I'm starting to develop a strange problem with POVs.

[Anonjohn20]

This is going to sound ridiculous to some of you, but it seems that whenever a story is constantly switching perspectives and the reader is always following a different character that I start to lose interest in the story. When I was a teen, I read "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" and loved it despite the perspective changes, but now so many of the stories I read will bore me if they switch to a character I haven't been invested in yet. It'll be stories I'm enjoying, and then they start switching perspectives and I struggle to hit "next chapter."

Mini rant over. Feel free to share your thoughts, and I hope you guys and gals find another story to love.

 

[L1aei]

Depth over breadth?

 

[Anonjohn20]

Depth over breadth?

That's a very sciency way to express it, but yes. I would rather have 1 or 2 POVs from very fleshed-out characters rather than a carousel from characters I barely care about. These stories with constant POV shifts are starting to feel like seasons 4-8 of "The Walking Dead."

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Hmm - seems to be common. It looks like the biggest dip in listeners in my PocketFM stuff comes when I switch POV characters, so maybe it's not just you.

 

[Anonjohn20]

biggest dip in listeners

Sorry to hear that. May your works be found by people who will love them.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Sorry to hear that. May your works be found by people who will love them.

Second biggest dip is when people notice I'm only averaging a chapter per week... And part of the reason for that is I have yet to find a way to get paid by them (keep running into problems with the banks - not them, just the fact that they're operating out of India and I'm not).

 

[Corty]

This is why I never got into GoT.

I just can't handle too many POVs and switches between who we are following in the story.

 

[Anonjohn20]

Second biggest dip is when people notice I'm only averaging a chapter per week

That's not fair to you. 1 chapter every week is not bad; some stories here are on hiatus for 3-12 months, and they'll dump 1-3 chapters before going back to hiatus. LOL

This is why I never got into GoT.

I just can't handle too many POVs and switches between who we are following in the story.

I decided to never watch the TV show so I could enjoy the book when it was completed, but then the author decided to never finish his flagship series. "A Song of Ice and Fire" is still incomplete to this day.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

That's not fair to you. 1 chapter every week is not bad; some stories here are on hiatus for 3-12 months, and they'll dump 1-3 chapters before going back to hiatus. LOL

Well, when I wasn't working, I was writing about three chapters (between about four stories) a day... When I started working, this dropped to about 3/2 days (two stories), and then I started a second part time job and dropped to 3/2 weeks (between two stories). Most listeners binge 3-5 chapters per session, so only having 96 in one story and 102 I think in the other means they catch up fast...

I decided to never watch the TV show so I could enjoy the book when it was completed, but then the author decided to never finish his flagship series. "A Song of Ice and Fire" is still incomplete to this day.

He didn't "decide" - he's notorious for losing interest in a project and either giving it to someone else (the Wild Cards series, which wound up a team project IIRC), or just putting it in a holding pattern.

I've only read his horror stories (usually the shorter ones) and often confuse his work with T.E.D. Kline - both because I discovered them at the same time (in the same anthology, I think), and they hit similar, modern takes on H. P. Lovecraft.

 

[Anonjohn20]

He didn't "decide" - he's notorious for losing interest in a project and either giving it to someone else (the Wild Cards series, which wound up a team project IIRC), or just putting it in a holding pattern.

giving it to someone else

putting it in a holding pattern.

Those sound like decisions, ngl.

 

[L1aei]

Well, when I wasn't working, I was writing about three chapters (between about four stories) a day... When I started working, this dropped to about 3/2 days (two stories), and then I started a second part time job and dropped to 3/2 weeks (between two stories). Most listeners binge 3-5 chapters per session, so only having 96 in one story and 102 I think in the other means they catch up fast...

Some authors finish the whole story before posting it bit by bit, but I’m not keen on that unless a test group reviews it first. You always miss things when you're too close to your own writing; plot hole galore.


Correction: I am not saying you should or shouldn't, I'm simply pointing out one way around tight schedules.

 

[Eldoria]

It depends on how the conflict is narrated, doesn't it?! For a global conflict, it's difficult to write without multiple POVs. Imagine if LOTR were written solely from Frodo's POV, without Sam, Gandalf, or Aragorn. LOTR would just end up being another mainstream fantasy adventure story.

 

[CinnaSloth]

I'm not a fan of perspective changes in stories either. mainly because most times they want to bring in the newer character we just met, and tell their entire life story up to the part we just met, and I just couldn't care less... IF, and only IF, when the MC has talked to this person, gotten to know them, and has traveled with them, and it's been a few chapters, then maybe I'd care more, and would like small excerpts from them. But most times, if the story is done well, and written well, pov changes wouldn't even be necessary. It's called dialogue, we can learn everything about them if only our two characters idk.. Talked?! I feel Pov switching is pointless unless something happened to the MC, and there's a time gap in which they just can't be conscious enough to continue the story for the time being. Then another character can take the reigns until MC is back up on their feet.

