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I have a story that is primarily told from one POV character (third-person limited). However, plotted within this story are a few chapters from other characters.
Most of my multiple-POV research relates to dividing the whole book into alternating character POVs. The articles suggest that each POV character should have a character arc, be unique, etc.
In my case, I'm exploring adding a few chapters with a different POVs and largely not returning to these POVs later. The characters may continue to exist and be pertinent to the story, though they may not tell the story.
Q: Is this okay? Will this be jarring? Is it odd?
Examples
1 -- A side-character is struggling with a moral dilemma. I want to show one chapter of her reflecting on the protagonist's advice and making a change. This plays strongly in her decision to help the protagonist later. Benefits: rounds out the character, provides more world information, foreshadows information.
Alternatively, I could get creative with showing some of this detail from the main protagonist, though potentially lose the closeness of this side-character's thoughts and trials.
2 -- The community manager of a popular tournament is interviewed live on TV. Besides the interview, this character won't be seen much in the story. This allows me to hype the upcoming events. That this is a once in a lifestyle experience for thousands of participants. It also allows me to info-dump in a more creative and interesting way.
Alternatively, I could show the interview on TV that my character is watching. I don't get to show the effort, stress, and work that's going into the event, though I could portray a lot of the required information.
Q: Given that most of the book is from one POV, would you skip using other POVs for a handful of chapters? Or do you feel that you could add more to the story by switching POV, even if it's done irregularly?
Thank you for your help!
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6 Comments
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Any rule can be broken, the trick is to know why the rule exists. In this case, it is difficult (and potentially frustrating) for the reader to (a) follow/understand and (b) emphasize with too many different characters. It's also difficult for the writer to successfully distinguish them on the page. Remember, just because you can tell them apart, doesn't mean the reader can. All these things are as true for any story with many characters and a single viewpoint as it is for a multiple POV story, but the POV scenario adds additional challenges to successful suspension of disbelief (since it doesn't match our usual experience).
If you can solve these problems, then go ahead and do it, but you're setting yourself a difficult challenge.
The best example of changing points of view was perhaps Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." Most of it was told from the point of view of Jim Hawkins, the cabin boy. But when Jim was at sea, the POV shifted to Dr. Livesey, who remained on land, and discussed the land portion of the story "simultaneously" with Jim's sea adventure.. It made for a smooth, continuous narrative.
Using a certain character's point of view to describe a particular event in your story is nothing more than a technique.
Q: Is this okay?
Of course, it is. It had been done time and time again, and it will be done as many a time as there are stories to be told.
Selection of the point of view to me is akin to choosing a right file from my tool cabinet. Do I use a flat one, square one, round one, or triangular? That largely depends on the kind of a hole I am making so the peg I have will fit.
If you have a well-developed cast of characters (where every person is actually different from another), it would be a great time to employ multiple POV and choose, through whose eyes you allow the readers to see some events you are describing, because you can thus add a layer of subjectivity of each of your cast members to the perception of the said events.
If you are unveiling a complex who-done-it mystery, you might employ multiple POV technique, because it shows the limits of the single person's knowledge of the situation, thus keeping the tension going, etc.
The reasons for switching POVs are many.
Q: Will this be jarring? Is it odd?
Only if you make it so, and here are no recipes, but try and see for yourself. Changing POVs is often tied to a chapter/scene breaks, to give the reader a chance to take a breath, but I have seen it done in one scene as well, and it was not always head-hopping jarring; it all depends on how you write it on a sentence level, and there are, again, no recipes, except for... ahm... write well.
If you tell your story for twenty chapters through the eyes of the pirate ship captain, and then, all of a sudden, switch the POV to the one of his only friend--his pet parrot--you better have a good reason to do it (like the captain gets whacked) and the way to set it up and prepare your reader for the abrupt switch, but, once again, it is only for you to decide, if you need it or not.
Best of luck.
I've answered this question before. Changing POV is one of writing's simpler tasks. It need not be confined to a chapter or a complete novel. You change POV whenever it suits.
The narrative following an action by a character is that character's POV.
Lucy stared out of the window into the darkness. This night had been the longest, coldest night ever.
Assuming this is not a post-apocalyptic tale set in Antarctica. The statement following her action is subjective and can only be her POV.
Two things will make it less jarring.
First, establish the pattern early, so the reader quickly learns what to expect. And once you establish the pattern, maintain it to some extent.
Second, follow up on the POV characters so we know how things turned out for them. Readers will expect viewpoint characters to matter to the story. And they expect the events in those chapters to matter to the story. If you don't show how those people and events turned out, they become "loose ends", and readers will feel vaguely (or distinctly) unsatisfied.
If the protagonist witnesses how things turn out, you can show these things in the protagonist's viewpoint. I think it's less satisfying if they happen off stage, and protagonist merely hears reports about them, but that may be a matter of personal preference.
I’m not a head-hopper writer. I keep view point characters focused in distinct scenes or chapters. Romance writers may make an exception and head hop.
I have a personal rule of thumb, the more viewpoint characters I explore the farther the narration takes place. In my opinion it depends upon the distance you intend to narrate your story. That’s key in my opinion.
For example: Take Game of Thrones, a 3rd person omniscient story exploring a variety characters. It must be distant with so many characters and switching plots all over the place, which may lead and tie into the final and ultimate conflict against the White Walkers.
Imagine if Game of Thrones were written in Deep point of view. Each book would be massive. Each character having an arc and exploring the world from their own point of view as opposed to an outside narrator telling you. I couldn’t even begin to imagine, but at the same time it sounds like a cool idea.
If you head hop, it may be frowned upon.
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