So I don't know how good I am at avoiding the dreaded head-hopping, but I still want to get better at switching points of view. My main rule of thumb is to only switch POV after (never before) the POV I'm switching to has spoken, or been spoken to. This way the POV character's name is fresh in mind and it's not too distracting when the mentality shifts. When needed I also do a scene break when it looks like it should be there. I also try to avoid switching POV mid paragraph and instead break into a new one. What are some general ways to switch points of view within the same chapter/scene? I feel like my method works ok for the most part but I'm puzzled at how to do so sometimes.
I don't know a lot about it, but I don't think this is enough. In a dialogue scene, different people speak very frequently, it can go back and forth like a ping-pong game, or between many people rapidly. You can't switch heads every time a new person speaks. You should only switch POV when it's necessary. The big problem is that many people do it without realizing they're doing it, or just don't think about why they're doing it. I think just becoming more aware of POV and reading about it helps you get a better fix on it. Here's a good article that should help: Writing a Multiple Viewpoint Novel Also check this: Point Of View: The Complete Guide Click on through and read some of the linked articles as well if they grab your attention. You can learn a lot from the Novel Writing Help website.
I wrote a novel with two main POV characters, and a new one near the end. I made myself some rules of thumb (though I never wrote them down, I guess) for the process. They're not perfectly in sync with your question, but I think it might help anyway. Importantly, never describe thoughts/feelings/sensations/experiences from anyone except your VPC (View Point Character. Official term? I don't know, I'm self-taught). If a different person feels something, or hesitates, or anything, they need to communicate this verbally or non-verbally, such that the reader keeps the VPC's perspective. Why is this important? I think that by keeping your POV clean and free of ambiguity, any switch will be quickly picked up by the reader When switching POV, do so obviously. Definitely use a new paragraph, ideally a new section or scene. It helps if they're in different places. I only strayed from this once, in the first chapter, in order to establish that there would be multiple VPCs. It helps to start with the character's name and put their action(s) at the forefront. Here's where I switch perspectives for the very first time: Luka was torn between running away and saving his friend from his own stupidity. First, the new VPC; Luka (we've been in Michael's head the whole time up until now). He was torn --> a clear indication that we now experience his thoughts/feelings. Also we watch Luka's friend do something he doesn't approve of (another instance of a different POV). It's not the prettiest sentence I've ever written, but I think it unambiguously establishes the new VPC. Oftentimes I'd like to switch perspective but intentionally do not do so, because it might be confusing. If there are only one or two thoughts or feelings you want the reader to get from the other person, express it non-verbally. Show it. This results in longer stretches of having the same VPC, which also provides the opportunity to show one VPC from the other person's perspective, which is a whole new potential world of storytelling. So, how to do it? 1) Make sure the writing is structured enough to support easy switching 2) Start from the new VPCs unique POV (no ambiguity) 3) Do it as little as possible 4) When you feel the need to hop, double check if you can't show rather than tell 5) It helps when it's absolutely necessary. For example, a story that unfolds differently in two different places without direct contact requires multiple VPCs to see all the action. I'd also recommend sticking to the same few characters. (bonus: you can have stuff happen out of sight from your dedicated VPCs; this is where surprises come from... Unless you can spot the clues!) And then rule number 6: Break the rules! I don't know everything and certainly won't pretend to. If you figure out something that works well, go for it! I hope any of this is useful
The double space, new section thing is fairly standard for a POV switch. It can be very jarring to execute switches without it. Hell, it can be jarring even with the double spaces if you're doing them frequently within the chapter/scene. Unless of course you're deliberately writing in omniscient POV, in which case you can head hop willy-nilly without any breaks or signposts. That is very difficult to do effectively, though. Not impossible, but it requires some higher-order skills.
Oh don't worry, I don't switch 'every' time during the conversation (that would get annoying) just when it's necessary. I'll swap point of views maybe...twice in a full conversation, sometimes three times. Usually no more than that even in a longer conversation.
Of course, I didn't think you were. Just trying to say you need a better metric than that. I think in order to really figure out if you're doing it well or not you'd need to post an excerpt in the workshop with several POV switches. Just discussing it in general like this we could talk all around the subject and never understand how you're doing it.
