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One of the earliest questions you must answer, however, before you even write a single word of your soon-to-be Work In Progress (or WIP, for those of you wondering) is which character will be your point of view (POV) character?
Choosing a POV character is arguably the most important part of novel-planning for limited third or first person POV stories, because it affects absolutely everything in the story—from voice, to plot points, to how (and what) information will be revealed to your readers. The POV character that you choose will affect every word in your story, because the story will be filtered through his or her lens.
But while sometimes the POV character is obvious right from the start, choosing a POV character is not always so cut and dry. In those instances when you’re not entirely sure whose POV you should write from, there are two major questions you must ask yourself:
- Which character has the most at stake? This is the most important question—which character has the most to lose? Readers don’t want to hear from a character who has nothing to lose—that character won’t be emotionally invested in the story and so neither will your readers be. The character who will take the biggest risks, who will suffer if he doesn’t succeed, who is so emotionally invested and entangled in the story that he couldn’t remove himself from it even if he wanted to—that’s the character you want narrating your story.
Once you’ve determined which character has the most at stake and will be most affected by the plot, you can then move on to the second question. - Am I invested enough in this character to stay in his/her head for 300+ pages? This is important because sometimes, especially in the early plotting of our story, we don’t know enough about our characters to really determine how interested we are in them. Before you start writing, however, it is vital that you make your character interesting enough to you that you look forward to spending the next many months living inside of his head—because when you’re writing, especially in a close POV, that’s exactly what you’re doing. If you’re not interested enough in your character to do so, you can pretty much guarantee your readers won’t be very interested either, assuming you even finish the story.
Let’s test two examples:
- Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)—The Harry Potter series has an enormous cast of characters, but the obvious choice for POV character would be one of the main three characters—Harry, Ron and Hermione. Out of the three, Harry definitely has the most at stake—the most evil wizard of all time tried to kill him when he was an infant and left him an orphan, and now that he’s older, that same evil wizard is returning and he hasn’t forgotten about little Harry Potter. The interest bit (very slight spoiler), as we learn later on, is if Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy that led him to attack Harry when he was a baby differently, he may have tried to kill Neville Longbottom instead, and the first story would likely have been Neville Longbottom and the Sorcerer’s (or Philosopher’s) Stone, instead.
- The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)—It could be argued that anyone chosen in the Reaping has pretty near equal stakes—there can only be one winner of the Hunger Games, so every tribute has their life on the line. Why then, did Suzanne Collins choose Katniss as a POV over Peeta or any of the other tributes? I’m sure there were many reasons, but the two that stand out to me the most are these: Katniss has a little more at stake than Peeta, in that Peeta knows his family will survive without him if he doesn’t win the Hunger Games, while Katniss isn’t so sure and (IMO) Katniss is a more interesting character than Peeta.
That’s not to say that Peeta is boring—but he’s good with the crowd, he’s level-headed and consistent, while Katniss is terrible at public relations (a big deal for Hunger Games tributes), has a relatively short fuse, doesn’t trust anyone and is incredibly stubborn. All of these factors give her more trouble during the games, and put the readers on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the plot.
Choosing a POV character isn’t a process that should be taken lightly, but once you’ve chosen the right character to carry your story, the rest will fall into place.
How do you choose a POV character? Have you ever switched your POV character after you started writing? Share your experience in the comments below—I’d love to hear from you.
26 comments:
I've got the impression that picking POV characters is something that goes nearly natural. I've never felt the need to invest a lot of time into choosing the right POV, nor have I ever concluded that I had picked the wrong POV. Although there are a lot of aspects of writing that ask for my attentions, choosing POV's is an easy task for me.
I'm not sure whether there are authors who have experienced difficulties with this matter. I, for one, have never read a novel where I had to admit the author chose the wrong POV character.
Correct examples. It's indeed funny to think that it could have been the Neville Longbottom series. For some reason, I think the series would have had a completely different ending.
As for The Hunger Games. Katniss was the only right option in my opinion. She's a more intriguing than Peeta. Peeta's POV would indeed feel a little boring.
Talking of which, I detested Jacob in the Twilight series. He became even more annoying when he was the POV.
I find it interesting that you said you've never read a novel where you thought the author chose the wrong POV character, then you mentioned not liking Jacob as a POV character in Twilight. :)
I think in most cases, yes, it comes naturally, but there are times where (especially when first drafting) authors sometimes realize they're using the wrong POV. For example, I know Veronica Roth originally wrote Divergent from Four's POV. It wasn't until later on that she re-wrote it in Tris's POV.
As for the Neville Longbottom series (which sounds a little funny just saying it), I'm relatively sure the entire series would have been drastically different, but judging by Neville's heroic actions in Deathly Hallows, I think the ending would have been similar nevertheless.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jeremy!
For me, the POV character often comes before the story. If they are that strong willed I know it's their story that needs to be told more than any other.
Jacob was indeed a very annoying POV character, but that doesn't mean that I think it was a bad choice from Meyer. Bella was better, but there were some things she had to tell through Jacobs eyes. And I generally detest the Twilight series, so I'm not that objective.
Oh did she? I didn't know that. I have yet to read Divergent, but I'll bear that in mind when reading it.
Hmm interesting what you say about Neville. It's true he developed into a hero in Deathly Hallows, but that didn't make him a strong wizard. I don't know if he would have made it back alive at the end of Goblet of Fire. But that's just speculation :-)
In my experience, they often come before the story as well--but there are exceptions! Having a strong character that has enough voice to demand to be written is always a pretty good sign that the story is ready to be told. :)
Personally, I didn't mind Jacob as a POV character, but I thought the best part about his narration was the chapter titles. For some reason I really liked Jacob's chapter titles.
