Young Writers Society

So currently I'm writing a story, and I just posted the prologue. The prologue is in third person omniscient, and I'm planning for the next chapters to become first person. I was thinking to switch off POVs between the two main characters.

Is it okay if I do that? Or am I supposed to stick to one POV?

I've read some excellent books that switch POVs between two main characters. I've also written stories like that, and it works better for me.

So if that's what you want to do, I'd say go for it.

Okay, thank you!

Ignorance speaks the truth.

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide whether or not to do it, seeing as it's your story.

Although, if I can make a suggestion, I would reserve the first person POV for your main main character, because it provides a sense of importance, it being different.

Of course, it is all up to you

Yeah I really agree with that, switching POV's can actually be a really cool idea!

Have you ever read a book called Gone by Micheal Grant? There are like 8 different character POV's in there. Also, a novel I'm writing switches between 8 different characters' perspectives. Good luck to you!

I repeat what everyone else has said: of course you can do that! Heck, have 23982843 different POV's if you want. There are no rules in literature (okay, except for grammar and stuff, but still).

I've written a novel that switches between two first person POV's before, and that caught the interest of an agent, so it must have worked well for me. I say go for it!

What is POV?

Point of View So like which character's perspective it's written in and whether it's in first or third person.

Ah,thank you!

Though I agree with my above buddies, I'd like to say that when you're writing in first person it's usually not a REALLY good idea to switch POV's. You CAN do it, but if you're not careful then you can mess up.

With second person you CAN'T switch POV, and with third person there are no limits to the number of POV character's you can have. But First is different because you're working with the reader on a personal level. Switching who 'I' am can be confusing.

I'd say just stick to one person and use dreams/ such to get the needed info! If you wanna use more then one then use Third Person.

Switching first person narration requires one thing:

A solid grasp of the character voice.

You only get this by writing those voices in first person.

One thing you have to keep in mind with first person PoV switches is the main tells between characters will be really subtle. They tend to boil down to:

1- Expressions and descriptive words used
2- Tone of the prose
3- Amount of asides made by the character
4- General interpretation of the scene (because no two people see the same situation the same way)

This is rather hard to grasp. If you find that a lot of first person sounds the same, that's because the author hasn't properly developed the character's voice properly.

I have a rather extensive post here about how to develop voice. It can be developed to be strongly different, but it can happen.

One thing you must remember is to write from two different first person perspectives, you must remember you're basically writing as two different people. First person is completely in the head of the character, with their descriptions tinted by their very beings. For example, somebody who's highly sarcastic might mutter, "Sounds like fun" when told about a tough situation, while others will say, "That's horrible!"

Those sorts of things translate into how people view the world. They will describe colours differently, even. "Blood red" and "crimson" are about the same colour (although a google search reveals blood red is considered darker), but depending on upbringing and experiences people will favour one or the other.

First person PoV in general is about hammering down exactly how the character sees the world and will describe it. Switching first PoVs means you have to do double duty and do that for both characters, also figuring out how to make them different.

Hope this helps.

An fyi: If you're using limited third person, where the narration is still tinted by how the character sees the world, the above can still apply. Having different tells for different characters makes for a more intimate connection with the character, because you see each point of view as different. It's just far easier to be lazy in third person.

Ahhh thank you!

If you want to switch POVs you might have to make it obvious if it Isn't already obvious.
What the author of double cross did was putting the names of which character PvP it was.

I think it's okay to switch POV's, just not too often. I wouldn't do it within a chapter but maybe each chapter you could switch between 2 or however many you want. I know a few books that each chapter switches between the two main characters and it was really nice in character development and plot progression. I hope your story turns out well