POV – How Many Should You Use? | Donna Collins' Blog

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POV – How Many Should You Use?

November 19, 2011 by Donna Newton

At the moment, my life is busy.

Scripts, Warrior Writers, Social Media, and blogging – and that’s not to mention my kids, school runs, after school activities, the house, etc, etc, etc,…..it leaves me – yes, extremely exhausted and very little time to write my novel.

Still, we’d all rather be busy than have nothing to do, right?

So, last weekend I sat down to write and this is where I hit a snag.

I have three POV’s (Point Of Views) in my novel and all are from protagonists. I don’t use my antagonist POV – I prefer to show his evil ways through his actions. That leaves one other character; Billy the cop.

Up until now, Billy has always been in the company of a protag. But now I need him on his own and that means adding his POV. I’ve looked at approaching this scene from different angles, but there is absolutely no way around it: Billy has his fifteen minutes of fame and his own scene.

I feel totally comfortable with Billy having his own POV. He is a strong character with a main part to play in my story, but it did raise the question of how many POV’s are we supposed to have? Is there a limit?

I’ve trawled the internet tirelessly and this is what I’ve found:

* Most authors (writing in third person) use no more than three or four POV’s.
* Each scene should only have ONE point of view.
* There should be absolutely no ‘head-hopping’.

But, there are also downsides to multiple POV’s. Many readers find them confusing. But, Lord of the Rings managers to pull this off, so, are multiple POV’s really the problem, or just down to poor writing?

My view now? I am very nervous about adding a fourth POV, but as long as it’s justified (which it is), and keeps the story moving (which it does), then I think I’ll get away with it.

So, how about you guys? How many POV’s are you using in your current novels? Does the genre make any difference to how many you use? What is the most/least you’ve used in third person? What about when reading? How many do you prefer the auther to use? Does multiple POV’s confuse you. What limit do you think is the right amount?

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Posted in Writing | Tagged antagonists, author, Donna Newton, fiction, Lord of the Rings, novel, paranormal, POV, protagonist, scene, scripts, third person, writer, writing, wwbc | 19 Comments

19 Responses

on November 19, 2011 at 12:30 | Reply kerrymeacham

Mine has two POVs. All scenes are with the protag except where I feel I need to let the reader know how the antag is manipulating the situation, so I then switch to his POV. But that’s only going to be three scenes.

Being a new writer, I can’t really speak to how many is too many, but it seems the fewer the better for most books I like to read. My two cents.

Thanks, Donna. ~clink~

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- on November 20, 2011 at 09:48 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  Thanks Kerry, your two cents are greatly appreciated!
  
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on November 19, 2011 at 14:59 | Reply Piper Bayard

I have only one POV because mine is in first person. I recommend you read Game of Thrones. It made Kristen’s head explode, but I’m loving it. It has around six POV’s, but it’s totally working for me.

Great question, and good luck!

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- on November 20, 2011 at 09:49 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  I’ve heard of Game of Thrones. Isn’t it a TV programme? I’m so out of touch. I need to get away from my computer and step outside the door once in a while 🙂
  
  Thanks, Piper. I’ll definitely give it a go.
  
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on November 19, 2011 at 15:23 | Reply laurastanfill

My WIP is historical fiction with an old-fashioned sound, and I have a lot of POVs, which I’m attempting to balance with an omniscient authoritative voice. That voice tells the story, but then I zoom in on a particular character in a scene. In this first draft, I’m allowing myself to go into anybody’s head (within a certain set of rules and limits, of course), including characters who are only getting one moment to shine. It’s not really the same as juggling a certain number of POVs, since it’s all technically omniscient. And I think it’s working due to the genre–it’d seem odd and wrong in a fast-paced contemporary story.

If I remember correctly, Brunonia Barry’s “The Lace Reader” switches into a new, surprising POV halfway or 2/3 through the novel. It really startled me as a reader, but I think she needed that voice to continue telling the story she had set out to tell.

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- on November 20, 2011 at 09:52 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  Oh wow, now that sounds way too complicated for me, lol. I’m very much a short and sweet – nice and simple kind of girl. That’s not to say I don’t mind reading novels with a lot of POV’s, though. I will definitely add ‘The Lace Reader’ to my reading list.
  