I recommend Divergent. It's turning out to be a great series. :)
As for Neville, it's hard to speculate. I think with his abilities as a wizard in Goblet of Fire with Harry as the chosen one, no, he probably wouldn't have survived. But had he been the chosen one instead, I imagine he would have had more training as a wizard, and so his skills probably would have been greater at the time (not to mention he would have had the experience of facing Voldemort three times already). So it's really hard to say. :)
I'm writing out my next blog post, which just happens to be about POV, as well. I'm totally not trying to copy you--the timing is just funny. :-P
Good points you make, though, about choosing the POV character(s). All that a reader knows about what's happening in a story is what the author chooses to tell, and the author tells it through a character or characters' eyes.
And personally, I'd like to read the Neville Longbottom series! ;)
This is good because for me I never really think about why my main character is, well, my main character. I usually write in either first person or third person limited, each following only one character specifically, but my current work in progress requires several characters to follow so I am going to use third person limited but with several different main characters. So I'm now trying to figure out which characters would be ideal POV characters. It's always a good thing to think about what you do and why you do it when it comes to writing. The writer's job is to question things. :) congrats on your 201st!!! :D
~Author Steven
Interesting! I never even think about who will be my POV character. At least, not conciously. Most of the time, since my stories are character-driven anyway, I think of a character first. Also, sometimes it's not how much they've got to lose but how much they've got to gain...
With my current WIP I had a completely different person in mind for my POV character, but as I developed the character more before I began to write it became obvious that I could tell a much larger story with the new character I had created. it changed the entire story. Great post!
I usually haven't switched povs in the middle of writing but recently I've loved some books that have several different povs enough to give it a try.
It can be pretty funny how timing and unintended trends work out in the blogosphere. Feel free to leave a link in the comments here when you publish your post. :)
You're absolutely right about readers seeing the story through the POV character's eyes. Part of what I've found I really enjoy about novels written from multiple POVs is the ability to see the same story from many angles--it can be a very interesting experience!
And I feel like an alternate-reality Neville Longbottom series would be fun to read. ^_^
Glad to hear this post turned out to be good timing for you. I hope you found it helpful!
Also, I agree that a writer's job is often to question things--not only does it help us grow as writers, but it can give us great inspiration for adding intricacies and depth to our stories.
And thank you! ^_^
Wonderful article. I would like to know your opinion on having both main characters' point of view. When I wrote The Guardian's Wildchild, both the hero and heroine were selected for POV. I was careful to ensure the reader would not confuse whose point of view they were reading. So far, I have't had any negative comments about there being two POV's. Both the characters were in a desperate situation separate from each other. When they were confronted with each other, I continued to show their individual points of view. Any thoughts?
Wonderful article. I would like to know your opinion on having both main characters' point of view. When I wrote The Guardian's Wildchild, both the hero and heroine were selected for POV. I was careful to ensure the reader would not confuse whose point of view they were reading. So far, I have't had any negative comments about there being two POV's. Both the characters were in a desperate situation separate from each other. When they were confronted with each other, I continued to show their individual points of view. Any thoughts?
http://goo.gl/9KAGk
That's an interesting point about it sometimes being related to how much they have to gain. My stories also tend to be character-driven, so I know what you mean about often coming up with a character before the story (which usually makes choosing a POV easier...unless you think up of a whole cast of characters).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Emily!
How interesting! I've played around with different POV ideas while brainstorming and I once added a second POV to a WIP--whatever you decide when it comes to POV makes a huge difference, and, as you said, often chances the story entirely.
Thank you so much! And thanks for sharing your experience!
I've found that I also enjoy books with multiple POVs. When done well, it can be very effective and interesting.
Firstly, thank you for both the compliment and stopping by. :)
Second, that's a really interesting question--I think I'm going to write a post about it. In short, I think that when done well, multiple POVs can be very effective and add an extra layer of depth and dimension to the story. It's not easy to pull off and not all readers like switching POVs (which is something to think about), but I personally don't mind it when done well.
Here's my blog post about POV:
http://storytellergirlgrace.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/its-all-in-your-point-of-view/
And I included a link in it for this blog post of yours. Different points of view for POV! :-P
Great post! Thanks for sharing the link and mentioning me in your post! ^_^
Hi - I'm a first time visitor here! I'm glad some of the comments mentioned multiple POVs - I'd like to do 1st person for my current WIP but as she isn't always appraised of everything that's going on, the story would be weaker from just her viewpoint so I changed it to several distinct limited third person views... but looking at it again, I'm wondering would I get away with one first person and several third person POVs? Hmmm.... strokes chin...
Hi there! In my experience, it's very difficult to mix first and third POV as it tends to be especially jarring to the reader, however it's not impossible to pull off. Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker, for example, uses first person POV for one character and third person for another, and while the experience was a little weird at first, I thought it worked well for the story.
I figured it out: To choose between 1st person and 3rd person, consider how quickly you want to reveal your hero. To choose between present and past tense, consider if you want a reflective narrative or an active narrative. I have it at last!
Hmm...I'm actually not sure if I completely agree with that, especially the bit about the reflective or active narrative. Present tense can certainly have a reflective feel to it if you wish it to (like Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi) and novels written in past tense can still absolutely have an active narrative. I've found that the easiest way to choose between first and third person is to decide how close you want the reader to be to your character. While stories written in first and third person can have very similar stylistic elements, first person tends to come off as a more intimate POV than third person, as the reader is literally looking inside of one character's head, while past and present tense tends to affect immediacy as well as the sense of closeness to the reader. At least, that's the way I see it.
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