Should we reveal infrequent POV shifts?

[Lysander_Works]

Simple poll. I think I already know the answer, but I wonder if readers would be annoyed by it too.

 

[LiteraryWho]

I'm sure there are some contrived circumstances where sneaking a POV change past the reader is appropriate, but if you're writing for this site I strongly recommend not fishing for them.

 

[Zinless]

I don't usually announce a POV change mid-chapter. I feel like announcing POV changes like:

<Jason's POV>

<Kevin's POV>

takes away the immersion a bit, even if they're technically correct.

When it comes to mid-chapter POV changes, I much prefer leaving it up to context clues. Still, the only reason I can do so without any complaints (so far) is the fact that I do so infrequently; it always happens after a scene break (but not all scene breaks are POV changes); and all context clues are clear, direct, and are in the first two sentences. Most of the time, though, I just start by announcing the name of the character and what they're doing at the moment.

My examples:

Then there was the Third Prince. The chances of him not coming were as slim as air. What bothered me most was what “gift” he would bring me.

The last gift he gave me led me to being fireballed. I truly hoped he wouldn’t rope me into some other scheme before he even finished his part of the deal. He wouldn’t be that much of a scum, would he?

—

Julient let the formal document, now bearing the King’s own wax seal, fall onto the cluttered surface of his desk. A satisfied sigh escaped him.

“Finally…”

Could the top ranker really only get average scores?

Well… As long as there aren’t any hidden prodigies here… I should be fine, right?

—

From the edge of the tracks, Arran observed with a keen eye.

The aptitude test was unfolding exactly as he had expected. Nearly every student was falling short of their expected performance.

Note that this is just my personal way of doing this. I know announcing POV changes is the standard convention in webnovels, but I just like doing it this way.

But for those who wish to do POV changes like this, be aware that you should not trick the readers or keep it stealthy unless you absolutely know what you're doing. A single bout of confusion is all it takes for someone to lose immersion in a story, after all.

 

[Lysander_Works]

I don't usually announce a POV change mid-chapter. I feel like announcing POV changes like:

takes away the immersion a bit, even if they're the correct way to do things.

When it comes to mid-chapter POV changers, I much prefer leaving it up to context clues, but the only reason I can do so without any complaints so far is the fact that I do so infrequently, it always happens after a scene break (but not all scene breaks are POV changes), and all context clues are clear, direct, and are in the first two sentences. Most of the time, though, I just start by announcing the name of the character and what they're doing at the moment.

My examples:



Note that this is just my personal way of doing this. I know announcing POV changes is the standard format, but I just like doing it this way.

But for those who wish to do POV changes like this, be aware that you should not trick the readers or keep it stealthy unless you absolutely know what you're doing. A single bout of confusion is all it takes for someone to lose immersion in a story, after all.

Yes, I currently have it set in the backlogs where a POV shift will be marked as such:

---

<POV Shift: Character 2>

---

{content...}

I feel like it doesn't break immersion too much. I personally prefer the context clues, but I know some readers have a preference to be informed anyway. Thus, I'm using a poll.

 

[Makimaam]

I dislike explicitly announcing POV change. Quite intensely, as a personal pet peeve. I write in multiple POVs and I usually try not to mix them within a chapter. But when it can’t be helped, I make a clear scene cut using a separator.

 

[Lysander_Works]

I dislike explicitly announcing POV change. Quite intensely, as a personal pet peeve. I write in multiple POVs and I usually try not to mix them within a chapter. But when it can’t be helped, I make a clear scene cut using a separator.

Does your stance change, in the event that POV shifts are uncommon in the series? I think I can count them on one single hand.

 

[Makimaam]

Does your stance change, in the event that POV shifts are uncommon in the series? I think I can count them on one single hand.

My stance wouldn’t change. In fact, I find it more intuitive if you want to be clear from the start, just anchor perspective as soon as the POV shifts.

For example, “Jason woke up with a headache” is clear enough compared to writing “Jason’s POV,” which, to me, breaks immersion.

 

[Lysander_Works]

My stance wouldn’t change. In fact, I find it more intuitive if you want to be clear from the start, just anchor perspective as soon as the POV shifts.

For example, “Jason woke up with a headache” is clear enough compared to writing “Jason’s POV,” which, to me, breaks immersion.

Understood. I'll keep this in mind.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I'm sure there are some contrived circumstances where sneaking a POV change past the reader is appropriate, but if you're writing for this site I strongly recommend not fishing for them.

I was trying to figure out how to say exactly this, but you beat me to it (and probably said it better than I would have).

Actually I did do this in a chapter and it was ... pretty much ignored. The first third of the chapter is from a cat's point of view, since he's alone, searching his owner's house for trouble. Then, when owner's boyfriend shows up, he "takes over" the point of view.

