Comments on: Three’s a Crowd – Writing an Effective Multiple Point of View Novel

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 19:45:45 +0000

I used four main POVs, but they are not equal weighted. I use the POV of the person who can fill in blanks at the time they need to be filled in. Not surprisingly, I’m getting push back from agents who either want it one POV or for the POVs to be equal weighted. Some of my favorite books have multiple POVs that aren’t equal weighted (if you think about Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff’s POV is for only two scenes, and we get none of Cathy’s) but I guess that isn’t done much anymore and people are bewildered. Haven’t decided yet whether to make it more conventional.

By: Rachel Dacus

Rachel Dacus — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 17:54:46 +0000

Jenna, I’ve been a longtime fan of both reading and writing novels with multiple POVs. When working on my debut novel, I selected not two, but four POV characters After working with several editors and agents, I slimmed it down to two, found a balance, per your suggestion above. I just wish I had read your wonderful article here two years sooner! But I saved the excised characters, scenes, and story arcs. And I’ve again started writing a multiple POV novel, only two this time. I so appreciate the complexities of handling two or more main characters, and now when I read those novels, I have a much greater appreciation! Thanks for this. I love the tip about picking the narrator who knows less for a given scene!

By: Jenna Patrick

Jenna Patrick — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 19:36:06 +0000

In reply to Joni M Fisher. I can certainly identify with this, Joni! My first manuscript had random POV's that didn't need to be there (like the cashier at the coffee house or the school secretary). I have seen it done effectively before, mostly in suspense. I suppose that POV, like all other items in the craft of writing, simply depends on what you write and how well you write it!

By: Jenna Patrick

Jenna Patrick — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 19:29:47 +0000

In reply to Jeanne M Felfe. Hi Jeanne! I am so happy you found it helpful. I will say that I was turned down by an agent because she believed multi-pov would make it a hard sell as a debut. But in the end, I decided that the important thing was the story, and there are just certain stories that need more than one voice. Good luck!

By: Joni M Fisher

Joni M Fisher — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:51:13 +0000

I wish I’d read this years ago when switching from non-fiction to fiction. In exploring point-of-view, I wrote a manuscript with so many points of view that no one could tell whose story it was. Your advice is spot on.

By: Jeanne M Felfe

Jeanne M Felfe — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 00:20:29 +0000

Thank you so much for writing this article. I am currently writing a novel with multiple POVs. I’d been told by someone at a writing conference that agents and publishers don’t like that and that I shouldn’t do it. But this story must be told this way, so I kind of filed that bit of advice in the “well, maybe, but…” file.

You’ve now made me curious enough to check out your book.

By: Three’s a Crowd – Writing an Effective Multiple Point of View Novel | Writers Critique

Tue, 10 Oct 2017 15:35:29 +0000

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