character-centricity (may be my invention) and makes the story more plot driven, but as long as it's clear it's OK. Of course, if the story is plot driven anyway, then I don't see why it would hurt anything.

[K.P.]

its third omniscient subjective. thats not odd at all

[Joel]

It could be kinda fun if it's done well. Hard to say without seeing it, though.

[Dwayne]

Preston wrote: "Do you think this is unnecessary and/or confusing to the reader? "

I wouldn't expect it to be confusing. My first thought is that there would be a danger of the reader being bored by being presented with a scene they've just read and now have to go through it again.

It really all depends on you, the writer, and how you handle it. Without seeing it, it's difficult to tell if it works or not. Does the second telling bring any new and important information to the reader? Do the two tellings serve to help the reader understand both characters better?

You do say that you did it to reinforce or explain what happened in the other character's head. That may be good, depending on the first character. Are their instincts and thoughts unreliable? Can the reader trust the first character?

Bottom line is, something like this could work really well and make your piece strong or it could flop and make it boring. It all depends on how you execute it.

[G.G.]

I just finished a book where the author did that and it wasn't confusing. A Shade of Vampire
Some chapters are from the pov of Sofia and others from the vampire Derek.

Seeing it from two different povs helped understand why one did something and how it was understood by the other.

[Abigail]

I don't mind different character points of views, but I do mind reading the same scene twice, regardless of the reason.

[D.C.]

Abigail wrote: "I don't mind different character points of views, but I do mind reading the same scene twice, regardless of the reason."

Agreed. Unless there's a compelling reason, it can be repetitive. I would only do it if there's a strong reason, and you need to be careful with transitions.

I usually write completely in third person subjective from the POV of a single character. On the rare occasions when I use more than one POV, I'll stay in one for an entire scene.

[Pete]

Here’s a guy who got a pretty good name doing it that way.

The Sound and the Fury

[Sarah]

Dwayne wrote: "Preston wrote: "Do you think this is unnecessary and/or confusing to the reader? "

I wouldn't expect it to be confusing. My first thought is that there would be a danger of the reader being bored ..."

If you choose a three, or maybe four, POV characters with care the rest can be shown through their eyes, including a very strong indication of their feelings and motives.

Take a scene sex. Show the sane scene twice: bored readers who start to regard it as a "how to" or "how not to" guide. Show the same couple from the POV of each in a different, story-driving, situation and you have readers hooked.

[Dwayne]

Sarah wrote: "Dwayne wrote: If you choose a three, or maybe four, POV characters with care..."

Right. Handled correctly, you can do the same scene multiple times from various points of view and keep it interesting. A talented writer could keep it interesting by adding new information and a new perspective on the old information. As long as it is somehow moving the story forward, the same events can be played several times.

When I wrote my other response I was thinking about mysteries, but didn't mention it. A lot of times mysteries will, in a sense, show the same scene several times. We see the murder in sketchy detail. It gets played over for us as the detective learns new information, sometimes in ways that are not quite true. In the end we see the murder again as it actually happened.

[Sarah]

I didn't mean the same scene, though your crime scene would lend itself well to being featured more than once: difficult to avoid I should think.

I meant a sex scene between the same couple from his POV & hers, but not the same scene. When another could drive the story, showing the second from the opposite POV makes sense.

I tend to do it with any two POV characters who appear together often, but mostly I choose the most important and show others that way.

The major heroine of my first book has no POV in the second od the series, but it's set almost 20 years later so it's more involved with the next generation. She's around, but seen through other eyes.

[Dale]

I find myself in a place where I've bogged down on writing my historical novel epic about 18th century California.

So, it was like a bolt of lightning when I came across this article on my Writer's Digest daily feed. It makes a whole lot of sense and has given me a kick in the rear.

The idea came to me and I found myself doing the research necessary to write a short story based on California just after the Civil War. Creating the character down to the weapons he carried, the saddle on his horse, and the pack saddle for his mule.

The stuff about the rancho was already in my files and I just had to do a bit of digging to find the poor widow with her 4 children being faced by an evil Gringo to sell out her home.

Now, just to make it interesting and entertaining.

The full article is @

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-e...

[M.L.]

Dale,
Is the article about writing short stories? I sometimes need help when I get bogged down and wonder if I got the right link.

[Justin]

I actually just did this in the writing of my latest novel. The first chapter is written in first person and then the next chapter is describing another more as a narrative. To answer the question at hand, I guess it's not bad as long as its done properly and in a way that won't confuse the reader.

[Micah]

Repeating the scene, or story, from different points of view is what they call the Roshomon Effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon...

Head hopping can be dizzying. It can be annoying. But like everything it all hinges on the competency of the author (and whether it's really important to the story).

The British sitcom Peep Show does head hopping quite well, limiting it to the two main characters. It's more obvious in writing, though.

[Theresa]

This is an interesting question. In one of my books, I alternate POV between chapters. It follows 2 storylines simultaneously that eventually merge into one. Occasionally small parts of the same scene overlap, but the way each character remembers a conversation or event is different.

I've never played out the same exact scene from two POV's. I can see where boredom might become an issue for readers if there isn't something different or new to be gained.

[Dwayne]

I've experimented with this kind of stuff quite a bit, actually. In fact, this is one of many reasons I love to write.

In real life, we have one point of view: our own. Time is linear. We can't control it and it only moves in one direction and at one steady speed. As writers we can be as many characters as we feel necessary and time has much less meaning. We can freeze it for a few pages, skip years in a paragraph and so on. It's actually great fun to change the point of view from time to time and to play with time.

I did that quite a bit in "We Fear The Living".

[Dennis]

If this is from a 3rd-person POV, then it can be done quite easily -- but not so if it's in 1st-person.