Character POV

[Hakiru]

I have a question. I was thinking of writing a novel where each chapter is written in a different character's point of view. Do you think this method has a lot of potential? Will readers like it? Just wondering...

[scarletpeaches]

If it's written well, then yes.

I can't think of any novels offhand that have been done this way (having a different character POV for every chapter), but there's no reason why you shouldn't.

I know there are plenty of novels that switch between two or more viewpoints, or where each volume/part is written from a POV, so try it, and see how it turns out!

[Hakiru]

If it's written well, then yes.

I can't think of any novels offhand that have been done this way (having a different character POV for every chapter), but there's no reason why you shouldn't.

I know there are plenty of novels that switch between two or more viewpoints, or where each volume/part is written from a POV, so try it, and see how it turns out!


Thanks! Hopefully it will turn out good, but I think I have read a couple of stories using this method...

[JoNightshade]

Mother of Storms by John Barnes - love this author, hate this book. I don't know if he ever actually repeated any narrator characters, because I tossed it after about 10 disconnected chapters, each with its own narrator. So, there's a bad example. I think the main problem with that one was the fact that the characters weren't connected to one another, at least in the first 100 pages. Everyone was in a different place doing something different and it was just utterly confusing.

Cantebury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer - good example. Well, it's a frame narrative, so it's more like a collection of short stories... But it works even though they are disconnected because there is an overarching reason for the stories.

I like the idea as long as the characters are connected somehow. I also like the idea of one building off of the next-- ie, narrator 5 offers extra insight on character 4, whose viewpoint was necessarily limited by his own POV.

[julief]

I also can't remember one where each chapter was a different POV, but it's definitely been done. I think some of Toni Morrison's have used 5 or 6 character's POV. My fav book Grass Dancer does this too. Generally, I've seen it in magical realism texts. And I'm trying to do it myself. Again, not every chapter has a NEW POV, but about 8 characters revolving POV from chapter to chapter.

[Hakiru]

Mother of Storms by John Barnes - love this author, hate this book. I don't know if he ever actually repeated any narrator characters, because I tossed it after about 10 disconnected chapters, each with its own narrator. So, there's a bad example. I think the main problem with that one was the fact that the characters weren't connected to one another, at least in the first 100 pages. Everyone was in a different place doing something different and it was just utterly confusing.

Cantebury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer - good example. Well, it's a frame narrative, so it's more like a collection of short stories... But it works even though they are disconnected because there is an overarching reason for the stories.

I like the idea as long as the characters are connected somehow. I also like the idea of one building off of the next-- ie, narrator 5 offers extra insight on character 4, whose viewpoint was necessarily limited by his own POV.

Hmmm...I see. What if they are in the same setting, or maybe in the middle of the story I switch off to different point of views to describe their seperate tales in a city, perhaps. Maybe what if they were on different sides of a story? As in good and bad?

[Writer14]

The novel Bleed by Laurie Stolarz is written just like this where the story ends up intertwining but each chapter is in a different main characters perspective.

[CaroGirl]

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is written with each chapter in a different POV, but the characters recur. I don't think it would work if you allowed only one chapter each and never revisited the POV of any single character.

[SilverVistani]

K. A. Applegate uses something similar throughout a series of books she wrote. Everworld is a really fun young adult fantasy series in which each book (only about 200 pages usually) switches off between the four main characters in a set pattern. One of the later books in the series (11 of 13, I think it was) even switched to a different character completely. Someone very tightly connected to the others, but with a MUCH different view of things.

Also, there was a book I remember having been read to my 5th or 6th grade class... I'm wanting to say it was called something along the lines of "Flash Flood" but I don't remember. It's about a boy and girl (teenagers I think) who get stuck in the Grand Canyon just before/during a bad rainstorm which causes the canyon to flash flood, hence what I believe the title to be. Every chapter or two, it swtiched between the two characters, and I remember finding it very interesting, because the author would backtrack ever so slightly so you occasionally got the same events from the two character's different viewpoints. (The girl being a totaly city kid and the boy being from the Canyon area and really into hiking and fishing and such.)

