Who Is Talking Now? Understanding Point of View

Getting that story across to your reader can be exceptionally difficult at times. There are things you want them to know, but can't seem to find a way to get that information there effectively. In many cases, this is not due to plot issues, but simply point of view issues (POV). In other words, who is doing the talking, at that particular moment, will dictate what information we have as readers.

POV problems generally start to show up well into the book. The reason is simple. Too often, the writers have established a pattern of  shifts between the characters, and can't seem to break these. We really see this in romance writing when we want to see both the hero and heroine's POV. A common practice is to alternate between the two characters. While this is great for a sense of balance, this can create a situation when the conflict of the story starts to kick in.

Let's say it is time for the villain to raise his ugly head, and for the sake of argument, let's say the villain is out to get back at the heroine for doing something prior to the start of the book. But we also have the hero who is supposed to jump in and save the day. If, you have structured the book in such a way that the story is in the hero's head, you may have some difficulty. All of a sudden, something is happening to "his girl" but the readers are left with no context to understand.

So how do you get out of this? You have actually two choices:

OPTION 1: Add in some random filler scene that is nothing more than a plot device. In other words, let the hero "waste time" long enough to get to the heroine's POV.

or

OPTION 2: Have the heroine have a POV 2 times in a row.

Now, although both options have some potential, there can be a potential problem with each. In the case of #1, this random scene could really drag down the story. Readers will wonder why there is a slow down in the plot. You may also add in something that is going to now detract from the central story line.

In the case of #2, if the prior POV was extra long for the heroine, then adding in a full second POV immediately after makes a long narrative even longer. But, this is probably the better of the two choices. Simply shorten the prior shift and let that villain do his worst.

The heroine can now see it coming and provide the back story the readers need to have, before the hero jumps through the door and kicks the "you know what" out of the villain.

I will say, the key to this is plotting. Yes, I brought up that ugly word for you pantsters out there, but it is true. Planning and thinking ahead is going to save you a lot of hassle with your point of view shifts.

POV Shifts, Head Hopping and the Rules - Question from a writer

I watched your educational video on character introspection and now I have a question. Can more than one character in a scene (meaning the main characters ? hero and heroine) have their thoughts revealed as they speak and interact? Or is it acceptable only to have the thoughts of one character revealed? On some of the writing blogs I follow, the consensus seems to be that the reader can only know what one character is thinking at a time and that the scene or chapter must change before another character's thoughts can be revealed. To do otherwise is called head-hopping and confusing to the reader. However, in looking through a pile of romance paperbacks I've stockpiled, I've found examples of both. I sort of liked knowing what both the hero and heroine were thinking at the same time. But I also don't want to break the rules because rules are for a reason. Your thoughts, please. Thanks, and this video was most helpful.

This is a great question and you are not the first person to ask it.

I want to sort of answer this one backwards and deal with the second part of your question. Do we see authors out there doing this head hopping thing? The answer is yes. But here is the easy answer for this. Because they have already proven they can write and they probably have a following, there is a bit more flexibility with what they can do and what they can get away with. I would also add that because they have had the time to understand the craft, they can find ways to do what is normally not correct and still make it work well. In many ways, it is like learning to drive. When we first learn, the rules are the rules and there are no exceptions. And yet, after we learn to drive and we understand why we do things, there are more "gray areas" and we do things that technically, the rule book might say are not right.

I would also add that there are also many authors out there who do head-hop and do it poorly. In my humble opinion, this is a bit disappointing when we see this happening and the editors didn't call them on it. 

Now to the first part of your question. 

Yes, you are correct that the "consensus seems to be that the reader can only know what one character is thinking at a time and that the scene or chapter must change before another character's thoughts can be revealed." Whether or not you are writing in first or third person, the story is generally scene from one person's point of view and this is done to make things easier for the reader to keep track of. When you start to lose the reader with an overly complicated structure, the real plot line can be lost. 

