Posted: June 11, 2024
POV, meaning “point of view” refers to who is telling the story, be it a character in first person, a character in third person, or an omniscient narrator. Multi-POV stories are those that are told from one or more perspectives. But what does “perspective” mean?
Stories are always told by someone. It’s most obvious who that is in first person, in which one of the characters is the narrator. In second person, it can be assumed that the story is being told to you the reader, by an omniscient narrator, another character, or the author themself. In third person, it gets a little tricky, as there is a spectrum of omniscience.
Third person limited focuses on one character. It may share the thoughts of that character directly, or hint at them, but it tells the story through their eyes. What they see, what they notice, how they respond. Some other limited forms will share the thoughts of multiple characters, though the storyteller is someone on the outside of the story looking in. even others will have access to all characters and all thoughts, and this is the definitive omniscient narrator.
What we will be looking at here is a limited narrator which switches between characters—limiting itself to one at a time.
This kind of story is not often seen. Since the tale is told using “I” rather than a character’s name, it may take a while for the reader to become accustomed to their narrator. With the added confusing of multiple characters telling the story using “I”, it can become frustrating quickly.
That being said, it can still be done. For example, Dracula by Bram Stoker, is told in this fashion (more information about this book’s structure below). The third Divergent book, Allegiant is also split between the main character, Tris, who told the first two books, and another character, Four. The reason for this change in perspective for the third book is revealed by the end.
The story of Count Dracula and the vampire hunters who end his immortal life is a classic that I dare say very few are unaware of. This book has a very interesting structure, in which it is told in the farce of a true story as a collection of first-hand accounts, telegrams, and newspaper clippings. These first-hand accounts take the form of journal entries or dictated patient notes (rewritten long hand), and as such, they are told in first person. Within the story itself—perhaps about halfway through—the action of compiling these notes into a proper historical account is included as part of the narrative.
Stoker sidesteps POV confusion in a few ways. Firstly, at the beginning of each section is a heading, such as “Jonathan Harker’s Journal” or “Telegram from Lord Arthur Godalming to Doctor Van Helsing”. Secondly, the book starts with Jonathan Harker’s journal entries for a few chapters, in which he explains much. The reader is able to settle into his perspective, and they’re also introduced to each of the characters before those new perspectives appear.
For third person, multiple perspectives are much more popular. This involves less of individual characters telling the story as it does the story following these individual characters. What is happening with them in the scene?
Most of the time, this is used with limited third person omniscient, in which the reader is able to follow a sole character’s actions and thoughts. For example, if the scene is following a character called Mary, only what Mary sees, hears, thinks, and experiences is what the reader is told. This, like first person, allows the author to make them an unreliable narrator (the difference between what happens objectively and what each character understands from a scene). In this, an author can have fun with misunderstandings, in which a character’s action may seem clear and logical to them, but be interpreted entirely different by another character in the same scene.
This may seem fun and exciting, but unless the story is required to be told from multiple perspectives, don’t do it. Everything that goes into a book should add some benefit to the storytelling—the structure most importantly. It is the same as those videos you can find called “[insert movie title here] editing in 7 genres” that show how a story changes based on what genre the movie is edited for. The same can be said for a story’s structure. The way a story is told significantly changes how it is perceived, so choose wisely.
So, what circumstances can tell you how the story needs to be told? There are a few reasons:
Most stories don’t give all the answers to all the characters. However, sometimes the reader needs to know something that the characters shouldn’t. In stories where this is commonplace, having multiple narrators is useful, as it allows the reader to gain information without shoehorning the narrator to all scenes.
Some stories follow multiple storylines, and a single narrator can’t be there for all of them. Stories like this can get complex, so it’s not a method suited to every author or every story. Still, it allows an author to traverse the world in a way they wouldn’t be able to if they were tied to a single entity.
At times, there are narrators who skew things just a bit beyond the realm of possibility and having multiple or at least one other perspective helps the reader to make sense of things. For them to see lies when they’re presented as truths, or root out dubious facts.
Opposing perspectives is similar, though not to the extent of an unreliable narrator. Instead, it allows the author to show a different character’s opposing views of the same topic—an internal debate, as it were, for the reader.
Choosing the right narrator can be challenging even for books with only one narrator. Sometimes, it’ll just pop out at you. Other times, you’ll mull over it, you may even rewrite the story from different characters’ POVs until you find the right fit.
The question to ask yourself is this: Whose story is it? And what kind of message do you want to portray? Decide who the most important character in your story is. Ask yourself who you can learn the most from.
A lot of the time (for dual-world Fantasy stories at least), you want to tell the story from the perspective of a character who doesn’t know the world they’re about to enter. Someone from the “real” world that we’re used to, so the character and the reader can learn new things about their new world at the same time. Think The Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.
For Romances, you’ll almost definitely be telling the story from the POV of one of the participants rather than an outside perspective.
For Crime, you most likely will choose to follow the detective, but you may even choose the criminal to tell the story.
And so on. The possibilities are endless.
When a story has multiple narrators, it usually has to do with one of the following things: there is more than one main character, or the reader needs to know more than this one character knows.
As mentioned, there are times when multiple narrators can be confusing for a reader. This is rare, but still a concern. If the story is written in first person, how will they know who is narrating unless they get reminders? Therefore, the most important thing about multiple narrators is to remain consistent, and to give each of your narrators their own unique voice.
How do you do that?
Consistency is for you, the author. Ensure that you’re only using one character per scene. If it’s helpful, you can add a sticky note or reminder at the top of each scene. If it’s Howard’s point of view, only give your reader information through Howard’s eyes.
Be clear about perspective shifts. If it changes, add a section break. Depending on the story, you may even switch to a new chapter for a new character. When using first person (I), it’s highly recommended to use one perspective per chapter. You may even use the character’s name as the chapter title so that it continues along the pages in the header, serving as a constant reminder to your reader.
As for giving each of your narrators their own voice… It may be difficult, as an author, to change your voice. It’s just how you write. But there are a few tricks you can use to make subtle differences.
What makes a character’s voice is syntax, tone, and sentence structure.
There are many tips and tricks that you can try out to give each character their own voice and make it clear who the narrator is for each scene. Play around with it. Experiment. Find what works best for you and how you write. You may decide to outline the whole story first and use that to write all the chapters/scenes from one character’s perspective, then write the scenes from the next character (slotting them between the first character’s scenes). You may go through the book from beginning to end, switching between characters as their scenes/chapters come up. You may decide to write the whole story without worrying about giving the characters voices (leaving out more in-depth descriptions), then go back through the manuscript and make changes as you edit.
Whatever you decide to do, remember that you can always ask your local writing community for help. Ask beta readers if they think the narrator sounds different from one scene to the next. Find a developmental editor or line editor to give you advice or mark up the manuscript. And most importantly, read lots of books that use multiple narrators, and learn lots!
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