Shifting POV

[Flaviosky]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to ask your opinion about how to properly do changes in POV. The most obvious way is to have separate chapters, but I have instances where a change in POV is necessary to show paralell events within a chapter but wanting the change to be smooth and not to have the reader get confused or to guess by the middle of the next paragraph that the POV has changed.

What would be your suggestion?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Put a * between the old and new POV

 

[tinkerdan]

You can do it with a number of blank spaces in-between scenes.


As above^.
However I've noticed in many e-books that that can get edited out during conversion and I do something similar to what @Jo Zebedee suggests.
*
Sometimes I do a combination.

*

...like that.

I did have one reader though who complained and thought that there should only be empty spaces for the break if there had to be breaks.

 

[Wayne Mack]

If I can't do it by chapters, I separate POVs with section breaks. The style guide that I use as my primary reference indicates this is done by having a hash tag (#) on a entered line between paragraphs. I have also seen recommendations to use three hash tags (###). I sure there are other variations as well.

 

[Guttersnipe]

You could maybe change fonts...

 

[Steve Harrison]

All the above methods are perfectly valid.

I use multiple POVs in most of my work and start a new chapter (headed by the POV character name|) whenever I switch. It means chapter lengths can vary from half a page to 50 pages, but there's no confusion and I've found it can be a good pacing tool.

 

[Flaviosky]

You could maybe change fonts...

This could be interesting, and visually attractive. Different fonts could be assigned to different characters and actually tell something about them. It can get messy but can be a distinctive feature.

 

[Wayne Mack]

One other thing that I do for POV changes is (almost) always start the new section or chapter with the POV name; the very first word in the very first sentence.

 

[Flaviosky]

One other thing that I do for POV changes is (almost) always start the new section or chapter with the POV name; the very first word in the very first sentence.

Mmm, and if used with page breaks it would be a subtle clue for POV changes. Therefore, names as first words on a sentence would have to be avoided if not serving that purpose.

 

[Susan Boulton]

You could maybe change fonts...

That's ok for first drafts, and for yourself, but for submission, no, it would most likely get your work sent straight to the bin. Like Joe said, a *, or you could use a # or an extra line, same as if you want to indicate a change of place and time, mid chapter. Or you start a new chapter. There is no set rule as to the length of chapters. As to putting the character's name at the beginning of the new chapter or section, you can, but ask yourself, is my writing and characterisation strong enough for the reader to pick up on the change of POV without it being underlined for them?

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

I prefer to have a chapter per POV but it doesn’t always work out like that. I often use a section separator to distinguish, but not always. As long as you make it clear there’s been a change of POV, and don’t constantly hop between POVs, you should be okay.

 

[HareBrain]

Re asterisks, in a hard-copy book (say if you're SPing a paperback), you'll need to show where a blank line (or section break) coincides with a page break, so that the existence of the blank line isn't missed by the reader. This is usually done with one or more asterisks. So if you have those, I wouldn't use the same for POV breaks, but use a different separator symbol or little image (maybe one relevant to the next POV?).

 

[Wayne Mack]

Mmm, and if used with page breaks it would be a subtle clue for POV changes. Therefore, names as first words on a sentence would have to be avoided if not serving that purpose.

I would only use page breaks (coupled with a chapter break), if the parallel incident is a single stand alone event. If there is a need for switching back and forth between multiple POVs as separate threads unfold, I would keep them as inline section breaks. I feel this better signals to the reader that the action is ongoing while a page break indicates a break in the action.

As for the second part, I don't think starting the scene with the POV's name necessarily precludes starting other paragraphs with a character's name, even the POV character. If there are multiple people in a scene, pronouns may break down and it is often necessary to specify exactly who is taking an action. I would find it tiresome to describe every action from the POV's internal perspective rather than from a slightly external view. For example, "He/She saw Billy jump out the window." vs. "Billy jumped out the window." (Billy is a non-POV character).

I'm thinking along these lines because I am writing the final conflict in my current tale. I have three groups converging on a single location. I know the POV character that I want for the final scene, but if I only wrote from that character's perspective, the other two groups would just suddenly appear at the final location with no explanation of how they overcame the challenges to get there. The POV sections are coming out as 300-500 word scenes and I am hoping that the constant shifting will be understandable to the reader.

 

[Flaviosky]

The POV sections are coming out as 300-500 word scenes and I am hoping that the constant shifting will be understandable to the reader.

Yeah, I can see the challenge. Having too long scenes would wither the thrill of knowing about the other group, but too short scenes would be confusing and ruin the whole purpose of the back-and-forth.

Luckily I'm not struggling with that kind of scenes, hehe.

 

[Steve Harrison]

As to putting the character's name at the beginning of the new chapter or section, you can, but ask yourself, is my writing and characterisation strong enough for the reader to pick up on the change of POV without it being underlined for them?

That's one of the questions to ask yourself. Another is, will this enhance the reader's experience? And, does the reader need to know the POV right from the chapter's get-go, or do you want them to pick it up as they go along? And why?

With my multi-POV novels (with five or more main characters), I want the reader to concentrate on the story without distractions. Wondering who is the POV character, even for an instant, is a distraction and I prefer not to hold them up. That's also my preference as a reader, so no doubt that comes into it, too.

The only right answer to any writing question is the one that works the best in a given situation, so it's often a case of cross your fingers and hope you got it right

 

[Andy Hauser]

Agree with the triple # in a centered line. If you have lots of POVs, consider putting the name as well.
I do it like this between POVs:

### Stephen ###

 

[Flaviosky]

I think I'll go with the ### as a clear break within a chapter, but stating the name unorganically seems awkward. Maybe the next paragraph could make clear who's the POV, quickly mentioning the character.