Writing Multiple POV vs. Single POV: Which fiction do you prefer to read as a reader, and which fiction do you prefer to write as an author?

Eldoria

Eldoria

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Multiple POV vs. Single POV​
  1. Which fiction do you prefer to read as a reader?
  2. Which fiction do you prefer to write as an author?
As a reader, I'm not too picky about whether POV is multiple or single. I only care about my reading experience.

But honestly, I mostly read single POV, not because multiple POV is bad, but because there are only a few fictions that use multiple POV.

If you're a light novel reader, you'll know how rare multiple POV is in storytelling, considering that most light novels use single POV with the first POV.

And as an author, I don't favor which POV approach is better. I view POV as a narrative tool to narrate fiction.

However, in general, I lean towards multiple POV with a single central character. Why?

Because I want to show an epic, grand, and immersive world while also providing an emotional experience through the characters.

My main series uses multiple POV as a narrative tool to develop the plot. Each character has their own POV, which feels like the character has their own life story.

It's interesting because with each character having a POV, a chapter can be read as a standalone narrative as well as a thematic narrative that connects to the main series.

In the main series, there are many characters with their own sub-arcs including:
  1. Marry El Rose, a single mother and former executioner of justice who is the center of gravity of the story;
  2. Detective Clara, a royal detective who represents emotional truth and humanity;
  3. Caelan El Rose, Marry's little daughter who represents joy, innocence and childlike love;
  4. Elvyn El Rose, Marry's younger brother and the prince of the Rose kingdom, he represents the loss of identity and the dilemma of personal love vs. royal duty;
  5. Commander Feroux, a veteran knight who represents past regrets and a fallen hero;
  6. Captain Reynard, an idealistic knight who represents the too-good-to-be sacrificed in a corrupt system;
  7. Lady Serena, the military advisor, represents the personal lives of women in the military;
  8. Commander Noire and Elan Noir, a master royal assassin who represents a personal dilemma of conscience in executing royal orders;
  9. John, a merchant and civilian, representing the very vulnerable civilian life amidst the disaster;
  10. Reema and shadowmist, tragic antagonists, who represent victims of a corrupt system who turn into violent perpetrators seeking revenge;
  11. The main antagonist, Black Mist, who represents victims who become monsters because they are born by a rotten social system.
The use of flexible multiple POVs, I can develop the plot and conflict organically based on character driven. The living world, each character feels like a protagonist in their own life.

Well, that's the advantage. I realize this approach also has its drawbacks. For readers accustomed to following a character's journey following the hero's journey trope, causal readers might feel 'lost' because each chapter might use a different anchor character (chapter protagonist).

The main protagonist's screen time is reduced, and readers who only want to see Marry and her little daughter's domestic life might be annoyed by being presented with another story through another character's story (even if that other story is thematically tied to the main FMC).

This approach is also very tiring to write consistently. Why?

Because you need to write an adaptive narrative style that suits the character's voice.

For example, you can't write complex, clinical, and beautiful diction for a childish and innocent little girl (Caelan El Rose). You need to adapt your intelligence to the character. It makes your narrative feel more authentic.

However, despite all these drawbacks, I'm quite satisfied with adopting the multiple POV approach because I really want to build a fantasy world that is both expansive and intimate.

And of course, my writing journey continues...
 
Last edited:
JayMark

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I like both. But as a young reader and early writer I preferred single POV because I got easily bored, exhausted with investing energy to get to know additional characters. As I matured, I gained an appreciation for stories with multiple characters and branching story lines, or unique narrative structures that allow an exploration of a multiplicity of themes. (Asimov and Tolkien)

But when multi-pov is done badly, it feels like a bombardment of short stories that are unrelated to each other. A visual example is the Naruto filler seasons. We are constantly meeting, flashing back to, and resolving issues for minor characters that exist to fill time, have little relevance to the main story line, and rarely appear again. This is the sort of meandering I hope to avoid while filling the world. I want more of a LotR experience where characters branch off into seperate paths but they all have related goals.

I'm trying to do multi-character on a grand scale mass isekai theme, but the foundation needs to be wide and strong so it doesn't crash under the weight of so many povs.
 
foxes

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You can get tired of a single character if you constantly listen to their whining or watch their overwrought epicness. For a while, I was interested in the idea of describing the same scene multiple times from different perspectives. But only as a novelty. In general, this is a bad approach.
Now I'm trying to switch perspectives briefly in transitional "interludes." It's precisely when the main character's storyline ends that there's a motive to continue from the perspective of the character already introduced. A kind of passing of the baton.
 
TinaMigarlo

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before I learned the proper terms for things, I used to call third person "novel by description". First person in my own language, was a "detective style novel". I don't study the more scientific end of things, and I recently learned there were different types of both first and third. I just know if I like the read or not. Again doing everything in my own admittedly made up language to describe things, nothing really bothers me as long as I get a smooth flow. I get a sort of little movie going in my head when I read fiction, and I dislike having it disrupted.

