Ask the Bard #15: How Many POV are TOO Many & Shades of Perspective
Haly answers questions about characters and perspectives! Can serial fiction have too many POV characters? Can character perspectives color the world for the reader?
There are some characters in this community!
You know who you are. I see you over there. Reading everything. Silently stewing on the things I say. I want you to know, right here, right now…
I appreciate you.
Q: Is it a bad idea to increase the number of POV characters as a series goes on?
For instance, books 1 and 2 have two main characters in third person. Book 3 has six main characters in third person. Is that too much?
A: In fact, it’s a good idea. Here’s why…
When we look at series fiction in any media, it’s pretty clear that there are two primary camps: those who don’t expand character POV, and those that do. Those that don’t — think the Sweet Valley Twins books, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, etc. — quickly become formulaic, and obviously so. Again, SV, ND, HB, etc.
There’s nothing wrong with that. All of those books sold very, very well. Nancy and the Hardys for generations, even. They are the McDonald’s of the serial fiction world, reliable and comforting. You know what you’re getting, every time, and while there’s a variety in the journey, the emotional resolution is always exactly what you were expecting.
Now, let’s look at media where we do see a large number of perspectives.
The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers seem like a good place to start. In each of these, we start with a sitcom-style nuclear family — parents, and 3 children. We explore those characters and their family dynamics until we know them and care about them for their own reasons.
Then we start introducing other people. The bartender. The neighbor’s kids. The school principal. And in every episode where we’re really dealing with someone outside the family being seriously involved, we always get a nice little monologue about their perspective on the situation.
Why? To keep the audience from getting bored. Yup. That simple.
Hey, did you know
is on here? 🤣🤣🤣 It’s been a hot minute since I’ve hearkened back to him, so let’s dive right on into the greatest books of all time, the Baroque Cycle. He not only rolls through quite a few different character perspectives, but the entire first book is written as a series of flashbacks to the 1660’s alternating with ‘contemporary’ events in the 17—s.One of the main characters is particularly introspective and also considers many of the events from the perspective of those around him!
Seveneves is another great example. Character after character after character perspective. It’s almost like War and Peace. But that’s a stand-alone novel. Still, it’s arguably harder to use a large number of perspectives in a single novel.
A brief interruption to say:
As always, my advice is just that…advice. There are no hard-and-fast rules to story, and there are always stories that exist outside of the ‘usual’ formulas. But. I always try to answer these questions in SUPPORT of doing what you’re asking.
I am not the One Single Authority on anything except my own experience.
Now, let’s have a look at how this ties directly into the next question….
Q: Can you use a character's perspective to color the world to the reader?
A: That’s the whole point.
I mean, that is literally what a character does: they serve as an avatar for us to step into, and we see the world through their eyes. That’s why world-building is so important, that’s why knowing your character’s background and motivations is so vital.
One of the most obvious illustrations here is the trope of the unreliable narrator. Gillian Flynn has made this one of the trademarks of her thrilling style. Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, Paula Hawkins, Mark Haddon, Julian Barnes are others.
Need a movie instead? The Usual Suspects is a heist with an unreliable narrator so famous, the character’s name has become a trope in and of itself!
Here’s let’s try a simple writing exercise. I’ll do it right here, and you can try it yourself, if you like. (If you do, share the results with me in the comments!)
I’m going to describe the scene above from three different perspectives: his, hers, and the server at the cafe where they’re having coffee. Ready?
Him:
Tyler took Claire’s free left hand with his right. He could tell that something was troubling her. He offered a warm, comforting smile. “You know you can tell me anything, right? But only if you want. No pressure.”
He lifted his half-full coffee cup to his lips for a long sip and leaned into the comforting touch of the morning sun on his back. Seeing that Claire’s cup was also well-drained, he caught the eye of their server and gave another smile, along with the customary nod-and-cup-lift that was universal code for ‘refill, please!’
One more, his attention returned to Claire’s downcast expression. “Take your time. She’s bringing more coffee.”
Her:
Claire felt Tyler’s hand slide under hers, holding it tenderly. It was the only thing she felt. The glare of the sun over his shoulder was offensive and painful. Days like this should be full of weepy rain, she thought with sullen resignation.
“You know you can tell me anything, right? But only if you want. No pressure.” Tyler’s words were so…so…Tyler! Brutal and vicious in their care and consideration, an impossible match for this handsome, intelligent, funny, reliable….
Stoppit! she screamed inside her head. It was torture enough, sitting across from him, knowing that she was about to break his heart, to confess to this man that she had agreed to marry…that she had done so under entirely false pretenses.
“Take your time. She’s bringing more coffee.” She heard his words. She nodded in reply. All of her attention was devoted to holding back the flood of tears and wishing again for a hard rain to hide them.
She brought her half-empty coffee cup to her lips and drained it.
Betty (the Server)
Betty glanced at her watch and felt her heart skip a beat. Only half an hour and then her shift was over! Finally, she could get away from the smell of burnt coffee. She was convinced that she’d never be able to fully shampoo the smell from her hair and so would settle for a shower and fresh clothes.
Her one occupied table held only a couple, him and her, and she with a ring the size of Jupiter. Well, good for you, then, Betty thought in a sour tone. Didn’t work for me, but hey. You’re not marrying the same dickhead I did. Wait…are you?
She swept her gaze over to the table to double-check that the handsome brunette seated across from the nervous-looking redhead was indeed not her ex-husband Gerald.
Nope. Complete stranger. Much to Betty’s relief. More than 10 years on and the thought of seeing Gerald outside of prison still haunted her. The stranger at the table caught her glance, and he gave her a friendly smile.
Betty smiled in return.
He lifted his cup a bit in that universal signal of ‘refill, please!’ Betty nodded, still smiling. She grabbed the pot and headed toward the table.
Alright, so… From Tyler’s perspective, all is right in the world, and we are ready to believe that this is going to be a sunny, optimistic story. Great, grand, goobertastic. But then, we get Claire’s perspective and find her offended by the cheerfulness of the day, wishing it were more in line with her own feelings.
World. Colored. We have two different viewpoints, two conflicting viewpoints, each coloring the world with emotional resonance.
Then we get perspective from Betty, the server. And while Claire is Tyler’s whole perspective, and Claire’s misery is Claire’s whole perspective… Betty’s whole perspective is Betty. Claire’s misery and Tyler’s cheerfulness have nothing to do with the fact that she’s off work in 28 minutes, and the only reason that they matter to her at all is because they’re an open check who haven’t yet tipped.
Hope this Helped!
As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Did you try the writing exercise? How did it go? Let me know!
And if you wouldn’t mind… Please take just a second to share this newsletter with a creative friend. Strong world-building supports stellar fiction!
Coming This Week:
Thursday: Wonderful Worldbuilding: NovelEmber Check-In
#FictionFriday: It’s officially NovelEmber! If you’re looking to get out of the NaNo shade, World Anvil’s got your back! NovelEmber is a brand new, month-long challenge for EVERYONE hosted by World Anvil and taking place this November! Want more information? Get all the facts right here!
Saturday: Quick Six World-building prompts
Sunday: New Week, New Theme
Manic Monday: Celebrating the Theme
Twisted Tuesday: Subverting the Theme
#Worldbuilding Wednesday: A new edition of Ask the Bard and an almost definite return to streaming on Twitch. I don’t know what time, so make sure you’re following me with those notifications TURNED ON!
