A question on POV's

[Grimbear]

Even that would be pushing it a bit, GB. I don't think that all stories should simply have only one POV-in fact, I don't support that much at all unless the main character lineup is small, like in Thomas Covenant, but neither should you see the town through the eyes of every single one of its citizens within a day.

I guess 100 is a lot. 50 then - given some of those would be one-off characters, used once to illustrate some plot detail.


Tim - 11 characters sounds fine.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Hiya, Tim, I think it was me mentioned that. They're different, omniprescent is where you have a narrator telling you the thoughts of a 3rd person character:

Springs decided that since she'd caused the confusion she'd reply. She typed the reply, stopping to think if it was right.

3rd close is where the pov character(s) narrates:

Springs typed the reply - since she'd caused the confusion, she'd best reply. She stopped. Was she right? Yes.

Incidentally in my wip I have about 12 over two books, so your 11 sounds fine. (I concur with GB, evidentally. )

 

[stephen.samuels]

Diana Wynne Jones also headhops wonderfully -- there's a fantastic bit in Hexwood where she leaps heads in the middle of a rabbit-killing scene to amazing effect.

I disagree, though, that you have to show different points of view to tell a story -- many excellent books are told from one point of view (e.g. those by Patrick Rothfuss* and Carol Berg).

*I think

I think the interesting thing which Rothfuss does, is build suspense though his POV knowing what's coming. I felt reading it, that Kvothe always held something back and so you read on.

What I do in my WIP is, switch POV because my main character is a child and has no idea of the impending danger around him. But the others do, so by switching to them, I can build tenison. Again, the switching doesn't have to be all the time, but now and again it really works.

 

[Hex]

I didn't mean to suggest that a single POV is the only way to go -- I agree it can work well to switch character POVs. I was reacting to the implication that multiple POV characters are the only way to tell a story.

My preference in reading is for a single POV character, but I have enjoyed many books where multiple PsOV are used.

 

[stephen.samuels]

I didn't mean to suggest that a single POV is the only way to go -- I agree it can work well to switch character POVs. I was reacting to the implication that multiple POV characters are the only way to tell a story.

My preference in reading is for a single POV character, but I have enjoyed many books where multiple PsOV are used.

Sorry I was agreeing with you Hex! That last bit was just my personal experience. Personally The Name of The Wind is one of my favorite books. It is a fine example of first person POV.

 

[ctg]

I got four POV's in my WiP. Two first person and two close third person narratives and I'm thinking about adding third third person one at the end to close some loose ends.

 

[Grimbear]

I wrote something (never finished) where there were six third person POV characters and one first person POV which was in diary form (a diary that one of the characters later finds).

How is your structured ctg? - I've never seen it done like that - having multiple POVs in both first and third person, unless the first person was done through some other form - diary entries eg - although maybe someone else can think of an example.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I didn't mean to suggest that a single POV is the only way to go -- I agree it can work well to switch character POVs. I was reacting to the implication that multiple POV characters are the only way to tell a story.

My preference in reading is for a single POV character, but I have enjoyed many books where multiple PsOV are used.

Phew... And one of the two best books I read recently (and I am a 3rd person writer at the mo) shared a dual 1st pov, and the other was in very close 1st. It's about the story, not the mechanism....

 

[ctg]

Grimbear, if you read Reynolds, you'll see that every other chapter is in third but he's not first one on the case. Multiple firsts are difficult to lock in, but there's a way if you do it through a story and that both voices are at least somewhat different to each other. And that is because at the end, it's all about the characters story, where you can drop in third at place to give that extra uuumph... if you get my meaning.

I'm still not sure about the third ones, but to me, it's easy to understand that the author wants to provide the readers something that the characters doesn't know. There, and just like springs says, it's all about the story, not the mechanism.

 

[Mouse]

How is your structured ctg? - I've never seen it done like that - having multiple POVs in both first and third person, unless the first person was done through some other form - diary entries eg - although maybe someone else can think of an example.

Read Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus books. Written in 1st and 3rd. Particularly the newest one, where there's one first person POV and several third. And it's not written in diary form.

For several firsts, check out The Possessions of Doctor Forrest by... Richard someone (Kelly, I think). They are written in the form of diary entries and letters and journals and whatnot. Very good.