P.O.V. (Yeah, this again)
If you’ve been a writer for more than…let’s say, a day, you’ve probably already read confusing articles about P.O.V. (point of view) or seen attempts at helpful charts, like the one above. Every writer who blogs has most likely blogged about P.O.V. Third person, second person, first person, and their perplexing variations – I never thought twice about my P.O.V. until I started reading about it. I simply wrote whatever perspective best fit the situation. No problem.
In my manuscript Arden, I have only one main character. Arden. Go figure. Anyway, writing in third person limited was easy with just Arden to work with. Tristan did make the occasional appearance in dominance, but that was only to clarify his unexplained actions and take over while Arden was unconscious or in a different location. Still a piece of cake.
However, as I’m planning my sequel (untitled), I’m faced with a large and head-scratching decision. I’m continuing with Arden as the main character, so about two-thirds of the novel will be from her perspective. But because so many of the characters from the first novel are in different locations carrying out different roles and tasks, I need to branch out a bit more.
Arden and her six companions, including Tristan, are completing their search for a girl important to their kingdom in the Mundirian town Enaeos. They travel to South Ferin…and that’s all I’m revealing.
Ilex is back at Naphiring, raising an army and dealing with the complicated politics that have risen in recent months.
And Pharecles and Phoebe are in Emperor’s City, where the siblings are trying to wake up the people of Mundir from decades of laziness. Inter-court relations are becoming a problem.
So, I have three, for a lack of a better word, narrators: Arden, Ilex, and Pharecles/Phoebe (I haven’t decided which one yet). Here is my dilemma:
Do I alternate their voices within each chapter, or does each chapter belong to one character alone?
In Arden, Tristan just jumped in and out for a couple of paragraphs or pages, quite suiting to his personality. Other examples of books like this are the Inheritance Cycle and the Wicked Lovely series. Or, the chapters could be set up something like: Arden, Ilex, Pharecles, Arden, Arden, Ilex, Arden, Pharecles.
When you’re reading a novel, what best suits your fancy?
If you’re completely and utterly confused about these funky-sounding characters, this post might help. Or maybe not.
I get very confused when POV changes within a chapter. In fact sometimes I stop reading. I think it is OK to have a different POV per chapter, as long as it is clear who’s head you are in from the beginning of the chapter.
Thanks for the imput, Darlene. POV has never posed a problem before, but when I write I certainly don’t want readers being confused regarding the characters (and their locations). Thanks!
Dear Libby,
My personal preferences are that each chapter is ‘spoken’ by one character-with their individual story lines intertwining. I think of it like a ribbon for each character. As you write you braid each strand of the ribbon together until all the storylines come together in the form of a bow at the end. Does that make any sense? I’m hoping it does. It is a generalisation-and without knowing specifics of character development and story line- it is a little tricky to know if the braided ribbon analogy will work -or even be helpful- to you.
Cheers,
Sonia
Haha, yes, that makes sense, and actually is very helpful. Braiding the individual characters together to make a braid is a great analogy. Thanks, Sonia!
I’ve considered it, and with the help of yours and Darlene’s suggestions, have decided to go with a character per chapter. That way it’s also easier to map out in my outline.
That’s great Libby… Glad the suggestions helped.. Looking forward to seeing it listed in the ‘ALL TIME BEST SELLERS LIST’.
Cheers,
Sonia
This is a very complex issue, Libby. I’ve seen so many variations, some I liked, others not so much. Maybe it comes down to what we feel most comfortable with and what we feel works best for that story. I’ve even seen headings above the pov changes using the person’s name to indicate whose pov it was. One book in particular I remember, “Drowning Ruth,” was written that way. I loved the story.
Mm, dealing with multiple character perspectives doesn’t seem to have many limits. I suppose it all boils down to the moment when one sits down to actually write. When I outlined my first manuscript I did it by chapter; one of my friends also outlined her novel, but only by event. She sorted out the chapters and POV later…I guess I’ll just see what comes out of my pen. Er, fingertips.
Thanks for commenting, Laura!