Multiple Points of View

The first book I read with multiple points of view was Cornelia Funk’s Inkheart. At that time, I was new to the whole read books if you want to become a writer philosophy, so I didn’t understand the reason I had a hard time enjoying this novel. I would come to understand that different perspectives meant different points of view from the minds of two or more characters.

In Inkheart, character points of view flip from Meggie, the protagonist child, to her father, then to the villain, etc.  I found the reading experience jarring because the perspectives switched suddenly, and often happened within the same chapter.

In Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies, author Deborah Halverson explains, “They [writers and editors] say it’s asking a lot to expect teens to emotionally connect with that many narrators. It’s also a lot of work for the writer. Mastering a single, distinct narrative voice is a full plate; creating three, four, or even five distinct voices for the same story is a tall order.”  

Emotionally connect.

Hmmm. For me, that’s it.

In a novel, if I don’t bond with a character I’ll set the book down and choose another. In one book I read with duel points of view, I found myself skipping ahead to find out what happened to the secondary character over the protagonist.

JK Rowling had a unique way of getting around the multiple points of view with Harry Potter. She was able to put Harry at the scene of every important event that might have,  just as easily, used a second or third point of view.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry had Tom Riddle’s diary to transport him back in time to experience the events when Hagrid was expelled.  In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry saw the world through Nagini’s eyes when Mr. Weesley was attacked at the Ministry of Magic.

Many times, Rowling used the pensive to enter other character’s memories. This technique let readers watch alongside Harry and decide for themselves what they thought of certain characters. For example, the reader saw Snape getting picked on by James and Sirius; the reader was pulled inside the courtroom trial of Barty Crouch, Jr.; and even tagged along with Dumbledore and Harry on their visit to see Tom Riddle at the orphanage.  And what about Harry’s scar? Harry’s scar was the reader’s connection into Voldemort’s mind.

Throughout the whole series, although not directly put inside the heads of these characters, I felt as if I knew them. Didn’t you?

I am an equal opportunity book reader, and just because a book offers several points of view doesn’t mean I’ll discard the novel. I loved both Newbery Medal books, The Underneath by Kathi Appelt and Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz. Each of these novels also had an adult narrator. So, what made those novels different, at least to me?

In Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies, Deborah sums up my feelings about multiple points of view in three suggestions:

1. Make clear breaks when switching from one POV to another.

2. Be diligent about making the voices distinct from each other.

3. Be sure that each character adds something that the other characters could not—information, important opinions, and so on.

I have no doubt choosing this writing style would be an enormous challenge, and I’m excited to find out if, as a writer, I can divide my narration into a horcrux without destroying my story’s soul.