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Question: How, exactly, do you write literature with multiple or alternating narrators!?
The story I am writing is going to have multiple narrators!. I plan to alternate frequently between various characters!. How effective is this!? What is the concept of doing this, and how is it done most effectively!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
There are four books that I would strongly recommend!. Each author uses a different technique to effectively employ multiple narrators!.

Jacques the Fatalist and His Master- Denis Diderot
As I Lay Dying- William Faulkner
Tristam Shandy- Laurence Sterne
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller!.!.!.!.- Italo CalvinoWww@QuestionHome@Com

How frequently are you planning on switching points of views!? I usually find that switching every chapter is effective!. That's what I do, but you do whatever you want; it's your story!.

If you have more than two characters, make sure you're not neglecting to give certain characters chapters with their POV!.

Make sure each character has a very unique and individual voice!.

Don't repeat actions through different POV's!. It gets tedious to read the same thing, but through four POVs!.

Often times, it's easier to manage fewer characters!. I once wrote something with 12 characters' POV, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but none of the characters were really unique!. They all acted the exact same!.

Read books where the POV is switched frequently!. The only books that I can think of for this are Midnighters (by Scott Westerfeld) and The Clique (by Lisi Harrison) but I'm sure that there are WAY better books out there than that with multiple POV!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

theres multiple ways of pulling this off!.

i suggest you go look for certain books that have that style!. it doesnt matter if the book isnt your genre, as long as you read and get the effectiveness of multiple narrators!.

examples:
sisterhood of the traveling pants (4 teenage girls) <---- this if you are the narrator, speaking about different characters
friday night knitting club
time traveler's wife <--- i suggest this if you are using "i" Www@QuestionHome@Com

Sounds like a good idea to hear the story from a bunch of different point of views!. I'd start the story from the beginning each time a new narrator starts telling a story!.Www@QuestionHome@Com