pdr said:
So as a writer do you enjoy the scope of using different POVs? So many genre publishers demand a tight 3rd POV and allow a 1st POV but discourage multiple POVs.
Is a use of multiple POVs a sign of Mainstream or Literary writing? It certainly demands more skill from the writer to make it work and isn't easy to do well without confusing the reader but is it the mark of good literary writing?
I do enjoy looking at scenes from different people's POV. I also tend to write with ensemble casts. Usually there is a character I end up focusing on a little more than others, so we'll call them the main character. Then I have one or more not-quite-main-but-only-'cuz-I-focused-on-the-other characters. And then there are the ones that are pretty important, but not really that close to main characters. So for example, in my WIP, I have twins who are the main characters, but one is slightly more emphasized in this story than the other. Then I have three very important characters who help drive the story. Then there are, of course, several other lesser characters who interact, & are probably important w/in certain scenes, but not on a grand scale. Some of those would be like the twins' parents (whose POVs are helpful for backstory, for knowledge that the audience gains towards the beginning when the twins are younger, for a parental attitude when a stranger shows up & tries to take their children far away, & so on).
It's something I'm trying to down-size a little, just because I sometimes get to the middle of a scene & realize that while the first half of the scene worked perfectly from Character A's POV, the second half would work just as perfectly from Character B's, & so sometimes I try to find an excuse to make the switch. That's what I want to cut down on.
My current WIP can't possibly be in one person's POV 'cuz, as I mentioned, there are two main characters, & they get split up some wayinto the story & don't meet up again until the climax. So there I have automatically need for two people's POVs. Some other POVs are good towards the beginning because some characters know more than the main characters.
Some other POVs are good because it's more important to see how others view the main characters in certain scenes. For example, one of my two main characters has a little more darkness to her, so when she ends up throwing fits or attacking people, I want it to be in anybody's POV but her own. This is because I want the audience to see it as the other main character does, but since he's not always around, the POV would go to a third, less important character.
Yes, sometimes it can be a big challenge to get the voice of different characters right, but it's not all that different from doing dialogue. And even w/ one POV, you have to worry about that single voice, so this is just doing that for different characters. I have one character whose POV is very very different from everyone else's. This is because he doesn't speak much & also doesn't think in sentences. He has a lot of thoughts, though, & often come up as informal questions. He feels the question, but doesn't think it in a coherent "Why is she doing that?" sort of way. Everyone else pretty much observes the world similarly to each other, but of course will feel different things about it. And you have some that know more than others.
I hope it's not true about genre publishers wanting one POV or omniscient, 'cuz mine is sci-fi/fantasy, but also young adult.
I've tried 3rd person omniscient, & I reread it & usually don't like how I wrote it. It usually was an excuse to do the multiple POVs but not have to worry about putting a break to change it. The book I'm reading does it too. They focus on the main character when it comes to how the world is observed, & then suddenly will have a paragraph about what a totally different character feels. It throws me off. How does Character A know what Character B feels unless they're psychic? Then I realize they don't. It's just that the author wanted to talk about the other character for a second before going back to the one they usually focus on.
Yeah, so that's my take on 3rd person w/ multiple or omniscient
