Marty Vee

I Need Your Opinion. 

As I’ve mentioned, I’m writing a romance and mystery novel. But I’m also editing the prequel to that romance novel. I wrote all of these with multiple POV (points of view.) These POV switch within chapter and I continue to receive the critique that it is “jarring.” I like switching among characters, because then the story is told in real time by different people. I have always written this way, that is not to say that I can’t change, but I see it as part of my style. 

I am considering putting a pin in these stories and pursuing other works; in hopes that when I come back to these the work won’t be as daunting or that I will have a demographic set up that would be willing to see something pretty unique on their book shelf. 

Any thoughts? I’d really appreciate anything you have to say. 

8 comments

  1. They say romance is the one genre that lets you get away with multiple POV. I do it myself. I separate the change with *** between scenes. I write in the first person for my main character and switch to third person to narrate what’s going on elsewhere. I only use two POV and rarely, a third. Quite frankly, I’ve read plenty of books with multiple POV and see nothing wrong with it. The key is making the transition clear and smooth! Good luck!

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  2. Have you asked your critics why it is jarring? If you could pinpoint exactly what the problem is, it would be significantly easier to fix. For example, is it that there isn’t enough distinction between the two POVs, making it confusing? Or maybe it’s to do with how often you change POVs? Or something else entirely!

    That said, taking a break from it when you run into problems like that is always a good idea. It’s like you can’t see the issues because you are too close to it but when you come back to it, you’ll be fresh and ready to face it. You’ll see things that you didn’t see before and be amazed that you missed them.

    I’m far from an expert but if I can help in anyway – be a test reader or anything – just give me a shout! 🙂

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  3. Those who profess the rules of writing will advise of the perils of multiple POVs, but everywhere I turn, I see rules being broken. One of the guys in my writing group has written a story with multiple POVs and while I wouldn’t say it was “jarring”, sometimes the switch happened to quickly or abruptly. I’m a fan of keeping one POV per chapter. That said, chapters are somewhat arbitrary breaks. Depending on how you write, you may have multiple scenes within a chapter. If so, there’s an opportunity to switch POV at the end of a scene. Maybe add some extra space between paragraphs or add a graphic to signal to the reader that a change is happening. Switching POV within a scene would be confusing to the reader. Just remember that what’s in your head is not necessarily what the reader gets. You have to clarify and amplify your intent as the author.

    joe

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    • I do have a defined symbol for POV change, when non writers read it, they are not bothered, only other writers. But at the same rate that is mostly who will be writing reviews so I’m weary. But thank you for your thoughts, you make some good points.

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