Advice about multiple POV

[Lazy_Acorn]

Hello my friends, as the title says, I come here for advice about multiple points of view.

I am currently writing a story here at SH, but before posting it, I had some ideas and even wrote some drafts. After a lot of indecision (partly because I didn't want to leave aside the powers and characters that I had so much work to create), I decided to somehow bring them all together in the same world, but with one having the main focus and the others appearing occasionally, having the point of view focused on them.

What I wanted to know is, having multiple POV in my story could affect it negatively?

I ask this because after a survey on the internet, I found that many people hate this.

As a matter of curiosity, I will leave here a short resume of the drafts I had written.

Going by the order of ideas I wrote.

First, Isekai where the MC has the ability to tame monsters, and the only monsters he managed to tame were a goblin and a slime.

Second, Isekai where the MC is transmigrated into a village of Gorgons in order to help them give birth, and occasionally explore the forest when he was not 'enjoying the youth'.

Third, Isekai where the MC is a dungeon master, he ‘enjoys the youth’ while trying to stay as strong as possible in order to not be killed by adventurers.

Fourth, Isekai with an intelligent and manipulative female MC, she would use her skills to create her empire and show that even being a woman in a medieval European world, she could reach the top.

Fifth, a slice of life of a OP guy who falls in love with a prostitute in a fantasy world. (It was the one I chose as the main focus, since I thought it was a little more original than the others)

Sixth, was in the modern days, post-pandemic world, where almost everyone gains skills and the MC who is in love with his aunt gains a system, he 'enjoys the youth' while occasionally going to dungeons.

Seventh, isekai Slice of life where the MC is very OP and reincarnates as the butler of a rich little girl.

Thanks in advance

 

[Emerald_Severwill]

With a matter as abstract as that, I'd take a page out of the way Yoko Taro made the story for SinoAlice.
Each character has their own story line, but that could cross-over with one to several other characters at times while none is the true focus. i.e; chapter 1-3 is Character One's story, 4-6 is Character Two's story, 7-8 is a cross over between the two.

Another matter would be as you said, a focus on one character while the PoV changes as needed. Multiple PoV is only annoying if it happens too often, so as long as it's done in moderation then readers aren't normally bothered by it.

You could also create a single series where the PoV is only ever on the focus MC, and create "related series" separately which expands on the other character's stories and what they were doing when X was happening in the main story.

I'm unsure how I would personally go about writing each of those characters into the same world together, but as far as changing PoV's goes I would say take the second option. You can look at a lot of light novels or anime/manga that change attention away from the MC as reference.

 

[Saileri]

Yea, definitely don't want to switch the POV every chapter or most of the readers will get slightly down. People like to stay for a moment with the characters. Personally, due to my story having Multiple Transported Individuals, I planned on having something like 2-3 chapters from someone's else POV and like 10-20 chapters from the MC interchangeably, with the other's POV functioning more like "Meanwhile, this happens there." They play the role of slowly exploring the side characters, showing more of their personalities so that when they cross paths with the MC, people won't feel like they just popped up like a template.

The idea you described could work. Characters crossing paths but a way that only the reader is aware while they don't necessarily interact, like visiting similar places or arriving one after another somewhere. Could be interesting. Definitely have a few chapters of one before switching to another. Will not be an easy task.

Also, @Emerald_Severwill u playing?

 

[Lazy_Acorn]

You could also create a single series where the PoV is only ever on the focus MC, and create "related series" separately which expands on the other character's stories and what they were doing when X was happening in the main story.

That's a good idea, maybe I'll do it like that.
Thanks

 

[Lazy_Acorn]

I planned on having something like 2-3 chapters from someone's else POV and like 10-20 chapters from the MC interchangeably, with the other's POV functioning more like "Meanwhile, this happens there." They play the role of slowly exploring the side characters, showing more of their personalities so that when they cross paths with the MC, people won't feel like they just popped up like a template.

I was planning to do something like that.
But also using the side characters to explore parts of the world that the MC won't.

 

[Ral]

For me, there is one primary reason why I loath multiple POV. The other POV often just strays from the narrative. The result is a story with no narrative cohesion.

Say, your story is about this adventurer guy searching for his lost sibling. What tends to happen is that there would be another POV about this adventurer guy's team mate (usually a girl). And here is where the issue comes. They often threat this other POV as something as important (or more important than) the main POV and create a separate narrative for this POV character. Now imagine it happening for dozens of characters. You got a mess of dozens of barely connected stories allover the place.

Not that a thing like this can't be done well but most writers here can't even tell one single story well, so much for dozens happening at the same time.

But also using the side characters to explore parts of the world that the MC won't.

See? Using another POV to tell a separate narrative that has nothing to do with the main narrative.

And no. We don't need to see those other parts that the MC won't. They are not needed to tell the story so they don't need to be in the story.

 

[TRNRLogan]

Honestly it isn't even about how often you change POVs. It us entirely dependent on how they interconnect and how good the writing is. As long as the characters are distinct and follow a plot that clearly relates to the main plot you should be fine. I mean look at ASOIAF (Game of Thrones) it has over a dozen POVs but they clearly are all important so fans are fine with it. The biggest problem that series has is poor pacing. It also doesn't really have a main character. If you want a main character you obviously have to focus primarily on them and merely occasionally use different POVs. I'd recommend only using other perspectives when necessary or to flesh out certain events.