You’re brave and you’re going against the current. I like that. I write in omniscient POV. Yes, it’s difficult to do and it requires a little more attention from the readers, but it’s not forbidden. I have learned a few tricks over the years that work in Portuguese. One of these tricks is always starting the POV changing paragraph with the character’s name: – I’m going out. – John said, and waited for Mary’s reaction. Mary was aghast! How could he say that! Go out, now, when she needed him there! This is just one of the little efficient tricks. A good article on more: https://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2014/11/ten-ways-to-move-point-of-view-and-dont-let-the-self-appointed-experts-tell-you-otherwise.html Ask beta readers to tell you if any of the POV changes is abrupt. If the beta reader knows nothing about POV changes (most likely), just ask them to tell you if they were confused at some point.
Okay, you're writing in full omniscient then. That's the definition of head-hopping, so you don't have to worry about it in the "dreaded" sense, as you put it earlier. Head-hop away! Essentially the only reason to use omniscient in the first place.
Yeah I STILL can't tell the difference between writing in Omniscient and Third Person. I know I should probably read more but I haven't found a book series I like yet. Ok I kind of know the mechanical differences, but I've never actually tried Omniscient full stop before. I usually write in what (I think) is third person omniscient where it mostly focuses on one POV. Are there general 'good' and 'bad' times to switch even when writing Omniscient?
Omniscient is a particular form of third person (I kinda think you know that, but it's hard to tell). Third Person Omniscient Point of View
I knew the difference, I just thought Omniscient was different from third person entirely. As in 'Omniscient is NOT a form of third person and is it's own unique thing' I was unknowingly writing a third person omniscient for another project. I rather like my explanation for 'why' the Narrator is addressing the reader directly. Every character in the story (even the narrator themselves) has an innate ability called 'the sight'. It makes adventurers aware of the monsters around them and gives them different forms of 'knowledge'. One character might know all the different 'tropes', another character might know Video Game mechanics, another is aware of the groups and their enemies stats etc. The narrator himself is aware of and can break the fourth wall, hence him addressing the reader directly.
Meh, it's not really the same thing at all. It sometimes gets lumped into a subset of third person but only because it uses the same he/she/it pronouns as 3rd does. If you think about it, the 3rd person has more in common with the 1st person in that both are singular POVs that happen to use different pronouns. Omni, however, is (literally) the voice of a God-like narrator can be tethered to any particular head at any particular time. There are no knowledge limits for the narrator, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Are you actually doing this? Like the narrator addresses the readers while acknowledging that they are readers in a book? That's the fourth wall in literature. All narrators address readers in some form, but a fourth wall narrator will essentially put the book down for you and launch into a separate discourse... kind of like a professor who's been reading a passage, stops, puts the book down, and launches into a separate discussion.
It's the pronouns that determine which perspective you're in. Or maybe better to say they let you know which one. There are several different factors to consider here—whether it's 1st or 3rd person, how close or distant you want to go with the narration, and if you're going distant, whether you want it to be Objective or Omniscient. And if Omniscient, then you want to determine between Traditional or Authorial (see chart below). There's narration in both kinds, the difference is in how close or distant it is. In 1st person you would generally stay in close for the narration, but in 3rd person you can decide how close or distant you want to be. In fact it's always a spectrum, even in 1st person you can move in close or zoom out some ways, though I don't think I've seen anyone go into full objective or omniscient in 1st. (now I want to look into that ). I did a lot of research into this a while back—let me grab the chart I made for my blog:
The narrator is aware that he's a narrator, and addresses the reader directly. (kicking things off with the classic 'dear reader' introduction) He briefly explains that his ability bleeds into the story that he's currently telling, so the characters in the story can sometimes break the fourth wall too. There's a couple of instances where the characters are aware of what the narrator is saying for example, and he has to 'fix' this somehow to get the story progressing again. Sometimes he uses this flaw to his advantage when the story gets 'stuck'. It doesn't happen often though, maybe once every two or three chapters.
For the "good" ones, check my link. For the "bad" ones, whenever it's confusing for the reader. I see that what you're doing is very complex omniscient. Not that it won't work, but expect a lot of trouble getting it right. Start recruiting beta readers right away. They're your best test for what works and what is confusing. You'll also need smart readers who are used to reading complex literature. Ask me how I know.
