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.