Today I’m are going to tackle two point of view questions that came to us through email. But first, if you are an Instagram user, this week I’m giving away a paperback set of the Kinsman Chronicles trilogy over on my Instagram account. Click here and look for the image below to find out how to enter to win.
Our first point of view question comes from Emily.
Hey, I’m writing a book and I still can’t decide on its POV. I want to explore every character’s story in third person, but it just doesn’t FEEL right when I write it, and it feels kind of awkward. First person is what feels right for me, but I can’t have any other character’s POV in that way. What should i do?
This is a great question. How you FEEL is important. Writing should be a somewhat enjoyable experience. I say somewhat because there are times when writing or editing is really hard work, and you kind of want to quit. But you keep going because you know when you get through it, you’ll have a stronger book. That said, it’s important to learn to trust your instincts as a writer. If writing in third person doesn’t FEEL right, don’t do it. It used to be that a writer could only write one point of view in first person per book, but that’s not the case anymore. We are living in a time where writers can get away with most anything in regards to point of view. In fact, there are a lot of books published nowadays with multiple first person points of view. Wonder by R. J. Palacio comes to mind. Each chapter in Wonder is the name of the point of view character as a signal to the reader who’s going to be telling the next part of the story. And they’re all in first person.
So you can tell your story from multiple first person points of view. If you want to. If it FEELS right. If you don’t want to, however, then you have a choice to make as to how you do want to handle it. You could have your main character’s POV in first person and everyone else in third. (I did this in my Mission League books. Spencer’s POVs are in first person, and there are always four or five chapters from another POV character in third person.)
Or you would work hard to find a way to tell the entire story in first person from only your main character’s point of view. You could still write scenes from your other characters in first person to get to know them, but you wouldn’t put them in the book. They’d be just for you.
So, that’s the long answer. The short answer is: do what FEELS right.
Our second question is from Asheton.
Hi, I am writing a book with two point of views, and I was wondering if you need an equal amount of chapters with the POVs or if it is fine for one to have the main screen?
I totally understand this question, Asheton, because it’s something I struggled a lot with when I first started writing. I was a little OCD about the whole thing. I liked everything to be even, like I planned it that way. The same amount of chapters for everyone. That was my inclination, anyway, but I learned that stories are not math. And story is key. Like Emily talked about in the previous question, I needed to learn to trust my gut and do what FELT right. So, for example, take my Mission League books again. The majority of each novel, which are around 20-30 chapters long, are written in Spencer’s point of view. He’s my main character. But I also have 4-5 chapters in each book that are from one other character’s POV. (Those are the chapters I wrote in third person.) These chapters are characters who add mystery and intrigue into the situation Spencer is going to run into later ion the story. This was my way of foreshadowing in that series. It’s not something I’ve done in any other books, but I needed to do it for that series to make things work.
So that’s the long answer. The short answer is: Yes. It’s totally fine for one character to be the star in the spotlight and for other characters to be supporting cast.
I have the exact same feeling s lot of the time, about wanting to do 3rd person but feeling better with 1st person. I need to explore more what feels right for my story…?.
And I so wish I could enter the giveaway, but I don’t have IG. *weeps*
Depends on the book for me, but I’m normally inclined to write the whole thing from one character’s third person POV. It’s different with my epic fantasy, of course, because half the story can’t be told with the “main” character’s viewpoint. In that case I pick other characters who must necessarily get a POV and use only them, so that I have about 5 POVs total, and write however many chapters are needed from each one to get the story told.
My POV typically depends on the story and my mood when I started it. ?
Currently though, I’ve got one third person POV in my main WIP. Sometimes I slip into a different POV, but only to flesh out a character a little better
My main character’s POV is in first person, and the others’ are in third. Sometimes it’s hard to transition, but I like it so I can switch after scene breaks rather than chapter breaks and there won’t be as much confusion. It was also important to the idea behind the story.
I do like that you can do it in so many ways, definitely leaves room for creativity!
My story has four major characters, and I went into it seeing them as all equally “the main character” and letting them all take turns narrating. Having four narrators makes things kind of crazy though, and I’m wondering if I should revisit the POVs in edits to simplify it. At the same time though, I don’t necessarily want to cut anyone out! Any thoughts?
I’ve seen books before with four main characters. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is one example, and the sharing of the pants ties all four stories together. Also, Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows has at least four POVs that are somewhat equal, though it’s really Kaz’s story since it’s his deal and he is their leader. If you have a good reason for having four equal POVs, then trust yourself and go for it. But if there is one person of whom you could say, “It’s that character’s story, really,” then just make sure that they have a solid character arc and that they are the one center front in the climax, working toward resolving that story goal. My two cents. 🙂
This is great, thanks!
I feel like it depends on how the character feels to me in my head. If they’re a more intimate or a character who feels more like they’re trying to share a story with the reader, then I do first person, but if it’s more of a narration of what is happening, I use third. Also, most of the time with multiple POVs I use third, just because it’s always been easier for me to read multiple POVs that way