The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Writing Multi-Pov Narrative
By Sophie Masson | July 2, 2019 |
Photo by Sophie Masson
We writers know that point of view often comes instinctively, with one or maybe two characters insisting on having their voices heard. But what if a whole gaggle of equally interesting characters are clamoring for your attention? Then you have no choice but to have a go at writing a multiple-POV narrative, and see what happens.
I’ve done that a few times in the past. And I’m doing that right now, with my WIP, which is an adult novel set in an imaginary writers’ retreat in the very real and very charming Loire Valley village of Azay le Rideau, home to my favourite castle in all of France. In the novel, I focus on no less than nine main characters—six writers from the retreat, including five aspiring writers and the writing tutor, who are all Australians, though of different ethnic backgrounds, and three French people, locals from the village itself. (Having French and Australian characters works well for me, as I’m French-Australian myself and know both cultures and countries intimately!)
And I thought WU readers might be interested to hear more about the process of managing all those POVs.
The issue
Nine main characters, mostly women, but all very different personalities, all very different backstories, and from a range of ages and backgrounds: crazy brave, eh? In fact this is the largest number of POVs I’ve ever tried to juggle in a novel (the most in the past has been 4). Within that gaggle of nine, I knew there’d be a few who would be demanding more than their fair share, and would mostly have to be reined in but occasionally needed to be given their head.
I knew from the start that this novel would have to be tightly structured and planned ahead, which is unlike what I usually do; I’m a pantser normally, with the beginning firmly set but not much else.
How setting worked its magic
One thing that made things much easier than they might have been was that the idea came to me while on a short visit in Azay itself in early September last year.
I could just see all my writer characters putting up at the very hotel we stayed in, a lovely place of serene, friendly charm just a few short steps from the castle. I could see them wandering the grounds of the gorgeous castle, exploring its rooms and the extraordinary art installation that was being shown there at the time, going to the little restaurants scattered around the village, enjoying its unhurried pace at a time when most tourists had gone home but the weather was still beautiful. I could see them being inspired (I certainly was—not just with this novel but also with a brand-new short-story fairytale retelling!). I could see the local characters, too, so well; I knew what their houses looked like, their businesses, the kinds of things they did.
It was as if Azay itself was a major character, and from that one flowed all the others, the ones who knew it intimately, and the ones who were just there for such a short yet important time. The place would work its fairytale magic on them all, but as with all such spells, it would have its dark and difficult side.
And so, even before we’d left Azay to go on to my father’s place in the South, I’d already scribbled down a list of characters and possibilities. Back home some weeks later, I worked up a fuller document which as well as backgrounding the story and setting, listed and described all the main characters and a summary of their backstories, as well as a few peripheral/minor characters who wouldn’t be granted a POV megaphone but would have a role there somehow. I even created a brochure for the writing retreat, which was fun—but also useful, as you’ll see.
A question of structure
I wanted to introduce these characters and the reason they were all congregating in Azay in a way that wouldn’t be confusing for the reader. So I started first with the writers’ retreat brochure, inserted as a prologue (though not named as such). This meant I didn’t have to describe the idea of the retreat itself, just go straight into the story.
I planned the rest of the novel to be structured in four parts, which would be patterned to follow a two-week retreat plus the period just before and the three-day break in between each writing week(which is also important). I decided not to devote a whole chapter to each character, but rather to write each chapter with multiple points of view, yet not always in the same way.
The first chapter introduced each of the aspiring writers, where they all came from, and why they were coming. The second introduced both the Azay locals and the professional writer who was running the retreat tutor, a bestselling Australian author who’d come to a turning point in her career. After that, a chapter titled Arrival brought travelers and locals together; and a menu from a local restaurant, which hosted the Welcome Dinner for retreat participants, provided the perfect lead-in to part two and the retreat’s first week. Each subsequent chapter in part two was structured around a day in the week; while part three, labelled ‘Three Days Off’, brings puzzling or dismaying developments for several of the characters, which come to a head in week two of the retreat and part four of the novel.
It’s a controlled yet liberating structure that’s really working for me.
Pleasures so far
- A deeply satisfying sense of creating a rich, connected world with many more possibilities than normal
- A lot of fun in putting on the stage so many different personalities—including some who aren’t exactly the most admirable sorts but whose voices I’m much enjoying
- Great potential for mystery as well as drama, the unexpected—and humour
- A fantastic and very natural-feeling way of exploring the writing process itself
Pitfalls so far (or rather, things to watch out for)
- Trying to stop some characters from trying to take over! (Bernice, I’m looking at you! 😊)
- Trying not to over-egg the pudding, sub-plot wise
- Trying to keep everything as clear as possible for the reader while telling a complex set of interlocking stories
Here’s hoping that things continue to work for this WIP—but right now, I’d like to hand over to you, and your thoughts on juggling multiple POVs.
What works for you, both as writer (if you’ve tried this) and as reader?
Born in Indonesia of French parents, and brought up in France and Australia, Sophie Masson is the award-winning author of over 70 books for children, young adults and adults. Her latest books include Sydney under Attack (children’s historical novel, Scholastic Australia, 2022) A Hundred Words for Butterfly (adult novella, ES-Press, 2022) and Cock-a-doodle-doo (children’s picture book, (illustrated by Kathy Creamer, little Pink Dog Books, 2022). In 2019, Sophie received an AM (Member, General Division) award in the Order of Australia honours list.
Love this post! I’m working on my first multi-POV as well, and I completely agree with the pleasures. There is something very satisfying about the richness of all these voices. I occasionally struggle to decide whose POV certain scenes should be in, but it’s a fun puzzle. Happy writing to you!
