: How to write the same event with a different POV? I am aiming to change POV in the middle of my book, based on my previous question and I have yet to decide where to start the second POV.

@Cooney417

Posted in: #CreativeWriting #Fiction #Novel #Pov #Scene

I am aiming to change POV in the middle of my book, based on my previous question and I have yet to decide where to start the second POV. The first POV and the second meet during one event - a midnight dropoff/chase scene - and then the story continues. I am thinking about showing the first POV, describing parts of the scene he sees, then switching to the second POV, and describing the scene with her perspective and understanding.


Is repeating a scene through a second POV advisable?
What techniques should I use to make the scenes easier to understand for the reader?

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@Hamaas631

@Hamaas631

I believe this may be a duplicate, but I'll try answering.
1. Is repeating a scene through a second POV advisable?
I think that that is the whole point, reinterpreting the same event with new eyes...
Though to avoid boring the reader it does need to be distinctive and preferably adding new elements that the original pov character didn't see like something that happened in another room.
2. What techniques should I use to make the scenes easier to understand for the reader?
I am not certain what the question is? If you want to be certain the reader understands this is a new pov it can help to use a different writing style and vocabulary to emphasize the difference.
Also, related to this and "I have yet to decide where to start the second POV."
It may be less confusing to run through the entire scene with the original pov, or at least till a bit after the pov switch which here I assume is the chase, before starting a new chapter with the new pov. If you throw in some introspection and inner dialogue that helps quickly establish that this is a new character and that this is the same scene, you should be able to do it in 3-4 pages, you don't need to re-start at the beginning of the event but at any convenient plot point like just before the chase.

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@Murray165

@Murray165

If you are revealing new facts by using a different POV, then sure, use it. Many works of fiction use that approach for big plot twists or reveals.

As far as particular techniques are involved, make sure the reader understands which POV is used. If all of your book up to the point is written from a single POV, and then you do the switch, it indeed may be confusing.

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