So yeah... I'd say it can work very well. I would think that the main issue would be making sure not to confuse the character personalities. Make sure that they have unique voices so that you can be sure to keep them straight... Make sense?

Anyway, best of luck! It sounds like an awesome idea and a lot of fun! Keep me posted!

[Hakiru]

K. A. Applegate uses something similar throughout a series of books she wrote. Everworld is a really fun young adult fantasy series in which each book (only about 200 pages usually) switches off between the four main characters in a set pattern. One of the later books in the series (11 of 13, I think it was) even switched to a different character completely. Someone very tightly connected to the others, but with a MUCH different view of things.

Also, there was a book I remember having been read to my 5th or 6th grade class... I'm wanting to say it was called something along the lines of "Flash Flood" but I don't remember. It's about a boy and girl (teenagers I think) who get stuck in the Grand Canyon just before/during a bad rainstorm which causes the canyon to flash flood, hence what I believe the title to be. Every chapter or two, it swtiched between the two characters, and I remember finding it very interesting, because the author would backtrack ever so slightly so you occasionally got the same events from the two character's different viewpoints. (The girl being a totaly city kid and the boy being from the Canyon area and really into hiking and fishing and such.)

So yeah... I'd say it can work very well. I would think that the main issue would be making sure not to confuse the character personalities. Make sure that they have unique voices so that you can be sure to keep them straight... Make sense?

Anyway, best of luck! It sounds like an awesome idea and a lot of fun! Keep me posted!


Thanks for the info! I will definitely keep you posted. And I see what you mean. That's the fun part for me! Making up different characters! With all their personlaties, names, pasts, backgrounds, etc. You know what I mean!

[Hakiru]

Thanks for the replies. I might go check out those books sometimes.

[SilverVistani]

Thanks for the info! I will definitely keep you posted. And I see what you mean. That's the fun part for me! Making up different characters! With all their personlaties, names, pasts, backgrounds, etc. You know what I mean!


Most definitely! If there's one thing an old friend of mine didn't like about my writing it's that he constantly had the complaint about my first novella that there were too many characters. ^_^() But they're so fun to play with and watch interact. I just couldn't help myself!


Thanks for the replies. I might go check out those books sometimes.

Everworld is a very quick read. As I said, there are only about 13 books, and each one only has between 200-250 pages. I love it! (though I was a bit unhappy with some things that happened in the last book... but that's bound to happen with some thigns, y'know?) Especially if you have any interest at all in mythology from different cultures... Because you get to meet all kinds of fun gods and goddesses. Loki, for example, is the reason the characters get dragged away from home... But I'll let you read the rest. ;P

[WriterInChains]

One of Louise Erdrich's early books is like this. I think it's Love Medicine, but I could be wrong.

Her chapters are all long-ish short stories (many were published as such before the book), each from a different character's POV. They each only get one chapter to talk, but most (if not all) of the POV characters tell pieces of everyone else's story too. It's a complex book, but I loved it. Now I want to go read it again! :)

[Raphee]

Jodi Picoult's....My Sister's Keeper; is a recent example.
Her book though is a First person POV in different chapters and all interconnected.

[maestrowork]

Anything is possible if you do it well. I've read a novel with five or six FIRST person narrators -- I didn't really care much about it but it wasn't a bad book.

Now, we're only talking about a handful of characters, right? Not 23 characters for 23 chapters, or 6 long chapters, right? I'd think anything more than 5 or 6 POV characters you risk confusing and frustrating the readers.

[dmytryp]

George Matin's "Ice and Fire" series is written with multiple pov. It is really good

[NeuroFizz]

Does the story demand that you use a different POV character each chapter or is this idea driving the story--are you trying to bring out a story from this technique? If the latter, you may have to work really hard to pull the story from it, and there is a good chance it will come across as forced, gimmicky.