 

[OvidLemma]

If you're interested in writing a compelling story, then any authorial decision that you make, POVs included, must ultimately consider: will this make my story better? Since we're posting stories here on Scribble Hub and not publishing them professionally, then sometimes the answer will be very different from what a professional author would give. For instance, if you're growing bored with a character and want to phase out to another main character POV, that's completely fine, as long as you keep things interesting. You might lose a lot of readers, and you might gain a bunch... who knows? It's your call. But if you're trying to write a story with the form of a publishable novel or novel series, then you need a well-articulated reason for each POV you introduce. Because, all things being equal, more POVs = more confusing for readers = a worse story. In one of my current projects, I'm juggling back and forth between two main POV characters, but I could write you an essay on why both POVs deserve to be told and are crucial to this story, such as: both have separate thematic notes that magnify one another but that are best told through their respective characters.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Fifth, a slice of life of a OP guy who falls in love with a prostitute in a fantasy world. (It was the one I chose as the main focus, since I thought it was a little more original than the others)

Oh! Let me know when this one comes out. I may complain about stereotypical misrepresentation of prostitutes, or I may really love it.

It can be interesting to get a different perspective every now and then, though personally I say use a third person omniscient narrator because it gives you more flexibility.

 

[Lazy_Acorn]

Oh! Let me know when this one comes out. I may complain about stereotypical misrepresentation of prostitutes, or I may really love it.

It can be interesting to get a different perspective every now and then, though personally I say use a third person omniscient narrator because it gives you more flexibility.

It's out already.

What would you do if you suddenly fell in love?

What would you do if you fell in love at first sight with a woman that you just met at the brothel? Don’t you know the answer? If you want to know what our MC would do, just take a look and follow his daily life in this fantasy...

www.scribblehub.com

 

[Lazy_Acorn]

For me, there is one primary reason why I loath multiple POV. The other POV often just strays from the narrative. The result is a story with no narrative cohesion.

Say, your story is about this adventurer guy searching for his lost sibling. What tends to happen is that there would be another POV about this adventurer guy's team mate (usually a girl). And here is where the issue comes. They often threat this other POV as something as important (or more important than) the main POV and create a separate narrative for this POV character. Now imagine it happening for dozens of characters. You got a mess of dozens of barely connected stories allover the place.

Not that a thing like this can't be done well but most writers here can't even tell one single story well, so much for dozens happening at the same time.

See? Using another POV to tell a separate narrative that has nothing to do with the main narrative.

And no. We don't need to see those other parts that the MC won't. They are not needed to tell the story so they don't need to be in the story.

I understood, I hadn't thought about it.
If I'm going to do it, I'll try to put something related to the main story.

 

[Ral]

I understood, I hadn't thought about it.
If I'm going to do it, I'll try to put something related to the main story.

That is good.

Still, your list of ideas are just unrelated. It is better to write them as separate stories than a single one with multiple POVs.

Or you can restructure them to fit a narrative of wider scope. And no, the fifth idea is not going to work. It is the one with the most narrow scope. There is no way you can connect the other narratives to this one. I don't think you can even write a story of great length with this one.

You probably have to discard some of your ideas. Some of the ideas just conflicts with each other, like the girl in the medieval fantasy world and the guy in the modern world. How can you even make these two work? Your setting can't be both set in the medieval and modern era.

 

[Khiricastares]

I think what Ral said is fairly on point here. People may dislike multiple POV for different reasons, but one thing all bad uses of it have in common is lack of focus. Depending on how you plan to tell your story, will also change whether or not you want to fixate on one person. If you're going to tell it entirely in first person, I wouldn't include any other character POV unless it's a two-person affair, because it is a direct contrast to what the first person style aims to achieve, drawing the reader into the life and mind of a singular character.

If the story is in third person, then you have more room to mess around with POV, especially if it's omniscient 3rd and knowing things other characters don't becomes part of the reader's experience. But back to Ral, the story is the focus and POV is just a tool to direct that focus. If you're worried about not doing it well, or it detracting from the story then I would say avoid using it or test it out in small doses if you see the opportunity. It's definitely one of the harder narrative tools to learn, but you've already got the main idea which is to go with what works for you and the story.

I tend to choose a baseline first/third person viewpoint and then mix them together with POV's, or outside information the MC won't be able to deliver. The main point is to step back and question why a chapter or section has a character's POV attached, or why it removes itself from the normal MC etc. A good place to start if you do plan on trying multiple POVs is to make a list of characters who will use/need it in the story and why, then stick strictly to those few to avoid going off course. I love multiple POVs when done well, there's just so much extra depth and possibility.

 

[Lazy_Acorn]

That is good.

Still, your list of ideas are just unrelated. It is better to write them as separate stories than a single one with multiple POVs.

Or you can restructure them to fit a narrative of wider scope. And no, the fifth idea is not going to work. It is the one with the most narrow scope. There is no way you can connect the other narratives to this one. I don't think you can even write a story of great length with this one.

You probably have to discard some of your ideas. Some of the ideas just conflicts with each other, like the girl in the medieval fantasy world and the guy in the modern world. How can you even make these two work? Your setting can't be both set in the medieval and modern era.

That list was just a general idea of the drafts that I had made, if I was going to put them all in the same world, I would remodel them.

And about the fifth idea, in addition to having thought it would be a little more original than the others, there is also the fact that I'm new at writing, I thought it would be easier to write because it's a slice of life, so I decided it would be better to use it as the main one.

So, when I had a little more experience, I would try to include the others. But after reading some comments and reflecting a little bit, I realized that even myself wouldn't want to read something with so many pov(lol), even if it was related to the main story.

But since I've already started the fifth idea, I'll continue with it and leave the others aside for now. Well, maybe I'll add the female MC of the fourth ideia as a love interest, I don't know yet.