My watch-words are "smooth" and "flow". When i write, its reading as well. I have to read my chapters after I write them, many times. By the time I'm reading a chapter start to finish to see how well it obeys the smooth and flow rules, I'm making little changes to anything that I think disrupts it. After enough chapter passes, I start reading, start to finish, the entire book. Same thing. I want to forget i wrote this, and it reminds me of reading a paperback.

I *prefer* to just... stick with a POV, when writing. I have a little movie in my head, and whether I'm using first or third? My aim is that when I "read" it, it generates that movie.

My apologies I do it so... unscientifically.

Eldoria? I'm not poking fun. I am astrounded at the level of... I don't even know what to call it. The depth, I suppose. That you use to analyze everything.
 
melchi

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Everything in moderation?

Can do 100% single POV, but might as well just do first person at that point.

Though I'm bias. I have multi-main-character as a filter. There are some great books that have done that really well but I just don't enjoy them. "Cough... the blade itself" People think I'm weird after the 3rd main character comes out, but I'm like meh, I'm sorta done with this story.

However, that is not to say it isn't useful. If someone is writing an OP protag story, multi-pov is better in some cases. Like the worst possible thing that a MC can come across as in those types of stories is a bully. A good way to avoid that is that if OP MC has to do a one sided battle against a lesser opponent is to swap the POV to the other view. That way the take away is that the antagonist is overconfident, rather than the MC is a bully. Both can be true, but the emphasis can be swapped.

That being said, there are other things that are hard to do without a POV swap. Trying to develop a reclusive, or hidden in the shadows villain can be diffult without showing a POV swap. If the bad guy is an assassin then the scenes will just be Duex Daibolus which is one of the worst plot devices that readers absolutely hate. Generally speaking, if a character can be developed without a POV swap that is better. Just sometimes a POV swap is the best way, gotta use judgement on this one.
 
Sylver

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Eldoria said:
Multiple POV vs. Single POV​
  1. Which fiction do you prefer to read as a reader?
  2. Which fiction do you prefer to write as an author?
As a reader, I'm not too picky about whether POV is multiple or single. I only care about my reading experience.

But honestly, I mostly read single POV, not because multiple POV is bad, but because there are only a few fictions that use multiple POV.

If you're a light novel reader, you'll know how rare multiple POV is in storytelling, considering that most light novels use single POV with the first POV.

And as an author, I don't favor which POV approach is better. I view POV as a narrative tool to narrate fiction.

However, in general, I lean towards multiple POV with a single central character. Why?

Because I want to show an epic, grand, and immersive world while also providing an emotional experience through the characters.

My main series uses multiple POV as a narrative tool to develop the plot. Each character has their own POV, which feels like the character has their own life story.

It's interesting because with each character having a POV, a chapter can be read as a standalone narrative as well as a thematic narrative that connects to the main series.

In the main series, there are many characters with their own sub-arcs including:
  1. Marry El Rose, a single mother and former executioner of justice who is the center of gravity of the story;
  2. Detective Clara, a royal detective who represents emotional truth and humanity;
  3. Caelan El Rose, Marry's little daughter who represents joy, innocence and childlike love;
  4. Elvyn El Rose, Marry's younger brother and the prince of the Rose kingdom, he represents the loss of identity and the dilemma of personal love vs. royal duty;
  5. Commander Feroux, a veteran knight who represents past regrets and a fallen hero;
  6. Captain Reynard, an idealistic knight who represents the too-good-to-be sacrificed in a corrupt system;
  7. Lady Serena, the military advisor, represents the personal lives of women in the military;
  8. Commander Noire and Elan Noir, a master royal assassin who represents a personal dilemma of conscience in executing royal orders;
  9. John, a merchant and civilian, representing the very vulnerable civilian life amidst the disaster;
  10. Reema and shadowmist, tragic antagonists, who represent victims of a corrupt system who turn into violent perpetrators seeking revenge;
  11. The main antagonist, Black Mist, who represents victims who become monsters because they are born by a rotten social system.
The use of flexible multiple POVs, I can develop the plot and conflict organically based on character driven. The living world, each character feels like a protagonist in their own life.

Well, that's the advantage. I realize this approach also has its drawbacks. For readers accustomed to following a character's journey following the hero's journey trope, causal readers might feel 'lost' because each chapter might use a different anchor character (chapter protagonist).

The main protagonist's screen time is reduced, and readers who only want to see Marry and her little daughter's domestic life might be annoyed by being presented with another story through another character's story (even if that other story is thematically tied to the main FMC).

This approach is also very tiring to write consistently. Why?

Because you need to write an adaptive narrative style that suits the character's voice.

For example, you can't write complex, clinical, and beautiful diction for a childish and innocent little girl (Caelan El Rose). You need to adapt your intelligence to the character. It makes your narrative feel more authentic.

However, despite all these drawbacks, I'm quite satisfied with adopting the multiple POV approach because I really want to build a fantasy world that is both expansive and intimate.

And of course, my writing journey continues...
Click to expand...
I'm an ambitious girl, I like a story that involves multiple characters. Multiple POV suits me best :blobthumbsup:

Plus my inspiration comes from stories like Game of Thrones, and we know that series doesn't do single POV :blobrofl:
 
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