What is your preference: 1 POV only, or POV switches from scene to scene

Status
Not open for further replies.

lise8

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
315
Reaction score
32
Location
UK, Kent
I am editing my contemporary story which was (and still is in places) littered with head-hopping. It hasn't bothered my first beta readers, but I can see why it is hated by most.

In my attempt at eradicating the offending head-hopping, I find myself having to decide which scene should be written from which POV (so far, either the MC Claire, the other MC Jake and Claire's daughter Natasha).

I am now wondering whether I should carry on with this trend, or stick to just Claire's POV.

I feel anxious about it, because I really care about Jake and his point of view, but really, the main character is Claire and how their different goals clash and the changes it brings in Claire is the topic of the book.

I think that I head hopped in the first place because I like knowing all that happens in people's head and because I thought that the readers would like that too... But now I am wondering whether most readers of contemporary fiction would prefer one POV only, to get attached to Claire and to accompany her throughout as she does...

Your thoughts?
 

job

In the end, it's just you and the manuscript
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 27, 2005
Messages
3,459
Reaction score
653
Website
www.joannabourne.com
There are books with one POV. Books with two or three or more.

This is authorial choice. One is not better than the other.
I think most Romances these days use both protagonist POVs.
 

beckethm

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 3, 2013
Messages
1,443
Reaction score
466
Location
St. Paul
In romance, I like to see both lead characters' points of view. I find it usually makes the reading experience richer if we can see each character's perspective on the relationship and what it means to them.

I tend to find it intrusive when authors add more POV characters (again, I'm speaking only about romance). In my view, that should be done sparingly and only when there's no other way to get the necessary information across. It's the lead characters I care about; I don't need to know what the antagonist is thinking, or their friends and family members.

In literary and women's fiction, it depends on the story. If you're writing one woman's story of growth, I'd keep it to her POV. If it's about a family coping with crisis, it might be perfectly appropriate to have three or more POV characters.

I'd just note that the story tends to become more fragmented when there are multiple POV characters. It's hard to connect with any one character when you're switching viewpoints every few pages, and it can become difficult to follow plot threads if the character lines are only loosely connected.
 

Z0Marley

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 18, 2008
Messages
666
Reaction score
52
Location
United States of America
Website
www.youtube.com
I much prefer reading romances with both the protag's POVs. For me, I think it's critical to understand the struggles and desires within each character.

As I said though, purely a preference of mine!
 

Kay

I wish I was as cool as this cat.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Messages
156
Reaction score
8
As long as it's well written, multiple POVs don't bother me. However, I don't like when there's no special notation (asteriks, extra spaces between paragraphs, etc.) to the POV change, though. It generally interrupts me as a reader, taking me away from the story for a second or two.
 

lise8

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
315
Reaction score
32
Location
UK, Kent
Wow, this is not what I expected.

I was about to post goodreasons for going for at least two points of views, purely because otherwise I would have to scrape some of my favourite scenes, and here you guys actually agree that showing both points of view is probably best.... That's one big sigh of relief.

My next project, for whenever/ if ever this one sees closure, will be from only one POV, so I'll hopefully get my chance with trying that style then.


Off I go then to edit more head-hopping out of the story.
 

LJD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
4,226
Reaction score
525
I read a lot of contemporary romance, and 2 POVs is most common. There are certainly romances with 1 POV though, and these are usually in first person. (My experience, anyway. Depends exactly what you read, I guess.) I don't have a preference one way or the other.

If you were surprised at the support you got for 2 POVs, then I'm wondering if you're really not reading much romance since this structure is so common. If you're writing romance, you might try reading some more, or paying more attention to the POV in what you're already reading...
 

Marian Perera

starting over
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
14,332
Reaction score
4,576
Location
Heaven is a place on earth called Toronto.
Website
www.marianperera.com
But now I am wondering whether most readers of contemporary fiction would prefer one POV only, to get attached to Claire and to accompany her throughout as she does...

Contemporary fiction, maybe.

Contemporary romance? Different matter. There's only one love story where I adored the hero despite not getting anything from his perspective, and you're not Margaret Mitchell. ;)
 

Jazen

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 19, 2013
Messages
289
Reaction score
10
Location
Georgia
I like being able to get both sides of the story so I don't mind having both POV.
 

Karalynn

Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
38
Reaction score
9
Location
California, USA
Website
karalynnlee.com
Yeah, when I wrote a romance from one POV only (I was a minimalist where POVs were concerned at the time, due to epic fantasy POV overload), I did get some readers who were unhappy about not having gotten to see the other side in full. That said, it could have been a failing in my writing as much as readerly preference. :)
 

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Messages
4,827
Reaction score
336
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Website
home.comcast.net
I personally prefer to have at least the two main characters' perspectives, and it can also be nice to have a scene or two from a secondary character or the villain.
 

KimJo

Outside the box, with the werewolves
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
4,028
Reaction score
356
Location
somewhere in Massachusetts
Website
karennacolcroft.com
For me as a writer, it depends on the story and the characters. I have some books where the story is only one POV; I have some where both/all characters share their POVs.

But it can also depend on the publisher. I have a few books with one publisher that will flat out not even consider a book that only shows one character's POV. You MUST show the POVs of every character involved in the central relationship. So that's something to consider going forward with your story; depending on which publisher you target, is having only one POV even an option?

Having more than one POV is not the same as headhopping, though. In most books, there's a clear delineation between the points of view. For example, in most of my multi-POV books, I alternate by chapter. In a couple, I use scene breaks to show that the POV is shifting during a scene. Headhopping confuses the reader and you aren't always sure whose point of view you're in; changing points of view via breaks or by alternating chapters makes it easier to tell.
 

lise8

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
315
Reaction score
32
Location
UK, Kent
If you were surprised at the support you got for 2 POVs, then I'm wondering if you're really not reading much romance since this structure is so common. If you're writing romance, you might try reading some more, or paying more attention to the POV in what you're already reading...