You shouldn't "might go check out" some of the books cited by others. You need to read some of them before going after a story from this angle, to see how the authors pulled it off.

[Elektra]

History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters did this for the first 100 pages or so. Not sure if it continued, as I never finished the book. There was no connection at all between the different POV's.

[RLSMiller]

I'm actually doing this for my WIP. There are three different 1st person POVs, one for each chapter. However, when the different characters come together and meet, I'll move into 3rd person for those particular scenes.

The idea is that the reader gets to know these different personalities intimately throughout the book, and then by the time I switch into third I'm hoping they'll know them so well that the switch from 1st to 3rd will seem natural. This way, the 3rd person scenes let the reader see how the relationship grows and how the characters interact with each other from a more objective angle, without being clouded or biased by one personality. It's important that the three personalities are given equal weighting and importance for my book, as they all bring different elements to the story.

It's tricky but a lot of fun. Just be careful to make the voices distinct and interesting enough, as there is the potential you'll get readers that just skip chapters with certain POVs and go straight to the character they like. If you do it right, you'll end up with a vibrant and engaging story. If you do it wrong, it'll seem fake and unnecessary. And of course, there will be people that might be put off by the switching of voices in general and just won't buy it easily. Your job is to make it seem as natural and relevant as possible, so those people don't question it in the first place. As long as each of the voices contribute an equal, worthwhile amount to the story, then you can't go wrong really.

[Elektra]

It's tricky and fun. Just be careful to make the voices distinct and interesting enough, as there is the potential you'll get readers that just skip chapters with certain POVs and go straight to the character they like.

That's what happened to me when I read the last of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I disliked Kitty so much, I just had to skim her chapters.

[Sofie]

I love most of James Herbert's earlier books (like The Rats) and part of the reason I like them so much that I reread them every summer, is because nearly every chapter is written from the point of view of a new character. Herbert really made that work in my opinion - each new chapter is like a fresh take on the main story, and it gives the story a very human feel.

However, I do think that in order to do this, you need a good solid main storyline (or theme) that each chapter connects with and adds something to. I also think it helps to have at least one recurring POV character as main character, to give the reader some sort of plot and structure to follow. In The Rats, the recurring character is the one that moves the plot forward, while the POV characters that appear only once instead broaden the story by giving it more emotional depth and insight. That's a good way of doing it, I feel.

[JanDarby]

Just to reiterate what Neurofizz said -- if you're going to go off the beaten path with a story technique (and this is pretty far off the beaten path, despite some examples existing), make sure you're doing it in service of the story, to make the story better FOR THE READER, and not just b/c it's fun for you or easier for you.

Ask yourself how this will be a better experience FOR THE READER. Ask how this particular story will benefit from this structure; what is different about this story that takes the structure off the beaten path. And als, remember that just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should.

JD

[Bufty]

I think you're just attracted by and playing around with the thought of what you think is a clever and new technique but haven't a clue how to do it successfully or what the story will be here.

Full marks for imagination but it may be preferable to conquer the basic craft first, friend.

Thanks for the replies. I might go check out those books sometimes.

[argenianpoet]

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is written with each chapter in a different POV, but the characters recur. I don't think it would work if you allowed only one chapter each and never revisited the POV of any single character.


I agree one hundred percent. The characters must be tied together and revisited.

[Shady Lane]

How about Smack by Marvin Burgess?

Fantastic book.

The first chapter is told in third person, and all the subsequents are first person from one of the characters. Sometimes it's one of the two main characters, sometimes a supporting, and sometimes a minor who's only present for that one scene. The style works really, really well for the book, and, in addition, it's just one of those books everyone should read.

[Siddow]

As a reader, I would be annoyed by meeting a new character every chapter, unless it was a really, really good book. Revolving viewpoints? No problem, so long as it's kept to a minimum (2 or 3), and there's a really good reason for each being a narrator.

As a writer, I say go for it. Write it, see if it works. I'm all for experimenting when there's no deadline looming.