Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Benefits of changing POV mid-chapter

This is topic Benefits of changing POV mid-chapter in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by rcorporon (Member # 2879) on :

I've been reading Thomas Harris' books lately, and I notice that he loves to change POV from paragraph to paragraph.

I find this to be very jarring, and at times outright confusing, and I was wondering what the benefits of writing like this are?

When I write, I stick to a very close 3rd person and I only follow one character per chapter. I think that this allows me to keep the narrative flowing and not confuse readers by changing POV's.

It seems to work for Harris (his books are very popular) but I'm wondering what other people who write like this think the benefits of this is.

Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :

The only benefit I can think of changing POV's every paragraph is if you have all your characters in that scene in a fight. You can go off and focus on who/how their fighting etc, but I personally try and stay away from it, as I find it way too confusing for myself while writing.

Posted by Ray (Member # 2415) on :

One benefit is to show how everyone is feeling at the same time, no matter where they're standing. The best time to do this without confusing your reader is after all characters have been well established (or at least introduced). Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy begins one of its later chapters by going from one character to the other showing what they're doing and thinking, and it works because we're already acquainted with each one.

There are cases when the author may want to tell what every character is thinking at one particular event. In a lot of situations, you may want to tell the story from one character's POV, and then retell that situation from the others. But this is usually done when the characters are in different locations. Re-telling the same situation from another character who was there becomes tedious.

Of course, if violating a limited POV is too much, all you have to do is have the other character reminisce about that event at a later point.

The other benefit is uniformity. In The Three Musketeers, there is constant omniscient POV over D'Artagnon and Co., and what it shows is that all these people are on the same team. It gives the different reasons and what they're thinking, but it confirms to the reader that all of them are protagonists.

The only time omniscient POV ever annoys me is when it delves into both protagonist or antagonist characters simultaneously.

Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :

Don't attempt it unless you know exactly what you are doing.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Some guys can get away with it. But it's still a bad idea...

Posted by Mitch (Member # 3681) on :

I've been wondering a while about how I'm going to release the protagonist is in the story I'm writing.

It's split into parts, which are further split into chapters. Throughout the story the Russian antagonist drives all the major events, effectively manipulating the Japanese protagonist. In the first part the story is seen from the point of view of the protagonist, and the antagonist is simply know as "the assassin".

Then, in the second part, that same Russian, now by a different name, goes back to his home in France to spend time with his girlfriend (though this also doubles as yet another alibi for him). She doesn't know that he's been to Japan; simply that he was going to Russia to visit some childhood friends. They have a lot of trust.

So the second part, as I've got it, begins with the French girl waking up and enjoying her day, and waiting, knowing he's coming back today. I also use this chapter to establish her as one of the main characters in the story, obviously.

But then at some point here in France, I'm going to need to reveal that he was behind it. Two major points here:

1. The reader will find it extremely obvious that he's the assassin, which is fine.

2. She can't know. He continues lying to her. So it has to be done from his point of view.

But when, and how, to switch? Can anyone help me here?

Edit: Of course the same sort of scenario could be done on a smaller, or larger, scale than Russia, Japan and France, but I thought I'd elaborate on the plot a little in case it matters to anyone.

[This message has been edited by Mitch (edited August 16, 2006).]

Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :

Poorly done omniscient viewpoint can read like the POV is changing every paragraph. It's supposed to feel like a narrator telling the story, ocassionally reporting the contents of the characters heads, but I find I rarely perceive it that way. It could be that I've become so used to 3PLO that I just look for a character whose haed I can ride in.