Contemporary fiction, maybe.

Contemporary romance? Different matter.

I think that is the thing, there is romance in the plot, but the story qualifies probably better as contemporary fiction, with a relationship building within it, so I guess I would be wrong in qualifying it as 'romance'. Maybe I should call it 'women contemporary fiction'.

Does the two POV still stand in Women fiction? Maybe less so? But I think I will edit it that way no matter what unless I am persuaded that Jake's POV is redundant (gulp).
 

Becky Black

Writing my way off the B Ark
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
2,163
Reaction score
176
Location
UK
Website
beckyblack.wordpress.com
Most romances I read these days switch between the POVs of the two main characters - not literally scene by scene. There might be a few scenes in a row where Character A had the POV and then Character B might get a stretch of a few too.

Personally when writing I try to keep the POV pretty balanced and not let one character dominate for too long. I also stick with only the two lead characters for POV, nobody else. It keeps my focus on the relationship and romance.

Only one of mine hasn't followed this pattern - it stuck with the POV of the same character all the way through. Well the other guy had a Big Secret. And quite a lot of little secrets. :D I wanted to keep him mysterious.
 

tatygirl90

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 25, 2013
Messages
107
Reaction score
3
Location
Louisiana
I like to see both the hero and the heroine's viewpoint though most of the books I read stay more in the heroine's head but it doesn't bother me when I read it from the hero's POV. I like it.
 

LJD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
4,226
Reaction score
525
I think that is the thing, there is romance in the plot, but the story qualifies probably better as contemporary fiction, with a relationship building within it, so I guess I would be wrong in qualifying it as 'romance'. Maybe I should call it 'women contemporary fiction'.

Does the two POV still stand in Women fiction? Maybe less so? But I think I will edit it that way no matter what unless I am persuaded that Jake's POV is redundant (gulp).

tbh, I'm trying to think of a women's fiction novel with a man's POV in it and can't come up with one, though I haven't read as much women's fiction recently as I used to. There are lots of books with multiple POVs in women's fiction, but all the ones I can think of only have women's POVs. However, "women's fiction" encompasses lots of different things, so this could also be part of the reason...I'm sure they exist.
 
Last edited:

Renee J

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
120
Reaction score
6
Location
Reston, VA
The book I'm writing has alternating chapters in the hero and heroine's POV. Maybe it doesn't count as women's fiction.
 

lise8

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
315
Reaction score
32
Location
UK, Kent
I guess I am calling it Women Fiction because I cannot really imagine men reading my story, unless they like women fiction, and I wouldn't qualify it as chick lit due to its philosophical tendencies.

I shall stick to the two main POV with few snippets of Natasha every-so-often, as the MCs are forming an unusual triangle.

When it is ready, the next round of Beta can then tell me what they make of it! Thank you everyone for your comments, I really appreciate them.
 

Marian Perera

starting over
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
14,332
Reaction score
4,576
Location
Heaven is a place on earth called Toronto.
Website
www.marianperera.com
tbh, I'm trying to think of a women's fiction novel with a man's POV in it and can't come up with one, though I haven't read as much women's fiction recently as I used to. There are lots of books with multiple POVs in women's fiction, but all the ones I can think of only have women's POVs. However, "women's fiction" encompasses lots of different things, so this could also be part of the reason...I'm sure they exist.

I've read novels by Judith Krantz, Judith Michael, Meg Hutchinson and Barbara Taylor Bradford that had the hero's POV as well as the heroine's.
 

SK0609

Something witty here
Registered
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Messages
36
Reaction score
2
Location
AZ
Website
shelleywatters.blogspot.com
I think romance is one of the few genres where you can get away with head hopping. My novels tend to be third-person hero/heroine alternating POV's with head hopping ONLY occurring in the sex scenes, and even then, they alternate between paragraphs with clear delineations between whose pov they are in so as to not confuse the reader.

I've only read a few novels where it's in first-person POV, alternating between chapters. It felt jarring and took me a while to get back into the other person's POV to feel comfortable. I couldn't even finish the (highly acclaimed) novel, though I wanted to.
 

Ann_Mayburn

Smutty McTitters
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
992
Reaction score
161
Location
Mountains of WV
Website
www.annmayburn.com
Dual POV, no more than one POV switch during a chapter. No daughter POV.

Here is the rule of thumb I go by for whose POV a scene should be in:
Who has the most on the line/to lose in this scene?

That will usually tell you who the most important person in the scene that is, but there are always exceptions la la la la la.

Personally, as a reader, I fucking hate head hopping. I just get into my groove, into the mindset of the character and suddenly I'm different genders with totally different mind sets. In poorly done multiple POV it can get confusing to the point where I've wondered if I'm now reading a character with a penis, or a vagina during a sex scene. :p

Oh, and here is another writing rule of thumb that I stole from my high school math tutor:

K.I.S.S
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

Overcomplicate and you lose your story. Remember, your reader isn't in your head, so while you may be cool with six POV switches during a chapter, your reader is not in your brain and may not follow along.
 

wendymarlowe

writer, mother, geek
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
254
Reaction score
25
Location
Rocket City, USA
Website
www.etsy.com
General wisdom is to either do entirely from one POV (in first- or third-person) or to do 60/40% heroine/hero. Either works, depending on your story. If you do more than one POV, though, it's good to keep the same one for at least a scene at a time (switch mid-scene only if it's absolutely necessary) and make sure you don't have six chapters in a row all in one head, suddenly to switch to the other for no reason.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.