Hi. I'm writing a young adult dystopian novel and have three main characters. Initially their story lines run parallel to each other until they meet up in the middle and then it just continues like a normal story. What do you think of this? Would you rather just one perspective or would you not mind too much? If it is a problem, what is the best way of getting round this without having to change the story too much? Could I have a few chapters with one character and then change over, or change over every chapter? Thanks
As long as all three of them are doing interesting things, I have no problem with seeing the story from three perspectives. One scene from one POV, the next scene from someone else's. Works for me!
I agree with @BayView. More than just getting me into the heads of the three people, separately, I would want a distinct take, view, impression of what's going on from each of them. If you simply tell me a given part of a story, three times, with little in the way of why I would want to read those three times, that would bug. Each personal view should give me something of interest, something new.
Each character is going to have very different thoughts, break downs of situations, culmination of logical ideas, and as the reader getting to see three points of view on a grander plot would be fun. Often I recall getting lost in some old scifi novels when I was young, reading beyond my years, so I would be wary of not so fluid transitions. I guess I would expect a chapter to divide points of view, or paragraph breaks, or even a key term dropping early in the transition to realize I am not in the same perspective (if I am that lost). When the story joins together, what perspective then?
I read a wonderful book by a Canadian author that told every chapter from three different perspectives. (For the life of me I can't think of the title now.) The first three chapters went something like this: Chapter 1--Perspective of the Black Robe. "The girl they took as slave, who could be no more than 10, was already a wholly sexual and craven creature. She took all her clothes off and then laid in the snow in an attempt to entice me and the band of savages that surrounded her." Chapter 2--Perspective of the Chief. "The black robe has no mercy and no sense. The girl we took as slave disrobed and lay in the snow before him. He did nothing while my warriors shouted at him and waved their blankets trying to get him to stop her. If her tribe taught her no better, then she is better off with us for at least we will not let her die in the snow. Even our youngest children know one should not lie down in the snow for the cold will take your life." Chapter 3--Perspective of the Slave. "They have killed my parents and my brother. They have taken me from my people. I will die an my parents died. I will lie naked in the snow and join my family before the sun rises." I loved seeing the same situation from multiple perspectives.
If you have a lot of characters, it makes perfectly good sense to have them taking turns as POV, depending on what is happening. The character playing the major action in the chapter can be the one feeling, seeing thinking as the action evolves. And the other characters may not even be around.