Most stories are narrated from a single perspective or point of view (POV), usually a first-person point of view (The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga, The Fault in our Stars) or a close/limited third-person perspective (Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, Mrs. Dalloway)) that is tuned into the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings.
However, writing from multiple perspectives (A Game of Thrones, Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train) is all the rage nowadays. This means the story is told from the perspective of two or more characters and woven together by alternating between viewpoints.
Narrating the story from different points of view allows writers to expand the scope of the story, and provide additional insight into the plot and characters. While some stories benefit when told by multiple characters, the challenge is to balance the different perspectives without overwhelming or confusing the reader.
How to Tell a Story From More Than One Point of View
Writers must keep the following points in mind when they want to tell a story from multiple POVs.
1. Have a Good Reason to Use Multiple Perspectives
Writing a story from multiple POVs is a complicated and risky process that should never be done simply for the sake of it. The biggest risk in switching constantly between narrators is that the reader may not get the chance to know or connect with the characters. Readers might also get confused or irritated if the writer fails to create a cohesive story by weaving the multitude of perspectives together successfully.
The question that the writer must ask themselves before they start writing is, “Why does this story need multiple narrators?” If the answer is that more than one major character’s point of view is crucial to the story, or that the scope of the story is too large to limit it by using a single perspective, then the writer has legitimate reasons to use multiple POVs.
2. Identify the Most Important Character
In a story that uses multiple POVs, each chapter or scene is dominated by the voice of its most important character. This is generally the person facing the highest stakes – the one who has the most to learn or lose. This is the POV that the writer must follow closely because it is their thoughts and reactions that the reader will be most invested in. If there are two major characters, each character must narrate the same number of chapters or scenes.
3. Give Each Character a Unique Voice
A writer intending to use multiple perspectives must create an individual voice for each character. Each narrator should have a unique way of self-expression and an individual outlook on their circumstances. The primary characters’ motivations for each scene or chapter should be unique, or there would be no reason to narrate the story from different perspectives. If the story is written in the third person, developing a character’s voice for each POV is not as important; but it might still be necessary for purposes of dialogue and interaction between different characters.
4. Change POVs Seamlessly
One of the most important rules of using multiple POVs is to clearly inform the reader when the perspective is about to change. There are a few acceptable ways of doing this:
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At chapter breaks
The simplest way of doing this is to use characters’ names to title each chapter, with the table of contents reading like a character list.
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At scene breaks
If changing POVs at a chapter break is inconsistent with the plot structure, it can be done at a scene break. The first sentence of the scene must then immediately establish the new viewpoint through the character’s distinct voice, the setting, and the other characters who populate the scene.
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At paragraph breaks
While this is possible, it is generally considered to be an insufficient transition, particularly for a character-focused story. Changing the POV at every paragraph break makes it harder to create a relationship between the reader and the characters.
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At line breaks
Put simply, this (generally unacceptable practice) involves adding a blank line to signal the transition between one character’s POV and another’s. This practice, however, at least lets the reader know that the change in perspectives is deliberate, not willy-nilly.
5. Choose between First-Person and Third-Person
An author has three main options when writing a story from multiple perspectives:
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Option 1: First-Person Only
This involves using first-person POV for each character. Each character must have their own distinctive voice; readers should be able to identify who’s speaking without awkward hints from the narrative. This can be challenging because people speak in different ways – short sentences, wordy sentences, lots of adjectives and adverbs, matter-of-fact, poetic, decisive, rambling, etc. The author must channel each character when using first-person POV and make each character sound completely unlike the others.
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Option 2: Third-Person Only
This involves using third-person POV for each character. As a third-person narrator, the author can easily move between POVs, despite being limited to only what that character knows and experiences. This is easier than using first-person POV as the narrator’s voice doesn’t need to shift as it does for a first-person POV.
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Option 3: First and Third-Person
The third option is to use a combination of first and third-person POVs. For example, the story could have a main character’s first-person POV and use the third-person for minor characters.
Using multiple perspectives to tell a story is a challenging but rewarding task. The above guidelines make it easier for writers to experiment with different POVs and see what they come up with.
