My 1st person POV needs more than one POV

Jumping to a new POV at almost the halfway mark of a novel is going to be very jarring for readers. It's common for romances to use both the hero and heroine's POV's, but these are usually done in third person, not first.

Also, are you sure you need to have your villain's POV in order to develop him?

Some people are against any-and-all POV hopping. I'm not one of them. I'm okay with it if it's set up well and not jarring. Since you're 40k in, though, I really do think that's way too late to switch to another first person POV.

While not everyone will like this suggestion, what I'd do is focus on the heroine in third person. I'd do it more than once - i.e., not just write one scene and forget her focus, but bring back that element of focus on her a couple of times so it's an element of the plot's revelation rather than a one-time cop-out.

You can still tell plenty about her feelings and perspective without first person, too. Just look at any good third-person novel.

RJK said:

I'm not sure. That's why I posted - looking for opinions.

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Okey, then my opinion is that if you're not sure you need it, then you don't need it. A lot of the novels I've read (and written) recently were 1st person, single narrator, and none of them had scenes from the POV of the villain. The villain should certainly be developed enough so that they don't fall into the stereotypical "I'm the bad guy because the author needs a foil for the good guy" nonsense, but that doesn't require a viewpoint. It requires actions (from the villain) and reactions (from the hero/heroine).

Since you stated your novel has swerved into romantic suspense territory, I'd suggest picking up two or three good RomSusp novels and reading them.

I've read a couple novels that switched between first and third person and/or alternating first-person POVs, and I found the switches pretty jarring.

I'd suggest writing a couple scenes from the POVs you want to add, and then maybe try rewriting your first-person lead in third if you like how they turn out. If you don't like them, cut 'em.

How many other POVs does the ms need? Perhaps you can tell the first half of the story from one character's POV, then tell the second half from the villain's POV. Alternate between the two characters from beginning to end, emphasizing the differences and/or similarities these two people have rather than the actual crimes themselves.

For the record, I'm against POV hopping, but it's done. (The Magicians and Mrs. Quent was one of these). I didn't care for the shift, but it did work. In this case, the first and third sections were written as third person, and the middle was written as first person by way of letters the protagonist wrote to her father.

As for your issues with the protagonist, I take it s/he's not your POV character. Any reason for this? Maybe you simply need to change who's telling the story.

It sounds like you're pretty early into the writing process (first draft, I'm assuming). If that's the case, there's still a lot of road to go down before you reach the final product. For myself, I can be very lazy about things and not want to change too much around, but sometimes it's better for the story if I suck it up and do it anyway.

I've read quite a few books that go from first person POV to third, if done well, it flows properly, if not done well, then it's intrusive and takes the reader out of the story.

However, in romance, (this is not a hard fast rule, just the majority of romance novels) the book is written either ALL in first person or all in third person, using different POV's.

Again, I feel if you are going to use different POV'S, and done properly with a good transition and no head hopping within the same scene or page (Nora Roberts can do this because she's Nora Roberts) then it works well.

Regarding a villain's POV, many suspense writers do this, and like everything else when writing your novel, if it moves the story forward and causes a scene or sequal to another POV then do it.

If you wonder whether you should have a villain (or other character's POV), yank it out, and if the story, plot and characters do fine without it, then that tells you you don't need that particular POV.

From just recently dealing with HarperCollins on one of my book's they are interested in, I can tell you, do whatever you want, as long as the story is compelling, characters jump off the page, and you are handing in a clean, (and I do mean polished within an inch of its life) then it doesn't matter how many POV's you have, or if you are in third, first or combined. It really is about the story and how much they fall in love with your voice and characters.

Hope this helps.

I'm currently shopping a novel that has two first person POVs. The two voices alternate with each new chapter. Not one of my readers had a problem with this set up. Maybe because the transition was easy with the alternating chapters, I don't know. The novel won a best novel award...it was read by a panel of six industry judges...they all gave lots of feedback and all six liked the POV switches. The novel also got me a fellowship to attend a writing program in Kenya....so it's been very very good for me so far. I just have to shop it around and find an agent/publisher interested. (-;

I think this is simply another case of 'if it's done well, it will work'.

The only book I've ever read where I didn't notice the 1st to 3rd switch immediately was "Alex Cross". Usually that's an obvious issue for me with books.

As for myself, I've been typing along happily in 1st person with my MC and everything's great (great for me, her life is actually pretty screwed up at the moment ), and now at the 1/2 way point I realize I may have a problem. My MC's getting dragged out of her home in the middle of the night and can't keep up with the one doing the dragging. He opts to save his own hide and leaves her laying where she falls, then someone comes to find her. Either I have to switch POV's for the 1st time, or have one of the search party fill her in on the specifics of how they realized she was gone and how they found her - which means a big block of telling. I'm not happy with either prospect.

RJK said:

My heroine needs to be heard. She needs to be in at least one action scene, perhaps two, and the scenes need to be written actively, not told through the heroine's dialog. She also needs to tell us about her growing feelings for my protagonist. Is it too late to switch POV to her? If not, how much screen time should I give her?

I also need to develop my antogonist some more. He's been out of the protagonist's view for all but a few scenes, and the reader has only learned about him through second hand information through dialog. I believe I need to switch to his POV at some point, but I'm afraid it will jar the reader too much.

Any thoughts?

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I would say go ahead and write for both heroine and antagonist in 3rd person, through their pov, but not 1st. I would italize all the words in these chapters, so your readers will know there is a shift in the reading. Writing in 3rd person, character pov will restrain the confusion if you were to write 1st for all three characters.

Perhaps create some introductory chapters to weave into the ones you've written, giving us some events in the female character's life that lead to this meeting? Some chapters, from her POV, that begin before she is introduced to your protagonist? Maybe just a few, to make the switch later on easier to swallow.

Although I admit I see this easier done in 3rd (not suggesting you switch, just a thought that occurred).

What has workled for me is to split the story into parallel chapters. The chapters which feature the MC are first person. Those that feature the anatgonist are done in third person. Since 1st POV only allows you to show what the MC sees, hears and feels, this allows you to include a second POV which they (the MC) obviously can't be privy to.

It works especially well when there are to essentially independent story lines. ie: The main character tracking the criminal; the criminal trying to dodge them.

Good Luck,
Peace and Blessings

If it works, it works. I'm reading a novel right now that's written in first person, but every so often has a chapter for the villain, in third person. It heightens things because you get to see what he's doing and just how he's screwing with the protag (she doesn't realize what's going on just yet.)

But, I prefer to have the format of the book set up fairly early on. If the villain or heroine is/ are going to have their own POV chaps, etc, then I'd prefer those be introduced early on so I can get used to it. Otherwise, it WILL be jarring. (And makes me cranky.) So, you have to go back and include a "new" chapters featuring the villain and/ or heroine earlier in the book. Nothing wrong with that... IMHO.

Something to consider-- maybe your novel would be better off told as third person. Close in on your protag, closer than with the rest of hte POV characters. Just a thought.

RJK - I have two 1st POV's in mine (it switches between the FMC and the MMC).

I just add the POV characters name as a tag any time it needs to switch. If I do so between scenes, I add 3 asterisks. (like this)

"And now I'm done."

Other MC: Thank God she finally shut up so I can tell my side...

I'm sure I'll lose some people who find this obtrusive, but no one has complained so far. Alternatively, you can still use the asterisk method *without* the name, but you have to make sure it's clear who is speaking.

If you're having trouble with the heroine, try to identify the scenes where she's got the most to lose. Try rewriting them from her perspective. That might help round her out a bit by forcing you to get into her head.