I'm working on a trilogy. At least as of right now it is a trilogy. It's the first time I've attempted something so large scaled. In it is the main female character who is the primary POV. There are four other very important secondary characters. I've been told in the past to avoid using multi person POV if at all possible. There has been several occasions I couldn't think of any other way to progress the story other than switching POV's briefly. I have tried to make the shifts clear and I'm doing my best to make the voices different. Just curious to hear someone else's opinion of multiple POVs? Is it okay to occasionally shift POV if it's necessary to the story? Is it strange to only have a few chapters dedicated to another view rather than giving each character an equal amount?
Seems like an interesting question. I've a similar situation in my story where I switch between a few POVs which are mostly characters that are set far apart, but at times are people close by (e.g. opposing personalities). Whenever I've switched POV it has either been via the beginning of a new chapter, or by an obvious break in the flow and layout of my writing. I would think that shifting POV frequently and without making it obvious would be very confusing to a reader, but also, I've read plenty of books where the POV shifts and and I've found them to be the more enjoyable books that I've read!
I've read a lot of 80's glitz fiction. They would switch characters between scenes and chapters. A lot were great fun giving you different aspects of life. Some however didn't exactly work. But I think that was do to flimsy main characters being upstaged by side characters. Also, if the switches aren't 'metered' out properly it can get obnoxious, the reader feels the device. That you're not really interested in the new character or his pov only in forwarding the plot. I'd get a beta reader to check it out.
I don't think there should be a problem as long as the changes are clear to the reader. You should also take note of what peachalulu said about characters. Each character should have a relatively equal time of POV.