  Thanks for letting me know your thoughts. I love knowing how you guys tackle things.
  
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  - on November 20, 2011 at 18:03 laurastanfill
    
    Thanks for asking great questions, Donna!
    
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on November 19, 2011 at 16:56 | Reply Karen McFarland

What a good question.

Well let’s see. With the first draft, there were only two POVs. But that’s before I found out there was no plot. 😦

So I ripped apart the ms and got to work and now there is five POVs. During the re-write, it became apparent that other characters in the story had their own agenda. They brought another spice into the mix, they had something to say, especially the antag. They breathed life into the story.

I say this now, but then I’m about to edit, so who knows if they will stay or be ripped out. lol

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- on November 20, 2011 at 09:53 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  Lol, Karen. You are so funny. I can’t wait to know what this story is about.
  
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on November 19, 2011 at 19:09 | Reply ivoryquill

Hi there im new to wordpress and just started my blog today – so much to learn! I just started searching for people writing blogs similar to mine and came across yours, i like your post about POVS im writing a novel too and for the first book the pov is only one character in the second its two, possibly three I think as long as the reader has gotten to grips with your main character for a good length of time its good to have more POVs as it gives the reader more depth to your story and could answer questions they have about the story but cant precure from the main charcter
Alice

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- on November 20, 2011 at 17:36 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  Hi Alice,
  
  Welcome to WordPress! and thanks for stopping by. It may seem a little daunting, but you will soon pick things up. Is your first book written in first person?
  
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on November 19, 2011 at 22:57 | Reply Alice Lynn

A really good topic. I don’t think I’d have a problem with your 4th POV especially as it seems to necessary in telling your story, and Billy is already an established character. Employing good transitions between character POV’s through narrative or even chapter or section breaks can work very well. As you said, Tolkien used multiple POV’s without causing a wrinkle in any one’s brow. Go ahead and write the scene. Reading it back later will show whether it fits in smoothly or not.

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- on November 20, 2011 at 17:44 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  Oh, another Alice. *Waves*
  
  I tend to only have one POV per scene. I think it’s cleaner that way. Plus, Billy is a very likable character. I’ll see how he gets on in this scene and who knows, I may even give him another 🙂
  
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on November 19, 2011 at 23:59 | Reply Tameri Etherton

I was also going to recommend Game of Thrones because George R. R. Martin does a fantastic job of keeping in one POV per scene, but has multiple POVs. It didn’t confuse me or make my head explode!

GoTs is a fantasy novel and that’s what I’m currently working on ~ my book right now has 5 POVs, but most of them have only a few scenes. My fiction novel only has 3 POVs (so far!).

I think it depends on how you tell the story. Being in one person’s head too much is what makes my head explode. I like to know what’s happening with other people, so multiple POVs are my preference.

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- on November 20, 2011 at 17:47 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  Tameri, Piper suggested Game of Thrones too. I will definitely have to give it a read. I also like to keep to one POV per scene. I think it’s cleaner.
  
  You sound like you have exactly the right balance in both of your stories. I look forward to reading them when they are published. 🙂
  
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on November 20, 2011 at 10:57 | Reply Ellen Dean

I started to read ‘Just Rewards’ Barbara Taylor Bradford earlier this year and there were so many POV’s that I became confused and gave up after reading six chapters. It has a very large cast (listed) and it seems every one of them has a POV. I did pick the book up again a couple of months ago and finished reading it. I’m pleased I did because I thoroughly enjoyed it. My fault, I should have studied the cast first then read the book 🙂

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- on November 20, 2011 at 17:49 | Reply Donna Newton
  
  Hey Ellen. How you doing?
  
  I’ve never read BTB but enjoy a good old love story so will have to give ‘Just Rewards’ a try. I’m not sure how on earth I’m going to fit all these books in. I hardly have enough time for what I’m doing now…..and I’m a slow reader 🙂
  
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on November 21, 2011 at 09:12 | Reply Ellen Dean

I’m good thanks. I’m still not finished my second novel, but the non-fiction coming along very well.
Keep writing 🙂

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on May 22, 2012 at 20:20 | Reply Alex

Hello Ellen,

I am glad I came across your bolg. I wasn’t sure how many I should use and found you via google. I have around five POV’s but they all drive my story. And I guess that is what really matters, people being able to understand the story.

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