I'm completely rewriting a story of mine, and in chapter one it's the first person POV of a man, a father, and he's at home alone with his three kids. The chapter is just an introduction to him as a person, and some world set up as well. Then the second chapter is from the perspective of one of his sons, third person. This chapter is about a "stranger" knocking on the door to see the dad for help, but the dad pretends not to know him and kicks him out onto the street. My question: is it stupid to have the second chapter be a continuation of the events from the first chapter, just from a different perspective? The only good reason, and idek if it's a "good" reason or not, to have the perspective of the second chapter be from the son's POV is because later in the story he becomes the main character. Should I just make the two chapters into one chapter? Or is the way I'm doing it alright?
It probably depends on a number of factors, none of which we know well enough to make a judgement call. My thought though is, if the first chapter is in 1st person, people are probably going to assume that's your MC right there. It feels a little strange to me to not have an MC until some ways into the book. But then, like I said, I don't know enough about the story.
I think ideally you want to stick with the same POV. Doing so streamlines the story and can avoid some confusion. That being said I have read books that do what your talking about, but a chapter that switches from first to third following another character has always come later in the story than chapter two in my reading experience. So, these sort of things writers have pulled off successfully, but I think you really need to ask if it's necessary since something like this can be jarring for the reader. Maybe you want that, but so early on they are not yet invested in the story. I would give this more thought. And what happens in chapter three? What POV will that be in? Is the rest of the book consistent? Another thing to ask is if the first chapter is really where the story starts. You want to bring readers into the story in the first chapter. Readers don't need a full chapter of set up. They are ready for the story when they open your book. I would say that is just as concerning if not more concerning than your POV switch. It's not pointless. You said you're in the process of rewriting this story. This is the time to make some decisions that will ultimately improve the story. Don't be afraid of big changes or any changes that will make your book more of a success. Good luck!
So my reasoning for having the father be the only character in first person is because I want the readers to think he's the main character. I kill him off a few chapters in, then that's when the son takes over the story. I've said this before here, but if you've ever seen The Place Beyond the Pines, it's inspired from that. It's a red herring almost, if that's the right word. Is this pointless as well? Or do you guys think this could work?
It can work, if you give the reader enough to go on. In the first chapter, the reader learns what the father thinks of himself. In the second chapter, the reader learns what the son thinks of the father.
It worked pretty well for Hitchcock in Psycho. Of course that was a movie, so no first person pov, but I think it can work the way you're approaching it.
