Young Writers Society

I mostly just wanted to get you guys opinion on Multiple POV. I've been writing my novel in Multiple POV, nearly every character has a moment where I tell things through their eyes, mostly because there are a lot of things going on at the same time.

But do you think it's a risky writing move?

That actually depends! At times, it works. At other times, not so much. Sometimes I try not to use too many perspectives since it may get confusing. Sometimes it makes the story take on an extra, interesting edge.

In short, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't for me. As long as the story doesn't get too cluttered with the multiple POV, then feel free to use it. In the end, it's up to the readers to decide whether it's been used effectively or not, isn't it?

My main question would be: which POV are you using? First or Third?

I've read a lot of articles on multiple POVs and they are almost always about first person - which is annoying! I'm writing a multiple pov third person novel, and I can't find any articles on it. Why? Because people call it "head hopping". However, head hopping is a super negative thing which is not what I'm doing. Here is a GREAT blog post on head hopping: click me!. You can actually see my ranty comment, it's the last one, accidentally posted under Moribundy.

The greatest thing to pay attention to when reading this:

...[T]o make the change from one character’s head to another, put a space, an asterisk, or a symbol of some kind that is consistent through the whole of your book to separate one character’s thoughts and emotions from another.

This is what I do in my novel. I have breaks of asterisks, and each different POV is a different scene until itself. Even if the characters are all in the same room at the same time - the scene ends up being from one character's POV specifically. One book that does this excellently is Let the Right One In by John Lindqvist. (It's also my favorite book!)

Whether you're doing it in first person or third person, it's not risky so long as you know how to do it. Writing first person multiple POV is all about getting the voices right. Google "multiple POV writing" and you'll find some articles. I already ranted about third person. Hope this helps!

Well, multiple POVs are okay as long as there aren't too many people. Otherwise, it tends to remove connections between the reader and the MC.
I observed this while reading a Michael Crichton and well, there were too many third person POVs and I never did 'relate' to a character, only to the story.
So, I'd say be careful so that it still manages to hold your reader's attention.

It really does depend. I usually write in more than one POV since I like the different perspectives it can give me.

The important thing is to make sure that all of the voices remain clear and the characters can be told apart. I've read quite a few stories where there are multiple viewpoints, but they are all so similar I wasn't sure who was talking, even when they put names at the beginnings of the chapter. It's like all the characters were the same.

The important thing is to make sure that all of the voices remain clear and the characters can be told apart. I've read quite a few stories where there are multiple viewpoints, but they are all so similar I wasn't sure who was talking, even when they put names at the beginnings of the chapter. It's like all the characters were the same.

This. A very important thing to keep in mind, which means a lot of character work. You may or may not have to do more editing because of it.

I'd take a look at this article on the dangers of PoV switching. I think if you avoid these, then there's nothing wrong with multiple PoVs.

I love multiple POVs, as long as it's done WELL.

I like to get into different characters heads... And in my own writing, there are some scenes that HAVE to be from another character's POV in order to get the right effect. Or to get across something about the story that I couldn't otherwise (say, if my main characters aren't at a location where something important is happening).

The main way I do things is, one or two main characters who I tell the story from most of the time (I write third person), and then little snippets from minor characters' point of view where I think they're needed. I'm HOPING this strategy works... If not, I seriously have to rethink the way I write. XD

I forget where, but in reference to character development I once heard that you should believe the story could be told from any character's point of view. Any character could be the main character; they all have things at stake in the story and would be interesting to here from. In other words, don't have flat minor characters who are just there to move the story along. I really like that idea... Not sure if it applies here, but...

All I can think of when I hear multiple POVs that sound the same regardless of whether or not the character was stated at the top, is the Baby Sitters Club. Yes. You heard me. A long atrocious time ago, I once had the misfortune of reading one novel of that series. It was awful. You couldn't really distinguish which girl was which unless you were absolutely familiar with that character's background and what her bedroom looked like.

If you're going for distinctly different POVs, then of course multiple POVs is fantastic. Especially if you have an epic tale in mind. Take Robert Jordan's 14 novel trilogy, The Wheel of Time This is the character list from the (15 if you include the prologue book set 20 years before the first true book of the sweeping fantasy) novels. This link provides you with how many of those hundreds of characters had a paragraph or whatever dedicated to their point of view. NINTEY-SIX characters in total have their own POV.

That's going a tad bit too far



To write multiple POVs, you have to have good writing skills. Good luck

Yah, it can be risky. I know some people who just don't like reading stories that are multiple POV, but they've done it if the story is interesting enough. Therefore, just tell your story the way you want to. If you need multiple POV, then just do it. As long as it works with the plot and the other elements of the story then you should be good.

If you're worried about the number of POVS, just remember to take a good look at your characters and determine whether they really need to tell it from their own view. Can it be done from another character's POV? Sometimes I find that I like characters more when I don't know what they're thinking. It makes them more mysterious when just seen through the eyes of others. Sometimes allowing them to speak through their actions, and letting the reader determine what they're saying, is a lot more rewarding.

On another note, a great way to help distinguish characters' POVs is to make them think in a certain way. Give their inner dialogue a certain slang to it or something. If the character is prim and proper, then make his/her thoughts the same. Get into their heads yourself and determine what they'd notice when walking down the street or entering a room. If you make their thoughts unique and distinguashable, then the reader will have no problem doing the same. It'll make it intersting for the reader as well, because they'll soon be able to determine whose POV it is simply by reading one sentence.

Good luck!

There are five different POVs in my book, and I quite like them. All the characters are different and need to express themselves in different ways. If you have characters like this, then multiple POVs are fine.

TIGERSPRITE

P.S. There are multiple POVs in successful novels, by the way. Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time as Snoink mentioned and Gillian Rubinstein's The Tales Of The Otori are just two examples.

I would say don't do it.

Omniscient voice is extremely difficult to do and it takes a lot of skill and practice to pull off. I went to a fiction reading a couple weeks ago when Samrat Upadhyay read from his second published novel "Buddha's Orphans" in which he uses an omniscient voice narrator. During the Q&A session someone asked him about using the omniscient narrator. He basically said it was one of the most difficult tasks he's ever done. You are constantly trying to balance between each character, make each one seem sympathetic in his or her own light while not trying to pick sides.

One thing I will say though is that if you do decide to go with the omniscient voice you have to make sure that whichever character's POV you're using at that time, you must make sure that the reader sees it that way as well. One of the major downfalls of multiple POV is that all of the different characters tend to sound exactly the same.