Good Ex: LAST OF US 1, when Joel couldn't be the MC, so Ellie took lead role in the winter time. then back to Joel.

Bad Ex: LAST OF US 2, when what's-her-faq was switched in and Ellie was switched out for no reason. HORRIBLE. I could not care less for whats-her-faq or her side of the story. Took a great story, and threw it into the trash for a... "but you have to see and understand joel was the bad guy" narrative. YEA.. We knew, and we didn't care. We saved Ellie in volume 1 for a reason. We already understood he was a badguy at the end. He never claimed to be a good guy ever. We didn't need to be beat over the head with it. (LITERALLY in volume 2). horrible. HORRIBLE. still salty lol. Wasted effort of what could have been a great game.

 

[TASTYLEADPAINT]

I was writing about three chapters (between about four stories) a day... When I started working, this dropped to about 3/2 days (two stories), and then I started a second part time job and dropped to 3/2 weeks

Honestly still pretty good you managed 3 in 3 weeks. Im full time employed. And Its hard to find time between work, life and rest to write. However I am able to write 1 chapter a week

 

[CinnaSloth]

It depends on how the conflict is narrated, doesn't it?! For a global conflict, it's difficult to write without multiple POVs. Imagine if LOTR were written solely from Frodo's POV, without Sam, Gandalf, or Aragorn. LOTR would just end up being another mainstream fantasy adventure story.

YES, also very true. time gaps and land gaps.
Pov switches between Characters across HUGE vast areas of land where something is being taken place with x event, meanwhile y event is happening with our OTHER MC is a good point. But at that point you also technically have multiple MC's.
Now, how many MC's are TOO many MC's? That's another question.

 

[JayMark]

I've been hearing a lot of hot takes against multiple perspectives lately.

The trend has been for readers to want a first person relationship with the main character without much narrative distance; even third person is now expected to be written like first person. Shifting perspective away from the main character is increasingly being viewed as a sin, especially if multiple character's thoughts are being explored. I've seen some self proclaimed authorities pontificating that this is an inherent flaw that can somehow never be done in a way that enhances the story.

These people act as if there must be an MC, as if having one is not an option. That there has to be all primary focus on the main character, and that the world revolving around the main character can't be shown unless it makes direct and prolonged contact with a main chracter. As if by some religious decree.

*lights a cigar.

"Well guess what? There are some opinions I don't give a shit about."

 

[L1aei]

*lights a cigar.

"Well guess what? There are some opinions I don't give a shit about."

I'll light my cigarillo up with ya.

 

[Eldoria]

"Well guess what? There are some opinions I don't give a shit about."

They probably won't enjoy reading LOTR and Game of Thrones, even though these works are legendary.
If you only want to read the MC's POV, you should just read light novels.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

They probably won't enjoy reading LOTR and Game of Thrones, even though these works are legendary.
If you only want to read the MC's POV, you should just read light novels.

That appears to be the preference of the masses these days

 

[Anonjohn20]

Bad Ex: LAST OF US 2

The funniest thing about that game was that the original TLoU 2 had 3 endings: one where Ellie try to kill Abby and dies in the process, one where Abby tries to kill Ellie and dies in the process, and a third where they hate each other but agree to stop fighting for the sake of their loved ones. After most players who hate Abby got the twist ending in which Ellie dies, they started replaying and spammed the ending in which Abby dies. Since the lead dev wanted the ending where they forgive each other, when he remastered the game, he removed the two death endings to force players to go the forgiveness route.

I've been hearing a lot of hot takes against multiple perspectives lately.

I acknowledged that it can be done well in my original post (even though it usually isn't).

The trend has been for readers to want a first person relationship with the main character without much narrative distance; even third person is now expected to be written like first person.

Hard disagree. Over the last 2-3 decades, third person has been becoming more popular than first person as new readers seem to have less empathy and ability to put themselves in the other person's shoes. Whenever a first-person story has the MC make a decision or take an action that the reader wouldn't do, the readers drop the story and say the MC is "acting unrealistic," "being unimmersive," "nobody would ever act like that," etc.

They probably won't enjoy reading LOTR

I loved LotR; the POV shifts are actually done well there.

If you only want to read the MC's POV, you should just read light novels.

Light novels are the ones messing up though.

That appears to be the preference of the masses these days

Keep in mind people are poor now (me included). I could buy a hardcover book at a bookstore for $20-$40 or read something posted for free online. The last books I bought were the Dune franchise (worth it), and they have POV shifts (that are actually done well) too.