Let's take a sample story idea:

The heroine has just found out that the hero has not been going to the work every morning like he should have, but instead has been off on a remote island being a super hero, (are you with me on this?). During the confrontation, we would hear the dialogue from both characters, but we would hear the inner thoughts of the heroine as she listens to the reasons the hero throws out there. We would also see the external reactions of the hero, such as the shifting of the feet, the unwillingness to look her in the eye, the distractions and so forth. The heroine can "guess" what he is thinking. She can "guess" she knows how he feels, but that is as far as we can go.

Now, the easy solution for this is to split the chapter into sections. At a natural break in the scene, you would simply shift over and complete the rest of the scene from the hero's POV. Again, using the story as an example.

After the heroine has confronted him about this and is giving up because he is clearly hiding something, she storms off slamming the door. At this point, think of a movie and a camera angle. The camera can either follow her out the door and continue with her thoughts, or, it can remain with him. If it stays in the room, we would now shift to him staring at the door. "What have I done?" he thinks to himself. Now we can get all of his inner feelings. 

I will say, head-hopping can be an easy mistake to make. We get on a role with our writing and we quit thinking about what we do. The key is focus.

Does this make sense?

Question from a Writer - Alternating Point of View

I would appreciate your opinion on mixing point of views. I have come
across several seasoned authors who are alternating between first and
third person. I find that I enjoy diving into more than one character's
mind. At least for me, it enriches the story.

Ahh, the old shifting point of view question.

The answer for this is actually very easy! It depends on the story.

When a writer sits down to craft a story, the first thing he or she needs to focus on is what the story is about, the theme and so forth. Really know what the story is. Once that is determined, the approach you take with the story will take shape. In other words, you don't start out saying you are going to write a 1st person story, but you think of the story and figure what structure will be the best to convey the message.

A big mistake is to look at these stories that appeal to you and attach the structure to it claiming that is what made it work. If you really examine the story, you will find that it is something about the story itself, or the characters that are really sucking you in. How the author tells the story just enhances it.

So, is there a right or wrong way? Not necessarily. I guess the easiest way to say it would be: the wrong way is the one that goes against the story.

Hope that helps.

Scott

Time To Talk Point Of View Today

It's time for that notorious P.O.V. discussion. We talk about it all of the time with authors when we bring up head hopping and shifts within a chapter. Today though, I want to focus on a slight twist. I don't want to get into the issue of how many times a person should be shifting in a chapter, or for that matter, why certain established authors can head hop and newbies can't. I want to focus today on remembering what characters can and cannot see within their POV.

I think, too often, we forget that our characters are human (or human like for you FF&P writers). This means that they are not mind readers and cannot see things unless it is coming through their own experience. What I am dealing with here are the times when a character can mysteriously know the feelings of another character they are in a discussion with. Let me clear that up.

Assume your current scene is in the heroine's POV. She tells the hero something and then somehow, in the narration, the reader knows how the hero is feeling. This is an impossibility. At this point in the story, the heroine can only respond to how he is acting outwardly and make a guess as to the feelings. We only know his feelings when we are in his head. This includes stories that are told, supposedly, in 3rd person omniscient. The scene is still only from one perspective.

Now the other twist to consider here is what the character is actually going to see and respond to. I always find it interesting when a story is in 1st person and the character is thinking about the historical backstory to the event, or they spend the time contemplating their own bedroom furnishings. When we walk into a room we know well, we don't describe things in detail. We know it too well so we gloss over things. Your characters need to do the same thing.

The same holds true with information dumping. A character is not going to unload a pile of backstory that is really only designed for the reader. In other words, if we are talking about a historical set during WWII, two characters living in Paris will not make statements like, "you know, the Germans have been really busy working over this city for the last several months..." Look, if they have been living there, they already know it.

Your homework today. Look at your POV. Are you characters seeing things and knowing things they should know? Are they seeing things that they would likely not pay attention to?

And no, you can't use psychics to work your way out of this one!

Scott