Position:Home>Books & Authors> How should I be handling Point Of View when writing a novel?
Question: How should I be handling Point Of View when writing a novel!?
Once again, first time novelist!. Hehe!
I hear lots of conflicting information about how I should be handling the points of view in my novel!. I've developed a story that would almost sound ridiculous if not heard from the points of view of both main characters!.
I've read/heard that you should NEVER EVER EVER use two points of view in one novel!. And then I've read that it's more than acceptable!.
Which do you think is more accurate!? How should I handle it when two points of view are necessary for my story!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
You have some truly informed answers here, however!.!.!.
The best thing you can do is write your novel the way you think it should be read in your first draft, then read it and see if it works!. There's really no other way to know!. It's one thing to say Bronte did it, never say never, ignore negative opinion, but criticism can be constructive, so write it, write it your way, and let's all see if you're the kind of writer who can do this!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
If you want, you could write it in the third person!. Then you can show different perspectives without changing the POV!. There are also many books out there that switch between different 1st person POVs!. Although if you do that, then you have to be really careful because it is hard to get right!.
I would recommend just writing in the 3rd person!. If you are descriptive enough, then you can describe what different characters are feeling/experiencing!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
It is acceptable, but it depends on how you use it!.
If you go the whole novel in one POV, then switch at the end, it's a cop-out and not accepted!.
If you switch POV ever like, 2-4 pages, that's just damn annoying!.
If you do the whole book in one POV, then have one randomly placed second POV, it's not good!.
Alternating POV works really well when you keep it steady, and if it has a point!. If you alternate point of view for the hell of it, and it doesn't add anything to the story, then don't do it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
That is completely false!. Whoever says that is simply an idiot!. In "As I Lay Dying" William Faulkner used 15 different points of view!. Feel free to move freely from viewpoint to viewpoint, it doesn't even have to be done smoothly if its done well!. In the end, as a writer, you always have to go where you heart and feeling is leading you, regardless of what anybody tells you!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
One of the characters in Stephen King's Dark Tower series says, "'Never' is a word God listens for when he wants a laugh!."
NEVER (ha) listen to anyone who tells you to "never ever ever" do something, whether they're being a know-it-all about writing or anything else!. In this case, refer them to George Eliot's "Middlemarch," Charles Dicken's "A Tale of Two Cities," or William Shakespeare's "Macbeth!." And if they try to tell you that only "great" writers are allowed to break the rule, just ask them why they think you won't be one of the greats!. So there!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
i've never read a book from two POVs but i guess that you would have to use italics for people to understand who is thinking what!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com