Thank you very much, Meghan. Glad you like the post. And happy and successful writing to you too!
Very ambitious, Sophie. I can only imagine doing this by using an omniscient narrator. Any attempt to use succeeding close third person POV with so many characters would–at least for me–be impossible. My novel Godsend started out with four close third POV characters, but something was wrong with it. When I deleted one POV (but still kept the character), everything became more coherent and readable. Good luck. The idea of using the brochure is brilliant. I can see how many problems you solved by doing that.
Thanks, Barry. Yes, it is indeed ambitious–and occasionally I wonder if I’ve not bitten off more than I can chew! But working out the structure has really meant I can control it quite well, mostly :-) And yes, thanks for your kind words re the brochure idea. Made things much easier at the start!
Sounds like you found a good way around your POV issue! Hope the writing continues to go well.
I started out with six pov characters, three main, and a friend/sidekick for each (to be able to watch the main characters from the outside).
It wasn’t the number that caused me to lose the three secondary ones, but the fact that they were secondary, and I found it more effort to keep them than to just tell the part of the story they represented in bits of dialogue.
Your way sounds like a lot of fun – it’s not difficult giving nine characters different personalities, but it is difficult doing the choreography to maintain the balance you want in the story.
And it gives you lots of room to reveal details when you want to.
You’re absolutely right, Alicia–the capacity to reveal details when you want to is a really enjoyable part of writing multiple POV. In my novel, one of the characters is masquerading under a false identity–as a reader, you know that from the start, but you don’t know exactly what she’s up to–but the other characters of course don’t know and take her at face value. It has made for some interesting scenes–and also produced the interesting result that she is usually seen through other people’s eyes and her direct POV is only occasional, in moments when she can be truly herself, and is not with the others.
Anyway, sorry for that long digression–thanks for your comment, and interesting to read how you solved your POV problem. Sounds like the perfect key to unlock the writing fluency after that. Good luck with the rest of the writing!
And the more complex your story, the more you have to plot it out so you’re not constantly having to rewrite earlier sections.
For me, the plotting is the what – and the writing is the how. By knowing what in advance, you can do a bang-up job on how as you go. As in music, variations and embroidery on a solid structure. Plan/outline/plot – whatever you call your structure – it saves time in the end.
Happy writing!
Sophie, many thanks for this encouraging column. I have five characters (four alive, one long dead) and have wished all along to give them all equal time except for being bombarded with the usual advice to give the POV only to the “main” character so as not to get all confused and confuse the reader. But hey–why accept that limitation? My solution so far is to make sure each scene, however populated it may be, is done from only one POV. It’s working so far–I hope!
Sophie:
I bow to your bravery, oh fearless one! I’ve attempted only a dual POV, and in a short story at that. I’d be interested in knowing the challenges that arise in your WIP and how you handle them. Please keep us updated.
I don’t think I’ve ever attempted more than three POV characters, so I applaud your daring! I did write a fairy tale retelling with 12 sisters meeting 12 brothers, plus several other characters…which was a lot to juggle! I put that one in a single first-person POV though, which probably helped…
Excellent, thank you! I appreciate this very much!
As a reader, it’s a trend I don’t love. I recently read a book with ‘Stephen King’ syndrome – characters coming into the scene for two pages with a whole POV then disappearing forever. Added to that, there was occasional head hopping within a scene. Again – as a reader – I prefer a purer narrative.
I bond with the POV character, and too many POV characters give me a schizophrenic feeling. If I don’t know who to root for, I don’t want to keep reading. I can’t ‘connect’. Sadly – whether by design on some authors’ parts or ignorance on others, crowded POV stories are becoming the trend.
I just read a book with a crowded POV field AND one of the POV characters was an ‘unreliable narrator’. I will never read that author again. (And please, God of Book Writing, send the unreliable narrator to a literary grave. I am SO sick of that trend. It’s not clever, it’s a lazy way to withhold information from the reader.)
I’m curious how you’re able to manage nine distinct “voices” for these POV characters. I assume you’re using a 3rd person narrator, but still, each character’s thoughts and reactions (like dialogue) has to be unique to his/her personality. My WIP is dual-POV, but in 1st person (one female, one male) and it’s a challenge(!) to go back and forth between them. It requires a great deal of focus on word choice and syntax so they don’t “sound” the same on the page. I’ve considered taking an acting class so I can learn how to “become” different characters to help me shape different POVs as a writer.
Sophie, I very much enjoyed reading your post about POV, but like Ali, I struggle to keep the multiple characters POV distinct. What is your secret to ensuring each remain distinct in lieu of each POV becoming alike? I’ve experimented with writing long sections for each, then migrating them into the story to keep them distinct. Advice?
Hi Sophie, I don’t know if you will see this since I am a week late to this party! But my debut novel, The Sleeping Serpent, is in third person POV – Multiple. It is about a narcissistic yoga guru who “collects” women to serve his many manipulative purposes – primarily the pursuit of celebrity and wealth. So the women characters are all his students and vie for his attentions – friending and competing with each other. It was a delight to write this novel. And although it was edited brutally three times, it probably could have used a stricter editor. Take a quick look at it on GR or Amz, I would love to get your opinion. It has received some lovely reviews. I know first person POV is preferred for intimacy and ease of writing and reading. But I love to read third person for the perspective and experience of the other characters. I feel it is deeper and more interesting. Two novels in 3rd that have me compelled and are inspiring my current WIP are All That Is by James Salter and Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison and for inner dialog The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway, of course. Email me, or Message me on GR or FB if you’d like to have a chat