Hello everyone, today I will take a thorough analysis of how you can implement multiple POVs. To start off, I recommend you check out my post prior that goes into this under, “Reading Notes.” After that, come back to me and we will discuss POV and how it can make or break your story.
To start off, the first-person point of view is less common than the third person, so I only recommend this if you really know your characters: dialect, sentence structuring, look, backstory, and most of their motive.
If you have all these at your disposal, I recommend considering this point of view, as it is more immersive and relatable. First-person is great for helping your readers care about your characters. Because if they do not care about your characters, it is unlikely they will give a flying f if they get injured or die.
I recommend writing in first, then changing the pronouns to suit third. The reason being is that you have all the elements that make first great, without the stipulations. This process was first recommended to me by Abbie Emmons, so don’t credit me for this innovative solution.
Outlining and character sheets are your best friend if you are writing in first. So I recommend you check out my post where I share direct links to some. You need to know your character inside and out if you hope to write a novel from their point of view, so be patient with the process and bond with your character before the audience even hears about them.
As for third which is a lot less limiting, unless you’re writing in third-person limited of course, haha. Is great for beginners and those that want to dip their toes in the story-making sea. I started off writing in third and I recommend you do as well.
The third-person perspective is also perfect for multiple POVs. Go with this if you hope to do a unique character's perspective with every chapter. However, it is important you don’t “head-hop” or change characters mid-chapter. We see this as amateurish writing, and I suggest you do not fall into this pit.
Finally, develop your character bios and outline every chapter from the characters to plot points. I know your story will be great and I hope mine is too, as it too takes advantage of these methods.
Till next time.
- Matt Gorrell