 

[Anonjohn20]

I don't usually announce a POV change mid-chapter. I feel like announcing POV changes like:

takes away the immersion a bit, even if they're technically correct.

When it comes to mid-chapter POV changes, I much prefer leaving it up to context clues. Still, the only reason I can do so without any complaints (so far) is the fact that I do so infrequently; it always happens after a scene break (but not all scene breaks are POV changes); and all context clues are clear, direct, and are in the first two sentences. Most of the time, though, I just start by announcing the name of the character and what they're doing at the moment.

My examples:



Note that this is just my personal way of doing this. I know announcing POV changes is the standard convention in webnovels, but I just like doing it this way.

But for those who wish to do POV changes like this, be aware that you should not trick the readers or keep it stealthy unless you absolutely know what you're doing. A single bout of confusion is all it takes for someone to lose immersion in a story, after all.

My stance wouldn’t change. In fact, I find it more intuitive if you want to be clear from the start, just anchor perspective as soon as the POV shifts.

For example, “Jason woke up with a headache” is clear enough compared to writing “Jason’s POV,” which, to me, breaks immersion.

From your examples I can see that you two are good at providing clear context clues; however, many authors aren't.

 

[Grizzly18]

It doesn’t have to be overt but a line break with an actual line or a line of symbols like little diamonds like that would be nice. Of course you could leave any pov changes to the beginning of the chapter instead and let your reader figure it out.

 

[worldismyne]

If it's in first person? I prefer to be told when the POV shifts.

If it's 3rd person omniscient, naw, context clues are fine.

 

[JordanIda]

I don't read anything that announces POV changes. Even as chapter headings.

When I see it, I drop it.

If it's 3rd person omniscient, naw, context clues are fine.

Thought I'd seen it all. How does this work? The narrator has the one point of view. Is the story written by multiple omniscient narrators? The one author writes with split personalities?

 

[Eldoria]

Fake Saint of the Year is an example of a light novel that utilizes switching POVs to create dramatic effect, irony, and the comedy of misunderstandings. It's very funny.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Thought I'd seen it all. How does this work? The narrator has the one point of view. Is the story written by multiple omniscient narrators? The one author writes with split personalities?

It's often more of a SCENE shift than a POV shift in third person, though sometimes the narrator "rides in the head" of a character and allows their perceptions to shape the narrative a bit. Very difficult to do, and painful when done poorly (likely for the character, definitely for the reader, sometimes even for the writer as my abandoned attempt to do this showed me), but very effective if done well.

 

[JordanIda]

It's often more of a SCENE shift than a POV shift in third person, though sometimes the narrator "rides in the head" of a character and allows their perceptions to shape the narrative a bit. Very difficult to do, and painful when done poorly (likely for the character, definitely for the reader, sometimes even for the writer as my abandoned attempt to do this showed me), but very effective if done well.

I do that routinely. It is kind of the point of third person omniscient: The author knows all. But I don't see it as point of view. In third person omniscient, the characters are ants going about their business. The author (their creator and god) looks down from above.

 

[seenbystarlight]

First of all, I think this is a small decision, both in how much effort it would take, and how much impact it would have on the story. I'd still say to do it, because it reduces the cognitive load of your readers. We humans are really good at making inferences and figuring things out, but it does take us brainpower to do it. That's why we have punctuation, and grammar, and consistent spelling. POV tags do the same thing: make it easier to understand what's going on.
Obviously, the more often you shift your POV, and the more POV characters you have, makes the tags more important.

If it's in first person? I prefer to be told when the POV shifts.

If it's 3rd person omniscient, naw, context clues are fine.

This is also very true. In 3rd person narration, you can just use the name of the character you're following in the first sentence or two, but there's no good way to do that in 1st person.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I do that routinely. It is kind of the point of third person omniscient: The author knows all. But I don't see it as point of view. In third person omniscient, the characters are ants going about their business. The author (their creator and god) looks down from above.

I usually don't myself, but this thread got me to thinking some people might, and the shift I mentioned, from following a cat to following a human was BOTH scene and POV so maybe sometimes it is, but it usually is just a scene change.

If I ever get back to the series, the fourth Jack Diamond book would be a first person story with POV shifting every chapter, as Jack is taken out of action and Carol and her dad take over telling the story. But I have to finish the second and write the third before I get there... :D

 

[Lysander_Works]

If it's in first person? I prefer to be told when the POV shifts.

If it's 3rd person omniscient, naw, context clues are fine.

Context does matter. It is a first person style novel.

 

[OmegaC]

I'd say go for it. Making readers guess every single thing isn't always a good move. It's fine for them to piece together the plot, lore, or hidden clues; but having to guess meta stuff like POV or world setting is just tiring.

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Spoiler: My Baby